Authors Notes: Be prepared for a brand spankin new story to come out soon called 'Moon Lily'

Darkness

By: Sakura1301

Chapter 6 Revealed Secrets

Sakura laid in her bed. She turned to her clock. It read 3:24 A.M. She turned back to facing the ceiling. 'I wish it wasn't so hot. I feel like im in an oven. But...my hands are freezing! And my feet. And why is my throat so itchy?!' Sakura sat up. She looked towards her little desk drawer where little Kero slept. 'I wonder if Kero feels the same. I can't wait till we go camping today! This is going to be so fun! I think...' She stood up and headed towards the the door. "Water." She said to her self.

Down the hall, she passed her brothers room and peered in. She had forgotten that he wasn't there. That he was over at Yuki's to study for several tests coming up. She was all alone. Then she passed her mothers old room. The door was closed. She felt tired already. She wiped the sweat from her head and continued to get a glass of water.

She took a deep breath after she finally reached the kitchen. She looked toward the cupboard. Everything around her started to spin. She reached out and grabbed the edge of the counter for balance as her other hand went to her head. She hung her head and closed her eyes as she tried to rid herself of her dizziness. Nothing. Her head kept spinning. What was wrong with her? She looked up and everything kept spinning. She groaned. "Whats...wrong with...me? Why is my head hurting like this?" She staggered and dropped to her knees and gasped for air. She looked up. Her head started throbbing. Finally, everything grew hazy and she fell over, unconscious.

~Morning~

Tomoyo happily pranced up the steps of the Kinomoto's house. She smiled. "Well, Sakura's probably not even up yet knowing her. So i've decided to come over early to get her ready and give her the newest outfit i've made for her!" Tomoyo said to Li who had followed her. "I have a feeling that something is wrong...." Li said. Tomoyo laughed. "Hohoho! Don't be so silly! Nothing's wrong!" Tomoyo lightly knocked on the door. A minute passed. "I was sure that Touya or Mr. Kinomoto was already up. It's only 5:00." Li sweatdropped. "Tomoyo, todays a holiday. Nobody wakes up this early on holidays." She glared at him. "So what your saying is that your not awake also." Another sweatdrop. "Thats not what I meant. Oh, nevermind." Tomoyo smiled and patted his head. "I knew you would see things my way." He sighed.

After a few minutes, both started to get worry. "What do you think is taking so long Li?" He shrugged. "Im not sure. But, we're about to find out." Tomoyo was in confusion. "We are?" He nodded. He pulled out an Ofuda and chanted a few words in chinese. Suddenly, it flew towards the door and latched itself to the lock. Then, a click could be heard. He looked at her. She nodded. He slowly took hold of the door knob and turned. The door opened with relative ease. They both entered as quietly as possible. They looked around. "Lets search the house. If you find anything unusual, come find me or something. I'll do like wise." Li said. Tomoyo nodded then both split up. Tomoyo searched downstairs while Li searched upstairs.

After about a minute, Li heard Tomoyo call his name in an urgent way. "Li! I found Sakura! Something's wrong with her!" He felt his heart stop. He raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Tomoyo! Where's Sakura?!" "Down here with me. I think something's wrong with her...." He bent down to her level. "Let me see." He pressed the back of his hand onto her forehead. He pulled it away as if it was on fire. "She's burning up. She has a fever." Tomoyo's face turned really sad. "And today we were supposed to go camping too..." She sighed. "Here. Let me take her to her room. I don't think you can carry her." She nodded and handed Sakura to Li. Li lifted her into his arms and stood up. Tomoyo stood up also. "Kawaii...." She said with stars in her eyes. He sweatdropped. "Tomoyo, I don't think this is the time to be gawking at us." She giggled. "Don't be so ridiculous! This is such a kawaii moment! I wish I had my camera..."

