Disclaimer: HAHAHA! IM BACK WITH IDEAS!!! Oh yeah....I don't own CCS.

To Catch Up with You....

By: Sakura1301

Ch. 11 Rescue

"And what!?" Li asked frantically. He ran to her side and gripped her shoulders. "Do you know who that was!?" She nodded. "Tell me!" "Chill. If you really want to know, I suggest you release my shoulders." She said calmly. He let go and sighed. "Sorry Tomoyo. Im just--" "Just worried about her." She finished for him. He nodded. "Well, Sakura and Me were walking along the stream and we saw some creature up ahead with an aura. Well, Sakura said she felt an aura from it. It then charged at us and as it got closer, we recognized it. It was Xi. And as Xi was coming at us, she suddenly....changed. It was weird. Xi changed into that lady." Li clenched his fist together and cursed under his breath. Boy, was Xi in for it when he got his hands on her. Uh huh. Eriol sweatdropped. "Li, sit down. Cursing will get you no where. Li sat and crossed his arms over his chest. A question popped in his head. "Wheres Ooda?" He asked. They all looked around and called out Ooda's name. No response. When they made it to the kitchen, a small letter was sitting there. Li ran over there and picked it up and tore it open. He scanned the letter quickly and anger built up inside of him. He slammed the letter down and ran out of the door. Tomoyo and Eriol walked over to the letter and read:

Dear Wizards,

Looks like I won. Well, at least the battle. The war is still to come. And it is approaching very soon. By the time you receive this letter, you probably noticed Ooda is missing. Well, he is my prisoner. I have sent Xi after your precious Cherry Blossom and she shall be returning anytime soon. Well, to put it bluntly, I challenge you power wizards. To the death. If you manage to win, which I think is impossible, meet me at Penguin Park, at the Penguin slide at 7:00 PM. That is, if your not scared.

Duan

Fear begun to build in Eriol as he realized what Li had gone after. He dropped the letter and grabbed Tomoyo's hand and begun to run towards the Park. "Eriol! Whats going on!?" "Li's thinking of attacking Duan. He doesn't even have a plan! He's such a baka!" Tomoyo sighed as she continued to be dragged by Eriol.

Li made it to the Park and had twenty minutes to spare. He felt a dark aura as he arrived. "Come out! I know your here!" He yelled with sword in hand. During the way there, he had transformed his pendulum into his sword. Then, black smoke appeared on top of the slide. Then it formed into a standing figure. "So, your the one behind all of this!" Li yelled at him. "Give Sakura back!" "If you want her, then come get her." He said as he disappeared and below him appeared a black portal. Li was about to walk in but was stopped by Eriol. Eriol was panting hard as he gripped Li's shoulder. He smiled at him and said, "Hey, why weren't we invited?" Li smiled at him getting his point. "Tomoyo, stay here." Eriol said. "No. Im coming too." Eriol sighed. "Tomoyo, it would be safer if you stayed here and waited. I don't want you to get hurt." She sighed and knodded. "But if you don't return, im marching strait over there to fetch you." She said teasingly. He smiled at her and nodded. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before he turned his attention back to the portal. With a swift motion of his arm, he was dressed in his battle outfit and had his staff in hand. He looked to Li. "Ready?" "Yeah." "You know, this will be the toughest fight yet." Li nodded. "I know. I only have one thing on my mind though." "Yeah. I know. Sakura. Well, be on your guard. We'll be on his turf as soon as we enter that portal." Li nodded. Then both headed into the portal. Tomoyo was staring at the spot where the portal was before it disappeared. She sighed. "I feel so left out. Plus, im missing a good chance to get it on tape. After many boring years, something magical happens and....I'M MISSING SOME GREAT FOOTAGE!!!" She yelled in frustration.

~Portal~

Eriol and Li looked strait forward as they continued to descend into the earth with the help of the portal. Black and Green swirls were lining the portal walls as they went down. All Li could think of was Sakura. While Eriol was trying to come up with some last minute tactics before the battle begun. As they descended, they started picking up speed. "Wha-whats going on!?" Li yelled as wind started to howl in side of the tunnel. "As we go, we pick up speed!" Eriol yelled back. "Where are we going exactly!?" "About a mile underground I suspect." Eriol yelled back.

