Last Time: Poor Kero found out what Sakura's going to wish for and was heartbroken. Malachite arrived from the past, ready to hunt for the crystals on behalf of the Negaverse. The Water Turtle was spotted near the beach and Sakura went out to the middle of the ocean to confront it. The fight didn't go well. The power of the Float Card was overcome and Sakura is slowly being sucked into a whirlpool. Now what'll happen?


Hunt For the Crystals: Episode 12


The situation wasn't getting any better. Despite having hardly moved an inch, the Water Turtle had just about put Sakura away. She couldn't escape the force and intense gravity of the whirlpool. Sakura tried one last hope.

"Windy!"

Sakura released Windy, not to attack the Water Turtle, but to help her. Windy saw Sakura's precarious position and immediately tried to pull her out. It was no use, though. Sakura was still being pulled ever so slowly into the whirlpool.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned her head to see that someone came to her rescue. It was Spinel Sun, Suppi's true form. Spinel Sun opened his mouth to release a powerful beam. But it only bounced off the Water Turtle's shell. Then Sakura noticed something. There was a blue aura that was emitting from the Turtle's cranium.

"Spinel Sun! Aim for the head!"

Spinel Sun flew in place and shot his beam out again. This time, the beam struck the Turtle right on the head. The Turtle moaned in pain and started shaking its head rampantly. Sakura could also see that the whirlpool was starting to subside.

"It's working! Windy!"

Windy saw what Sakura wanted and went right after the Water Turtle. She tried to bind its head, but the Turtle wasn't going down quickly enough. With Float no longer threatened by the whirlpool's power, Sakura could stand on her feet again. That gave her a chance to give Windy some assistance.

"Water!"

Combining Windy with Water was always a risk, but this isn't the first time they've worked together. And this time they were working together just fine, because Water came out and helped Windy to clamp down on the Water Turtle's head. But the Water Turtle still wasn't getting weakened. And that's when Sakura got her next idea. She recalled Windy and then gave Water the next order.

"Water! Drench it!"

Water looked towards the ocean water and had it splash over the Water Turtle. And that would leave Sakura with was sure to be another huge risk. Sakura recalled Water and released…

"Thunder Card! Release and dispel!"

Bolts of thunder came out and, just like Sakura thought, shocked the Water Turtle. The water that had drenched the Turtle left it sure to conduct electricity. But Sakura wasn't exactly dry as a bone, so she was feeling some of the shock as well. But the punishment she was taking was nothing near the agony the Water Turtle was feeling.

When the bolts of lightning had cleared, Sakura's costume was singed and she had some cuts and bruises. Meanwhile, the Water Turtle was out cold. That's all that mattered. Sakura walked up to the Water Turtle.

"Return to thy form which thou should be…Water Crystal!"

Sakura restored the Water Crystal and collapsed backwards. She was expecting to fall flat on her back, since the Float Card was still out. Instead, she was caught by Spinel Sun.

"Are you all right?"

Sakura nodded weakly. "I'll be fine." She looked at the blue Water Crystal. "I'm just glad this is almost over."

With those words, Sakura was ready to walk back to shore, but she was worn out. So Spinel Sun offered her a ride and Sakura accepted. Sakura got on the guardian's back and flew back towards the beach…

…knowing there were only two crystals remaining.


~--------------------~


Madison looked out into the distance. "Here they come!"

Madison was ecstatic to see Sakura and Spinel Sun were coming back in one piece. But Sakura didn't look like she came out of this unscathed. When Spinel Sun landed, Sakura fell over and collapsed on her knees. Madison gasped when she saw her best friend filled with cuts and bruises. She was singed from what must have either been one of the Water Turtle's attacks…or one of her own.

"Sakura…are you all right?"

Sakura didn't answer. Instead she looked out towards the distance and Madison saw just what she was looking for. Kero was still…depressed. He got up…and started to fly away.

"Kero, wait!" Sakura pleaded.