Both set Sakura into her bed and covered her up. Suddenly, Li's anger flared. He stomped over to her desk and jerked the bottom drawer open. There lay a sleeping Kero. He grit his teeth together as he reached for the 'stuffed animal.' Then, with great speed, he jerked it out of it's small 'house.' "Stupid stuffed animal! Wake up! You supposed to be taking care of Sakura! Your her guardian!" Kero's eyes opened only to come face to face with a pissed 'brat.' "What are you doing here you gaki?" A blood vain popped out of Li's head. "Tell me this, stuffed animal, why weren't you watching Sakura?!" Kero became fully alert. "What happened to her?! Is she okay?! If you did anything to her, I swear i'll..." "Can it doll! I don't want to hear this! You suppose to protect her! Not let her..." By this time, Kero was already by her side on the bed. "Sakura?" "Don't leave....don't leave me..." She mumbled in her sleep. Kero sighed. "She'll be okay." "And how do you know Kero?" Tomoyo asked. "Remember, she's the most powerful sorceress in the world!" Tomoyo nodded. Li crossed his arms. "Even powerful sorcerers die from sicknesses, ya know." Kero nodded. "Yeah. I haven't forgotten. Clow died that way. But...this sickness just doesn't seem right...something's definently wrong...like it's out of place...I must find Yue. He must know about this." Tomoyo nodded.

Li and Tomoyo stood at Sakura's side while Kero went in search of Yue.

Soon, one hour passed. Sakura was still burning up, and getting worse.

Then, a second hour passed. No Kero yet. Tomoyo stood up from the chair she was sitting in. "Li, could you watch over her till I get back. I have to find my mom and ask her if we could postpone the camping trip. She said she had a few things to do. So, i'll be back as soon as I can. Oh, and, be a good boy. Don't do anything naughty! Ohohoho!" She said just for fun. His cheeks turned a deep red. Just as Tomoyo was about to leave, Sakura groaned and gripped her head. Tomoyo stopped and looked back at her best friend. "I'll hurry." And she ran out. He turned his attention back to the sleeping Sakura. 'I wish I could help. She looks as if she's in pain...' His thoughts trailed off as she started to mumble. "Why? Please, I beg of you, don't leave..." He placed a hand on her cheek and brushed the hair out of her face. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay. I promise."

~Dream Sequence~

"I said don't leave! Wait! At least wait for me!" Sakura ran and ran further into the darkness, chasing after a fading image. Finally, it faded. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. "Why are you doing this?" Suddenly, the surrounds around her shifted. The darkness turned into a meadow of flowers. Then, in the distance, she saw two figures. "Who's that?" She started walked towards the two figures.

"Why are you leaving? Did I do something to offend you?" Sakura said to the Li that stood in front of her. The real Sakura stared at her image. Was that really her? Of course not. But, what was going on?

"Do I have to repeat myself? I told you, I can't tell you. I have a reason, it's just that...just that...just keep your nose out of my business! It's none of your concern!" The Li yelled. Just then, the projection of the real Sakura started to float towards the real Sakura. Sakura was going to step back, but too late. Her other self had went inside of her, and suddenly, Li turned towards her. "Just keep out of my business." Suddenly, a rush of sadness overwhelmed her. "But..." He shot her a glare. "Im going to Hong Kong and thats final! Im sick and tired of looking at you!" She felt tears well up in her eyes.

Suddenly, Li disappeared. She grabbed a fist full of her dress as she frowned. "I don't believe him. It's not true. IT'S NOT TRUE!" Suddenly, a voice spoke to her. "Is it not true? Does thou not believe what thou hast heareth?" "Who are you?" "If thou wishes to find the truth, find me." "But, how do I know it's you that I find?" "Thou will know. Now go and findeth me before it is too late..." "But.." "Before it is too late..." And the voice faded. Then determination flew threw her as she released her shirt and broke into a run towards the forest that laid ahead.

~Sakura's bedside~

Li held her hand tightly as her chest heaved up and down and sweat covered her forehead. By this time, Yue, Kero, Tomoyo, and Eriol had arrived.