~Duan's lair~

"They'll be here in...3...2...1..." Then suddenly, Eriol and Li fell from the ceiling and landed hard on the ground. Li and Eriol slowly stood up. Li was rubbing his rump as he got up. Eriol just stood up and glared at Duan. "Well, welcome to lair. Nice place. Isn't it?" They didn't reply. They only glared at him. "Wheres Sakura!?" Li yelled. Duan blinked. "Oh, her. She's fine. But as for Ooda, lets just say, he's a little drained." Li gritted his teeth then held his sword in front of him. "Give her back!" "Sheesh. No need to yell. Im right here." Eriol placed a hand on Li's shoulder and said. "Hold it." Li looked at him as if he was the enemy. "Why should I?" He growled. "Patients is the key to winning." Li put his sword down and growled, "Better be right." "Well, I bet you two were wondering who that young lady was in the park today. Am I correct?" "We already know." "Oh, that ruins the surprise. Well, come out Xi." Xi stepped into the light. It was her. "You..." Li growled. He was pissed, and seeing her made him even more pissed. "If your wondering how Xi can take this form, you could say, she borrowed some power from Ooda. He's out cold now." 'Thats why Ooda disappeared.' Eriol thought. "So, shall we begin?" He questioned. "How do we know that your not tricking us?" Li asked. Duan snapped his fingers and a light flashed on behind him.

There. There was Sakura. She was out cold and was gagged. Li ran to her but was stopped by an invisible barrier. He pounded on the barrier but no sound could be heard on the other side of the wall. Li turned back to Duan. "What did you do to her!?" "Nothing. When Xi brought her back, she was out cold. But don't worry, too much. Defeat me, the barrier will go away, but don't, she stays with me." Li was getting a splitting head ache. Why the hell did this have to happen!? WHY!? This wasn't suppose to happen! Of all things to happen! "So, shall we begin?" Duan asked calmly. "Fine by me." He said while gritting his teeth. He stood in a fighting position facing Duan with his sword pointed at him. Then, Duan reached for his sword. He pulled it out to reveal a sword with jagged edges. This gave him an advantage. He could easily pull Li's sword right out of his hands with his own sword, plus, if he sliced at his flesh, it would be more painful. "Li! Your not ready!" Eriol yelled. "Shut-up Eriol! I don't need you to tell me what to do! I can't take it anymore! He's gonna pay for what he did to Sakura!" Li yelled. They then charged at eachother. *CLANG* The swords hit eachother with great force. Both were pushing eachother with there swords grinding against the other. Li gritted, "Why do you want Sakura!?" "I wanted her power...." Then they separated.

Eriol watched as the two warriors went head to head against the other. He already knew who would come out the victor. And it wasn't good. He waited and waited till the right moment to strike. Just as Duan had his back turned Eriol made a dash towards him. Staff in hand and raised. Just as he brought it down, his staff clashed with something else. Something that had slipped his mind. Right in front of him was Xi. She held a staff with a crystal ball on the end. It was radiating black. She smirked. "Sorry, but I can't let you interfere with masters plans." She said as her and Eriol jumped back. She was good. Very good. But Eriol had more experience than her. Plus, she was rusty. Then, she headed strait for Eriol with staff pointed towards his heart. He dodged easily as Xi went past him. "Sorry Xi. But you'll have to be quicker than that." She whirled around and brought the tip of her staff on the ground. She started chanting an unfamiliar language. Then her crystal ball on the tip of her staff started to radiate dark energy. Eriol figured what she was doing. He did the same but chanted something different. (Sorry, I have NO clue how to make a good chant.) Then both staffs were emitting light. One dark and the other light. Just then, as if on que, both released their energy at the same time.

Li was starting to tire but this Duan character didn't even seem to break a sweat. "Whats wrong boy? Tiring already?" "You wish." Li growled. Then, in a blink of an eye, Duan slashed at Li's arm, tearing out a chunk of skin. Li gripped his arm. It hurt. It hurt so bad. But he only one thing on his mind. Save Sakura. "Looks like your losing your touch." Duan said as he grinned. This was easy. Too easy. Where was the challenge? He thought he had finally found someone worth battling but it seemed he was wrong. Blood was now dripping down his arm. At least Duan had swiped at his left arm and not his right. But still, he needed his left arm too. Duan stood with his sword lazily hanging by his side. "You are no challenge to me. Just give up now and ill make your death quick." "Im not a quitter. I wont give up till I get Sakura back!" "Good spirit, but no brains." Duan said as he shrugged his shoulders. Just as Duan averted his gaze, Li took his sword and brought it good and hard to Duans shoulder, cutting deep. All the way to the bone. "Aaahh!" Duan yelled as he dropped his sword and gripped his shoulder. Li smirked but it quickly disappeared. "Now its time to die." Li said as he approached him. He raised his sword but just as he was about to strike, Duan raised his hand. As Li brought his sword down, it hit an invisible barrier. Li blinked. "Wha?" Duan laughed. "Do you really think im that easily defeated?" He narrowed his eyes into slits. "I don't think so." He then jumped up causing Li to fall down. Duan quickly grabbed his sword and brought it down to where Li was. Li rolled out of harms way and quickly got to his feet. Both charged at eachother again and again. The only thing that could be heard from them was clanging from their swords.