Without waiting for anyone else, Sakura ran after Kero, leaving everyone confused. Madison knew she obviously missed something. There was some sort of falling out between Sakura and Kero…and she wished she knew what it was about. Of course, everyone else saw that there was someone else who might have known exactly what was going on.

Sailor Jupiter sheepishly tried to walk out, but she didn't get far. Li was standing right in front of her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Well…I AM staying with Sakura," Jupiter tried saying. "So I'd better…"

"You know something," Li said coldly. "And you're not going anywhere until you tell us what's going on?"

Jupiter sighed. "I guess there's no point in hiding this anymore. It's…about something Sakura told me the other night."

By this time, Spinel Sun had changed back into his false form. Jupiter had everyone's undivided attention.

"What'd she tell you?" Madison asked.

Jupiter sighed again. "Sakura knows what she wants to wish for…when this is all over."

Silence.

"Well…what is it?" Eriol asked.

Jupiter closed her eyes and hung her head down. "She said…she wants to wish she never found the Clow Book."

Silence.

Everyone was completely shocked. Li looked mortified. Madison's jaw was hanging open. Eriol was in disbelief.

"She wants…what?" Eriol asked.

"To wish she never found the Clow Book…so she could have a normal life."

Everyone looked at each other. No one wanted to believe that that's what Sakura wanted. But from the way Kero was conducting himself, then it had to be true. Kero must have realized that if Sakura never found the Clow Book…then he would have never been released. Kero must have felt betrayed.

"She can't do that," Li said softly to no one in particular.

Madison didn't want to even think about what would happen if Sakura made that wish. She didn't forget that it was actually the discovery of the Clow Cards that brought them closer together. Their friendship actually became stronger when Sakura became a Cardcaptor.

There was more to it, though. Madison looked back…at Eriol. If Sakura had never become a Cardcaptor…Eriol would have never come into their lives. If she made that wish…Madison would be all alone. Was Sakura really going to do that?

"I have to find her!" Li suddenly shouted.

Li ran away, without waiting for anyone else to follow. Madison suddenly realized one more thing. One more VERY important thing. If Sakura never found the Clow Cards…would Li have ever come into their lives?

Those were all questions that had to be considered. But was Sakura even thinking…or was she blinded? Maybe Li could help her think straighter. Because Sakura couldn't go on and make that wish.


~--------------------~


"Kero, please wait!"

"Why should I?"

"Please talk to me, Kero!" Sakura pleaded.

Sakura finally caught up to Kero as he was flying down a lone empty street. She saw how hurt he was and Sakura desperately wanted to talk to him. If they were indeed down to their last few days, then Sakura didn't want them to be like this.

"What's there to talk about?" Kero said sourly. "You made your decision. I won't change your mind. I guess I'm just a little disappointed. I thought you cared about me."

"But I do care about you, Kero!" Sakura wailed. "This is just…something I have to do."

Kero stared coldly at Sakura. "You have to do it, huh? Then you'll understand why I'm not talking to you anymore. It'll be easier on the both of us if we just end our friendship right now." Kero sighed deeply. "I don't know who said it…but someone once said that with great power comes great responsibility. It's a shame. I thought you were stronger than this, Sakura. I thought…you could handle all the responsibility that came with being the Sakura Card Mistress. It's too bad I was wrong."

Sakura was almost in tears. Those words were hitting her hard. Sakura thought hard about what she was doing. Was she really turning her back on her responsibility? Was she taking the easy way out? She didn't know what to think…but Sakura didn't want to change her mind.

Sakura turned around and let a tear roll down her cheek. Kero was literally leaving her life…and she couldn't say anything to bring him back. And it didn't look like he was going to say anything, either.

"FIRE!!"

Sakura raised her head. That was an unusual word for Kero to say under these circumstances, but then Sakura saw the danger. She turned around and saw Kero right by the road's grass…which was on fire. Sakura wanted to believe this was all natural…but when she looked in front of her…she saw that it wasn't.