"We must hurry before Touya wakes up. If he does wake up, and find me missing, he'll grow suspicious." Yue said. Kero shot him a glare. "Yue. Your mistress is in need of us and all you can think about is Touya waking up?" Yue shook his head. "No. It's not that. If Touya wakes up, he might come back here. Then what do you think he will do when he sees all of these people here?" Kero nodded. "I see what you mean." Eriol spoke up. "This is not natural. Something is doing this to her. But what?" Everyone was silent. Finally, Kero broke the silence. "If we don't do something soon, she'll die! She's getting worse by the minute!" Tomoyo gulped. "Eriol! Do something! Your Clow Reed's reincarnation!" She said as she gripped his shirt. "Half reincarnation." He corrected. "Whatever is doing this to her has magic, and strong magic at that. It somehow feels like a card..." Everyones head turned towards him, except for Sakura's. A bead of sweat ran down his face as he continued. "I just remembered something that Clow Reed had accidentally done to the cards that might be the result of this." He sweatdropped as he continued to speak. "Apparently, Clow had died before he could complete the Life and Death cards. As a result," He gulped, "he didn't get to put up a barrier of their powers before he died. So..." "Just spit it out Hiiragizawa!" Li yelled. "The cards....They can...sorta...create their own cards." Everyone did an animefall. Li jumped to his feet and grabbed Eriol by the collar. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY CAN CREATE THEIR OWN CARDS?!" Eriol adjusted his glasses as he sweatdropped. "The only way for the Life and Death cards can create a new card or cards is if they cooperate with eachother...and that possibility is a 50/50 chance." Li glared at him. "You know Hiiragizawa, I used to think that you were a perfect person. Perfect at everything. Now, I see I was wrong. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT SAKURA'S DYING!!!" "There is also another catch..." Eriol said as he pulled Li off of him. "Since Clow did not create any of the cards that the Life and Death had made, she has to have a new sealing chant to seal them. She can tell if they are not the cards that Clow has created himself by their aura. All of the new cards have a midnight blue aura like mine. But the others...well, she'll know." Li sighed. "How can we save her then?" Li asked. "She's the only one that can seal the cards." Eriol nodded. "I must be leaving now. Touya will awake soon. Good luck." Yue said before he flew out of the window. "Some help he was." Kero mumbled.

"The only way to save her is to go into her mind and help her." "I'll do it." Li said. "You must hurry then. You must be in a calm state and concentrating on your destination. I'll do the rest." Li nodded. He closed his eyes and started his meditating. Eriol had called forth his staff and started to chant. Slowly, a blue glow could be seen around him and a green one around Li. "Look Kero. Their glowing..." Tomoyo said in awe. Kero nodded. "Eriol's transmitting Li's soul into Sakura's." 'That gaki better do it or else i'll kill him.' Kero thought.

~Inside Li~

"Hurry Li. Hurry before it's too late. If she dies with you in her, you die as well. So hurry before it is too late." "I understand Eriol. Just get me there and I'll do the rest." "I trust you Li. Don't fail us, yourself...don't fail Sakura." "Don't worry. I won't fail."

~Sakura's Dream~

"What is this place?" Li found himself in a meadow full of flowers. "Some meadow I think." He looked around. "Where is she?" He then heard a voice in the distance. "Please! Come out! Im tired of searching!" It was coming from the forest. He ran in that direction.

Sakura panted as she ran through the forest. Her legs felt as if they were lead and were trying to weigh her down. "Please come out!" She then decided to stop for a rest. She dropped to her knees. "I can't keep this up. This is impossible." Just then, a bright flash of light lit the area. She covered her eyes until it faded. She looked up. She gasped. Before her was her mother. "Mother? Is that really you?" The figure nodded. It waved it's hand towards itself, signaling for her to come. Sakura nodded. She stood and walked towards it. It started to float backwards and further into the forest. "Mother! Don't go! Wait! Wait for me!" She ran after it.

Li kept his pace going. Her aura was just ahead. Not much further. Then he heard her yell. She was closer than he thought. He sped up. He had to get to her before it was too late.

~Sakura's Room~

"Mother...don't leave also..." Sakura mumbled in her sleep. Tomoyo bit her bottom lip as she placed a cold towel on Sakura's forehead. "I hope Li succeeds. It's already been several hours since Li went to help Sakura. I hope everything is alright." Eriol nodded. "We can only pray for their safe return. It's all up to Li now. We can do nothing." Tomoyo sighed.

~Sakura's Dream~

'Im almost there. I can feel her aura...' Li thought as he continued through the forest.

"Please stop! Don't go!" Sakura ran and ran till she got to a clearing where little grass grew and where dirt lay. She stopped. "Mother..." The image of her mother had stopped moving.