Meanwhile, Eriol had other problems. This Xi creature was starting to piss him off as he was pissing her off. Both of their clothing had rips. But no blood. Both had sweat dripping down their faces and necks and both were panting for air. Eriol grabbed his glasses and tossed them off. They were no use to him since they were broken. Plus, he didn't really need them. They glared at eachother. Xi was the first to make a move. She stood strait and twirled her staff in the air. Then she brought it down hard. As soon as it hit the ground, black strips of lightning headed strait for Eriol. As soon as it had almost hit him, he had started to run. He ran along the side of the wall as lighting followed him. As he was closing in on Xi, he got his staff ready. It started to glow bright red. And as he was near enough. He released the energy. Fire flew from his staff and landed on Xi's dress. She dropped her staff and Eriol took advantage of that. He made a quick dash for it. He grabbed it. Xi was hitting the fire trying to put the fire out. When she did put the fire out, she got mad. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THIS SKIRT COST ME!? IT COST ME 6000 YEN!" Just as she looked down to pick up her staff, she gasped. She whispered, "Uh-oh..." She looked up to see Eriol with it in his hands. He was grinning like an idiot. "Looking for this?" "HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!" "And why should I?" "Because I said so." "I don't think so. Finders, keepers. Losers, weepers." He said. She fumed. This was NOT what she had planned. He then concentrated the power of her staff and the power of his staff. He then transferred her power into his staff. "You want it back?" She nodded. "Here." And he tossed it back. She caught it and facefaulted. "HEY! What did you do to my staff!?" He shrugged his shoulders as if nothing happened. She fumed. Then grinned. "If you think you have defeated me, your wrong." Eriol started sweating. She then morphed into her cat-like form. She grinned. This was harder than Eriol thought. Xi then ran straight for him.

"Give up boy?" "Never!" *CLANG* *CLANG* Li was tiring fast. This wasn't suppose to happen. The good guys suppose to win! Well, thats what happened in movies anyways. In the corner of Li's eye, he saw Sakura waking. She was supposedly safe inside of that barrier. He kept half of his mind on the fight and the other half on fighting Duan. Li's clothing was torn in several places and had blood stains just about every where. He had lost alot of blood during the battle.

Sakura was starting to stir. Her head was pounding. It felt as if someone had taken a 2x4 and hit her in the head with it. When she opened her eyes, everything was blurred. Slowly, the things around her started to focus in. As she tried to stand she fell over. Something was pulling on her legs and arms. She looked down at her arms in front of her. They were tied. Then she looked towards her feet. Same. She brought her feet in front of her and tried to untie them with her tied arms. It took her like, five minutes to finally untie them. Her ankles had red marks from the ropes. Then, she tried to untie her arms. This was the difficult part. No matter how much she tried, it just wouldn't come undone. She tried pushing with her foot. No luck. Then she tried scrapping it against the hard cement floor. No luck either. She was getting tired. Plus her mouth was starting to hurt from the stupid gag. She tried to untie it from the back. Nope. So, instead, she grabbed it and pulled the not in front. She then started to untie it. After it was off, her jaw hurt. She looked around for something to break the binding on her wrist. She saw a torch but it was dangerous. She could end up burning herself. She looked around. That was it. The only thing in her 'cell' was a stupid torch. Well, it was better than anything. She walked over there while cursing under her breath. She then held the rope over the fire. Her arms started to feel like they were on fire from being so close to the flame. She gritted her teeth as the ropes slowly burned. Then, *SNAP* they fell off. Sweat was running down her face as she pulled her arms back. She then rubbed her arms. They hurt REALLY bad. She then turned around as she saw a flash. She gasped. She saw Li fighting against some guy. The guy looked like the same guy in her dream. Then it hit her. It was Duan. And Li had blood stains all over his clothes. Then she saw Eriol going against Xi. Eriol and Li seemed to be tiring. Especially Li. Worry started to build up inside of her. She tried to rush to Li's side but forgot about the barrier and ran strait smack into it. She fell over and rubbed her head. "Ow...." She said as she got up. She made her way towards the barrier and started to beat her fist against it. Hoping to get their attention. But, to no avail, no sound could be heard on the other side. She started to lose hope as an idea hit her like a flying baseball. She pulled out her key and transformed it into a wand. She searched her pockets for the cards. Nothing. She then concentrated her energy and suddenly, a card appeared in her hand. She smiled. It still worked. She tossed the card in front of her and said, "THROUGH card! Release!" And the card broke away from its card form and went into Sakura. Giving her an unearthly glow. She held her breath a prayed that this idea would work. She closed her eyes and slowly made her way through the invisible barrier. She opened her eyes to clanging of swords. This did not look good at all.