Sakura sweatdropped and her eyes dotted at the sight before her. She saw something rise from the ground…and breathe fire. It was a black Dragon…about five times her size.

"The F-F-Fire Dragon?"

Kero suddenly flew right by Sakura. "Good luck."

"Kero! Aren't you going to help me?"

"Why should I? Give me one good reason!"

Sakura tried to smile. "Because I want our friendship to end on a good note…with us fighting side-by-side."

Kero didn't look convinced, but Sakura's emerald green eyes were making a desperate plea. She wanted one last memory with her friend, Kero…despite the fact that Sakura would forget everything when the crystal quest was all over. The little guardian beast seemingly want to fly away…and spend his last few moments in peace…away from all contact.

But Kero sighed. "One more time…for old time's sake."

Kero's wings began to glow a faint color and that began the transformation. The guardian beast was changing into his true form. In moments, there was no Kero…there was only the guardian Keroberos.

Keroberos bent down and Sakura knew what it meant. She climbed onto the guardian's back and got ready for the next fight. The Dragon turned to face them and breathed a tremendous breath of fire, which Keroberos avoided by taking to the sky. Sakura stood up and went for her best defense.

"Water!"

The Water Card came out and rushed the Dragon, but without any nearby sources of water to control, Water could only try and attack the Dragon directly. That didn't go well. The Dragon was easily shrugging Water off. Seeing that Water wasn't faring well, Sakura recalled her and tried to regroup.

The Dragon tried firing off another round of fire. Keroberos couldn't move out of the way fast enough, but he used his shield barrier for protection.

"Sakura…look out there!"

Sakura looked out towards the distance and found the ocean. "It's water…but it's way too far away."

"There may be another way," Keroberos responded. "I can try and push the Dragon towards the ocean."

"How?"

"The Big Card!"

Sakura's face brightened. It was certainly worth a try. "Ok…we'll use the Big Card!"

With a solid game plan in mind, Sakura and Keroberos landed. Sakura jumped onto the ground and wasted no time taking out the Big Card.

"Big Card! Make Keroberos grow! Big Card! Release and dispel!"

The magic of the Big Card began to work on Keroberos. He was growing right before Sakura's eyes and when it was all over, he stood face-to-face and nose-to-nose with the large Fire Dragon. The huge guardian began to take big steps towards the Dragon; with each step covering a lot of ground. Sakura knew she wouldn't be able to keep up on her feet.

"Fly!"

Sakura released Fly and jumped on her wand, ready to move. But before she could go anywhere…

"Sakura!"

Sakura looked back to see Li running towards her…and he was by himself. Sakura flew over to him. "Li! What are you doing here?"

"What is that?" Li asked, ignoring Sakura's question.

"It's the Fire Dragon!" Sakura answered. "Hop on!"

Li didn't hesitate in getting on Sakura's wand. They both flew up and watched the ongoing battle between Keroberos and the Fire Dragon. They both unleashed a breath of fire. The attacks offset and that resulted in an explosion. Sakura and Li were almost blown away, but they managed to stay safe.

"What's he trying to do?" Li asked.

"He's trying to push the Dragon towards the ocean," Sakura replied. "But…it's not working too well."

Sakura felt helpless. There was nothing she could do. This was down to Keroberos versus the Dragon. Sakura couldn't intervene…or at least that's what she thought.

Keroberos decided to take to the air. He flew a foot off the ground and built up steam, leading to a tremendous tackle that knocked the Dragon backwards. The Dragon was stunned and Keroberos used that opportunity to begin pushing the Dragon towards the ocean. It was going great at first. The Dragon was being moved closer to the ocean and all it could do was blow fire into the sky. But as the Dragon inched close to the ocean, it started to regain its footing. There was now a standoff. Both Keroberos and the Dragon tried to push each other back, but there was a stalemate.