Li finally came to the clearing where Sakura was. He stared at her. "Sakura! Stop! That's a cliff over there!" He watched her as she kept moving forward. If he let her keep walking, then she would surely walk over the cliff's edge! He ran forward after her.

"Mom...you waited, you really waited...don't worry, im coming mother! Im coming!" But before she could take the last step off of the cliff, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. "Sakura! What are you doing!" The mist that covered her eyes vanished. "Hoe?" She looked down over the cliff. "HOE! DON'T LET ME FALL! DON'T LET ME FALL!" She shrieked. He pulled her back over the edge. "What were you thinking?! You could of died!" Li yelled. "But...I saw my mother. She was waiting for me. She was telling to go to her..." "Do you really think that your mother would endanger you?!" He asked furiously. She slowly shook her head. "I guess not..." Her eyes misted over with tears as she buried her head into his shirt and wept. His eyes softened. "It's okay Sakura. Everything's fine now." She lifted her head and wiped the tears and nodded. "Ready?" She looked at him with a baffled expression. "We got a card to capture." Then she understood. "Yeah." She pulled out her key. "Key that hides the forces of darkness, show your true form before me, I, Sakura command you under our contract, RELEASE!" And a bright, white light lit the area. When the light subsided, a pink wand appeared in her hand with a star at the top. "Return to the guist you were meant to be in, CLOW CARD!" And she brought the wand down to seal the card but....nothing happened. "What? It didn't work." Li nodded. This illusion of your mother is not a normal Clow Card. It's a card created by the Life and Death. The only way to seal it is with an appropriate sealing chant." Sakura nodded in understanding. "Card which created by LIFE and DEATH, return to your confinement of your master, SAKURA!" Then, a new symbol appeared under her feet. A symbol with the sun, stars, moon, and clouds. Then, a rectangle appeared near the face of the wand, and the image of her mother was sucked into the rectangle. Slowly, the card floated to her hand.

"It worked!" She cried in glee. Li looked over her shoulder to read the cards name. "The DECEPTION card. Good work Sakura." She smiled up at him. Suddenly, the ground started to shake and crumble. "Run! The grounds cracking!" Both broke into a run towards the forest and back from which they came. Hoping to not get caught in the breaking ground. Then, the ground in front of them opened up and swallowed them.

~Sakura's Bedroom~

"I wonder what's happening." Tomoyo said with concern in her voice. Then, in Sakura's palm, a white rectangle appeared. Then, the light faded to reveal the DECEPTION card. Eriol picked it up. "It seems they caught the card. But, Sakura's still has a fever. There must be another card also." "Another?!" Kero said in unison with Tomoyo. Eriol nodded. "Lets hope they catch this one with as much ease as the DECEPTION."

~Sakura's Dream~

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. Everything was fuzzy, then started to become clear again. She sat up and shook her head. "Where are we? Why is everything...oh no. Not here again. Im back where I first started." Then Li popped in her head. "Wheres Li?!" She stood up and frantically searched for him, turning her head from left to right. Then, finally, in the distance, she spotted him.

Li opened his eyes. His head felt like someone took a sludge hammer and hit him in the head with it. His head felt dizzy. And his body felt like every bone in his body was broken. He couldn't move. As he tried to stand, he heard foot steps coming towards him. He wanted to jump up and pull out his sword and get ready to protect himself, but then, he felt her aura. He relaxed. It was Sakura. She was not threat. He knew she wouldn't hurt him on purpose.

When Sakura finally reached Li, she lifted his upper body up and onto her lap. He looked pretty beat up. "Are you okay?" She asked as gently as she could. He tried to speak clearly, but it came out in a hoarse whisper. "Sakura. Are you okay?" She smile down at him and nodded. "Im fine. But what im really worried about is you. Look at you! Your all beat up! But...what happened back there?" She asked. "After you sealed the DECEPTION, all of the DECEPTIONS powers were sealed, and what we were in was DECEPTIONS power." He choked on his last sentence. "Shh. Don't talk now. Your in no condition to be doing anything. Just be still." And be still is exactly what he did. 'Ha! I knew she did care for me! I knew it I knew it I knew it!' He thought with joy.