Then Duan brought his sword up. "Now, for the final blow." His sword started to glow an eerie black. "No! Syaoran!" Li looked in her direction. "No! Sakura! Stay back!" But it was too late. Just as Duan pointed his sword at Li, a dark orb raced towards him. But only to hit a different target.

Sakura raced towards Li. She had to do something. Anything would be helpful. And just as she had reached Li to block the blow, it hit. She fell to her knees as dark magic raced through her body. Everything was slow from that point on. The pain. It hurt bad. Really bad. And it felt as if it was lasting forever. She doubled over in pain. But before she fell, Li caught her in his arms.

Li's eyes widened. This wasn't happening. It couldn't happen. His Sakura! The Sakura that had changed his life! Why of all things!? He looked down on her and came in contact with her beautiful emerald eyes.

Sakura looked up at Li. The sadness was evident in his eyes. A tear streaked down her cheek as she closed her eyes. She felt shaking. She knew it was Li. She could barely hear him. She felt herself being lowered to the ground and something wet hit her face. When she opened her eyes, everything was slowly fading.

Eriol and Xi just stood there and watched things unfold before their eyes. Xi had morphed into her female form and was crying. It was so sad. Eriol had sorrow in his heart. But it soon turned to anger as he heard Duan say, "Stupid girl. It's her own fault." He was about to march over there and beat the living shit out of him but he stopped as he heard Li speak. He turned his attention back to Sakura and Li.

She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Li whispered, "It's okay Sakura. Everythings gonna be okay. Trust me." He could make out a faint nod. Then, she lifted her hand and he gripped it in his own. And just as he did, flashes of memories from the past and ideas of the future entered his mind. They all belonged to Sakura. And as they all subsided, she fell limp in his arms. Li's eyes widened as he started to shake her. "C'mon Sakura! Wake up! Please...no...this can't be happening. No! Sakura! C'mon! Wake up! Please...we have our whole lives ahead of us...." His voice faded as he knew it was no use. She was gone and she wasn't coming back.

Xi broke down into a fit of sobs and sat down on her bottom. Eriol felt sorry for the creature. He could hear her say, "Ooda! I want my older brother! Whaaa!!!" Just then a blue orb appeared in front of her and inside Ooda stood with his eyes closed. She blinked.

Duan shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, it doesn't matter if she was alive or dead anyways. Well, I have other business to attend to." And he swung around on his heals and was about to leave but stopped as he felt a sharp point on his back and someone growl, "Your not going anywhere." Without turning around he said, "You are no challenge to me if your cherry blossom is dead, boy." And he started to walk off but he felt the end of Li's sword press into his back. He stopped and sighed. "If you really want to die, so be it. I will help you with that." And suddenly, with the flick of his wrist, his sword was in his hand again. But before he could attack, a bright, white light filled the room. He shielded his eyes with his arms and yelled, "What is this!?"

Every set of eyes except Sakura's was looking to the source of light. Xi's crying had subsided and she continued to blink in confusion. In front of her, her brother was glowing, and suddenly, the light intensed and her brother started to grow into an unfamiliar shape.

Ooda opened his eyes to reveal sky blue eyes. In front of him was his sister, sitting on her bottom with tear streaks going down her cheeks. He smiled down at her and offered his hand.

Xi was shocked. There, in front of her stood her brother with his hand outstretched. She was in a state of shock. Her brother looked like an angel. He had a white flowing gown and a set of VERY large white wings extending from his back. She shook her head and come out of the stated of shock and looked at his outstretched hand. She had no clue what was going on. But, an instinct told her to reach for the hand. She slowly raised her hand and placed it in his open palm. He smiled and as he did, another bright flash lit the room. As the flash disappeared, another angel stood beside the other except with sea green eyes that had replaced the ruby red. They held hands and started to recite the prophecy. "After many years of sleep, two creatures will arise from the earth. One of good and another of evil. If these creatures are to meet, then destruction will bestow this world. When the battle is over, evil will prevail over good. Then the earth shall cease to exhist. But, if the hearts and souls of two lovers meet, then the destruction will be prevented. But a sacrifice of life must be made by one of them. If both refuse, then the earth shall crumble and drift into space. But if the sacrifice is fulfilled, then destruction will be prevented. Thus, the earth will remain." They stopped and looked towards Li and Sakura. They then floated towards the two.