"I wish there was something I could do," Sakura said, as she flew closer to the scene.

Sakura knew that enough water would douse any fire the Dragon had within it. If only Keroberos could push it a little closer, but it looked like the Dragon had too much energy. It was standing its ground.

"Wait, I got it!" Li suddenly exclaimed. "What about the Wave Card?"

Sakura raised her head. That sounded like a solid game plan. And with the Dragon inching closer to the ocean and no homes around, it was sure to work without wreaking havoc. So Sakura reached in for the Wave Card.

"Wave Card! Rise and fall on the Dragon! Wave Card! Release and dispel!"

Sure enough, the ocean waters began to rise in a huge tidal wave. It was heading right for the Dragon. Keroberos saw it and took to the sky. The Dragon couldn't react fast enough. The wave buried it in water, leaving it significantly weakened. And that left Sakura with one more step to take.

"Freeze Card!"

Freeze came out in its massiveness and approached the weakened Dragon and it began to freeze in an enormous ice cube. The Dragon was out of it and that gave Sakura the chance she needed. She landed right beside the frozen Dragon.

"Return to thy form which thou should be…Fire Crystal!"

As big as it was, the Dragon soon shrank down to its crystal form. It was a red crystal that fit in the palm of Sakura's hand. And that should have been the end of her night. Sakura recalled all of her cards, including Big which let Keroberos shrink down to his normal size. Then the guardian changed back into his false form.

"Are you all right, Kero?" Sakura asked.

Kero…smiled. "I'm fine. I guess it was great…to do that one last time. I'm gonna miss it."

Sakura frowned. This big step was getting more and more difficult to make. But what made everything harder…was Li…who had a hold of Sakura's arm.

"We have to talk."

"About what?" Sakura asked, knowing exactly what he meant.

"You know what he means, Sakura."

That was Eriol. The rest of Sakura's friends were finally catching up and they must have seen the fight with the Fire Dragon. Sakura saw Eriol with Suppi, Madison, and…Sailor Jupiter.

"You weren't supposed to say anything," Sakura said…sounding betrayed.

"They had to find out, Sakura," Jupiter said. "When were you planning to tell them? When it was all over?"

Sakura tried to say something, but Li shook his head. Sakura stayed silent. She suddenly found herself speechless.

Li faced the rest of Sakura's friends. "Let's go back to Madison's house. But…when we get back…Sakura and I need to talk…alone."

Knowing that the couple had some things they needed to work out, everyone kept their distance…and let Sakura and Li walk in front…alone. They had a lot to talk about and Sakura knew she was going to hear it all.

But even Li couldn't change her mind…could he?


~--------------------~


Having seen the intense fight, Malachite watched on from the distance. The girl and her beast looked to be very formidable opponents who were very skilled. Malachite didn't know how many crystals they had, but they must have had a lot by now. Later on, though, something else got his attention.

The girl, the beast (who had changed into a stuffed animal), and what must have been her boyfriend were joined by a group of friends. Another young girl, another young man with a stuffed animal on his shoulder, and…Sailor Jupiter.

"The Scouts are still around," Malachite muttered to himself.

He knew exactly what that meant. Queen Beryl's fears were true. If Jupiter was still around, then that meant that the Negaverse WOULD eventually be taken down by the Sailor Scouts. And that meant that the only way to ensure victory for the Negaverse would be to take those eight crystals.

Malachite chuckled to himself. She was only one Sailor Scout. She couldn't possibly defeat him. And this other girl? She had most likely never met the likes of him…and she would never win.

That couldn't be the final crystal, but Malachite needed a head start. So while they walked out, it became clear that it was just about time…for him to show himself.

The fight was set to begin.


Next Time: Before Sakura and Li can get to that talk, Malachite reveals himself and there's a sudden fight for the crystals. Can Malachite be beaten? And where is the final Crystal Beast…and what does it look like?


Any comments? Go on and mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!