She looked around her. Everything was a black void. Out of no where, a voice echoed throughout the void, but this time, it wasn't like DECEPTIONS. It was a sickening voice.

"Looky Looky at what I got here. It seems that 2 little brats have wondered into my trap. Hmm...I wasn't expecting to catch two kids. Oh well, you two will do." The last sentence sent shivers down Sakura's spine. "What do you mean by 'you two will do'?!" "Oh, nothing, except, im gonna drain all of your magical power card mistress and master!" Sakura was a bit puzzled. "Card Master?" She asked aloud. But no response. "Who are you?!" She asked. "Who am I? WHO am I?! Oh please, don't tell me you don't know! I am the card SICKNESS. I was created by the LIFE and DEATH card. And to them, I owe them my thanks. And I plan on repaying them, by getting rid of you two!" "In your dreams!" "Oh really? How about, in your dreams? This is where we are card mistress. In your dreams." "In...my...dreams?" "Did you not know that? How thick are you? Well, that wont matter much more." "Wha...?" Suddenly, the ground started to shake once again. And the rumbling sound was growing louder and louder by the second. When Sakura turned her head to see what the noise was, her heart stopped. Before her, sharp ice shards started to rise out of the ground in quick spikes. And it was coming straight for them!

~Sakura's Room~

On Sakura's dresser, the Sakura book started to glow. Everyone turned their attention towards the book. Then, it flew open and the cards started to float out in a single file and started to surround Sakura. "What's happening?" Tomoyo asked. "The cards are worried about their mistress." Eriol said. "And that can only mean one thing. Something bad is happening."

~Sakura's Dream~

Sakura quickly called her staff forth and drew out the fly card. "Fly!" And she hit it with the face of the star on her staff. A pair a light pink wings grew on her back and she took off, carrying Li with her. "Im sorry if this hurts Li. But if I left you down there, you would of died and that's for sure." She looked down to where they were last at. It was now covered with Ice shards. "At least we're safe." But as soon as she said that, all of the ice shards started to rise towards them at incredible speed. She pulled out the FLOAT and used it to keep Li afloat while she tried to seal the SICKNESS. Then, she pulled out the FIERY. "I hope I can use 3 cards at once. Well, its worth a shot. FIERY! Melt the ice!" And she hit the card with her staff. With a flash of light, the FIERY was out of it's confinement and heading towards the ice. As soon as it was almost upon the ice, the FIERY started to glow and the flames around it intensed greatly, thus, melting all of the ice around it. "FIERY, good work, return!" And the card sealed itself back into it's card form. She smiled as she placed it back into her pocket. The voice reappeared again. "Not bad. It seems its up to me to get rid of you." Then, a small, dark glowing figure appeared below them. "That must be the SICKNESS card." Slowly, she descended but stopped short when Li protested. "Sakura! Don't, it's a trap!" He said in a hoarse whisper. She smiled at him. "Don't worry. Soon, we'll be out of this nightmare." And she continued to descend.

Finally, when she was on the ground, she recalled the FLY card. She could finally, see the figures face. It looked like a very pale chinese man. His hair was black and in a bun at the back. But, his eyes were those of a cats, and his nails were as if they were knifes. The suit he wore was a red silk shirt with buttons down the middle and his pants were black and looked almost like Li's ceremonial pants. And his shoes were leather boots. He smiled at her. "Well, it seems you have more guts than I expected. Well, lets see if your up to the challenge." And he took a fighting stance. Sakura did the same and readied her wand. "Fine. Lets do it."

To be continued....

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Whew. That was a LONG chapter. Well, it seemed like it. Well, as you might of noticed, I used the old chant that Sakura used before she met Yue. I knew the other one, I just forgot it. So i'll just stick with this one. You probably hate me because this is a cliffhanger. Well, you'll just have to wait. And my newest story 'Moon Lily' is a fantasy. If you like Unicorns and things like that, Moon Lily is the story for you. Don't worry, it's S+S. If it doesn't sound good to you, at least read the first chapter. Thanks. Also, sorry if there's any mistakes. I usually don't have time to proof read them. Well, Ja!

Sakura1301