Duan who was standing in front of Li with his back turned to the two and had his sword in hand gulped.

Ooda continued to head towards as Xi stopped and headed towards Duan.

Duan had sweat running down his neck as he saw Xi head towards him. He smiled at her and she frowned a frown of disgust at him. "Hello dear Xi. I see your here to help me finish off those insects." Her impression hardened. She was way larger than him and had more power than him. So she had the upper hand. She reached out and lifted him off of the ground and hissed, "You make me sick. You will be punished for all of the pain you have caused." He blinked. Just then , he looked below him and spotted a portal. He could feel the heat radiate off of it. He gulped. "Y-your not going to send your master down there? Are you?" "I have no master." And she released his collar and he fell through the portal to the firey depts of Hell. Then, the portal closed up and she made her way towards the two kids.

Li was on the ground with Sakura in his arms. Pure sorrow was on his face as he looked down on Sakura. Then, Xi appeared by her brothers side. They looked down at the two and smiled. Li looked up. "Please. Help Sakura." He whispered. "No need to worry. But, one question. Would you exchange your life for hers?" Ooda asked. Without thought he nodded. He smiled. "Well, then it is true. You two are soul mates and are meant for eachother. There is no need for more blood shed and more loss of lives. For one life is enough. And we thank you for that." Then, Xi pointed a finger at Sakura and she floated out of Li's arms and into theres. Li watched with hope in his dreary eyes. The two angels looked down on her and smiled. Xi brushed Sakura's bangs out of her face and smiled. Sakura then started to glow. The glowing only lasted for a few seconds. She then smiled even brighter. "She's fine." And then Sakura floated back into Li's arms. He looked at them. "Is she okay!?" They nodded. "She is fine. She's just resting. Now, I think its time we leave. Farewell." Then, a bright glow flashed through the room. And they were gone.

Eriol snapped out of his daydream and yelled, "C'mon! We gotta get out of here! The place is crumbling!" Li nodded and jumped up with Sakura in his arms. Eriol pointed his staff and started to chant. Then, a portal appeared and Li ran through with Eriol following behind. And just as the portal closed, the place collapsed.

~The surface~

"Oh! How much longer!?" Tomoyo said as she paced back and forth. Kero patted her shoulder. "Patience. Their fine. Trust me." "Fine." Kero and Yue would of gone with Eriol and Li but were kinda of busy with Touya. Kero was in the same room as Touya and Yue was Yuki at the time hangin out with Touya. So...not much to do there. Just then, a portal like hole appeared and spit Eriol, Li, and Sakura out. They landed on their bottoms. Tomoyo rushed to Eriol's side and helped him up. "Are you okay Eriol!?" "Im fine." "What about Sakura and Li!?" "Their fine. Sakura's just resting." She took a breather. "Good. For a moment there, I thought she was dead." Kero then flew into Li's face and started questioning. "Okay gaki! What did ya do to her!?" "Nothing stuffed animal. She's just resting." Kero also took a breather. It was a good thing. She was still alive. Yue blinked. It looked as if they just went through World War 3 and had somehow managed to survive and return. They had rips in their clothing and Li had blood all over his clothes. Tomoyo blinked when she saw Li. "Um...Eriol, what happened?" "I'll explain it later. Now, we need to get those two to bed. They've had a long day." She nodded and everybody headed to her house.

~Tomoyo's Place~

Eriol and the others were all crowded around the table in the living room downstairs while Li was with Sakura in her room.

Li held Sakura's hand in his and smiled as he watched her sleeping figure. She looked so peaceful there. Like an angel. He had bandages wrapped around his wounds and he looked like he survived a plane crash. Then, he saw Sakura's thick lashes flutter open. He chuckled. "Awake sleepy head?" She looked at him and smiled. "Yeah. I feel so sore. So, what happened back there?" "Well, lets just say, angels were watching over us." She looked puzzled but dismissed the thought. She looked into his eyes and said, "You look pretty worn out. Why don't you rest. It'll be good for you." She said as she scooted over. He smiled his thanks and hopped onto the bed with her. And soon, both cardcaptors fell into a deep sleep.

To be continued....

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Sorry it took me sooo long to get this chapter out. I was sooo busy. Then, when I was almost done with the chapter, the computer froze on me and deleted my whole chapter! I was soooo pissed. Well, after this, just one more chapter. Yay! I thought about a sequel, but I said, "Nah, forget it. I have soooo many other story ideas to work on!!! The newest story im working on now is Darkness. But soon, im gonna release another story. Also based after a Disney movie. Hehe...well, i'll send the next chapter as soon as im done with it. Well, till then, Ja!