Summary: After lunch, Sakura, Madison, and Li go back in and try to get their minds off the heat wave…by recalling a particularly cold Clow Card.


Episode 40- Recalling Snow and a Special Christmas Present


The heat wasn't letting up. It was still a cool hundred degrees outside. Sakura envied Kero, who was having a cool time inside Madison's mini-fridge. By the time everyone had lunch, they were ready to pass out.

"I can't take this anymore," Sakura moaned. She sighed as she eyed the mini-fridge where Kero was.

Li and Madison tried to pass the time by looking through the scrapbook again. They had their eyes on one specific picture and they weren't turning the page. Sakura got curious and looked over to see a picture of Sakura…stuck inside the snow. Only her head and arms could be seen as the rest of her body was buried in several feet of snow.

"I'd give anything to see the snow again," Sakura smiled.

"You weren't so happy back then," Li pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I think I know what he means," a voice said from behind the mini-fridge door. Sakura opened the mini-fridge and let Kero out. He took a seat on Sakura's shoulder. "He means that…well…you scared us that day, Sakura. Don't you remember what happened when you went up against the Snow Card?"

Sakura didn't know what the guardian beast meant at first. Then it finally came to her. "Yeah…I remember. But…I had a reason to be mad that day. That day wasn't supposed to end that day. It started off just like any other day…except I was starting a new school year. And when I sensed that Clow Card…I knew it should have gone like any other capture…"


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


Flashback: Penguin Park (Snowed In)

P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon

Finally, after days of being nagged relentlessly by Kero, Sakura finally sensed a Clow Card. But then again, who wouldn't notice it? The whole town was covered in snow…even though snow was out of season. Now all that remained was to find it, so Sakura picked up Madison and they both went searching on Fly.

Madison was content with her latest costume for Sakura: a cute pink parka with bunny ears. Sakura thought it looked cute, too. Sakura looked for a place to land while Madison contentedly got the awesome view of the ground on tape. Sakura then settled on the giant penguin in Penguin Park. They landed safely and Sakura recalled Fly. Unfortunately…when Sakura fell to the ground…she plopped down in several feet of snow.

"Are you all right?" Madison asked.

Kero shook his head. "Sakura, this is no time to be playing in the snow."

"I'm stuck!" Sakura wailed. "I can't get out!"

Seizing the opportunity, Madison took a quick snapshot.

"MADISON!! DON'T take a picture of that!!"

After a quick snicker, Kero decided to help out and tried to pull Sakura out. While Sakura was being pulled out, she saw two others had joined them. Li and Meilin were standing in front of the buried Sakura.

After the usual greetings were exchanged, Sakura suddenly noticed something. "Hey, why aren't you two buried in the snow?"

Meilin grinned. "It's because of Li's superior powers."

"Have you tried using the Float Card?" Li suggested dryly.

"KNOW-IT-ALL!!" Kero growled, accidentally dropping Sakura back in the snow in the process.

It sounded like it just might work, so Sakura would go on to use Float…whenever she got out of the snow.

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

[Li: But that wasn't what scared me. It was…a little later.]

[Sakura: I had a good reason.]

[Li: But you should have seen yourself…]


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


Flashback: Penguin Park (A few minutes later)

P.O.V.: Li Shoran

It was the strangest thing when Li saw the whole town being buried in snow. Sure, Meilin would go on about his 'superior powers', but he didn't want to admit at first that he didn't see this coming. Maybe Sakura did, though. That's what he had to find out.

"I knew it was the Snow Card," Li began. "But…I never sensed it."

"Me neither," Sakura concurred. "I probably should have, though…after talking to Ms. Mackenzie. It was like she sensed what was going to happen."

"What?" Kero asked. "You mean your teacher sensed this Clow Card?"

"I knew it," Li growled. "She's not who she seems."

Sakura frowned. "She was just trying to help."

~* She doesn't get it. How could she? *~

Before Li could argue this further, there was a huge snowstorm. A tornado formed.

"It's the Snow Card!" Li shouted.

"Madison!" Sakura cried out. "Are you all right?!"

"I think so!" Madison called back. "But…I can't…get this on tape!"

Li and Sakura tried to get away from the tremendous blizzard, but they couldn't escape. The snow was sticking to Li and Sakura.

"It's following us!" Sakura shouted.

"Then let's move away from the girls!" Li suggested.

Through the blizzard, Sakura reached into her bunny costume and took out their only escape. "Fly!"

Sakura and Kero got on, but Li was reluctant…as usual. He just stood there staring at the wand.

"Get on!" Sakura snapped.

"Are we gonna go through this every time, kid?" Kero asked bitingly.

Li could see that he wouldn't be able to escape on his own, so he took his place on Sakura's wand and they started flying off away from Madison and Meilin. Just as they suspected, the blizzard was following them.

"At this rate, the whole town will be buried in snow," Kero pointed out.

~* He's right. I hope this works. *~

Li reached for his sword. "Now, element: Fire!"

It was a good idea for Li to try his fire spell, but it wasn't working. The blizzard was still going on strong.

"It's not working!" Li gasped.

"We need something more powerful!" Kero noted.

"Look out!" Sakura shrieked. "Hang on!"

The blizzard had caught up to them. Sakura, Li, and Kero desperately held on for dear life. Li could have sworn he was going through a spin cycle. The slid through the blizzard until they finally escaped its wrath. When they did escape, Li felt dizzy. The Snow Card was a lot more powerful than any of them had anticipated.

"What about the Fiery Card?" Li suggested.

"It's too powerful!" Kero replied. "We can't risk it."

"AAAAAHHH!!"

"What?" Li asked in response to Sakura's sudden scream. "What is it?"

"My watch is gone!" Sakura cried.

Kero groaned. "Sakura, we don't have time to worry about your watch!"

Sakura hung her head down dejectedly. "That Snow Card took my brand new wristwatch."

Li growled. "Avalon, we have a real problem here!!"

Sakura turned her head angrily. "I'M USING THE FIERY CARD!!!!!"

Li gulped nervously. When Sakura uttered those words, he could literally see a flame igniting in her eyes. It was like nothing he had ever seen.

~* I've never seen her like this. I've never seen Sakura so…angry. She's always been so…calm and innocent. Is this watch THAT important to her? *~

Sakura landed in a very familiar looking roof. Sakura, with that flame still burning in her eyes, reached in and took out Fiery.

"Fiery Card! I command you to thaw all the snow! Fiery Card! Release and dispel!"

Fiery came out and he was just as powerful as Kero had described. Fiery thawed out practically every inch of snow in the town and lastly striking that blizzard. When Fiery's work was done, all that remained was a white spirit.

"Sakura," Kero called. "The Snow Card's visible form."

Sakura nodded. "And it's about to be captured." Sakura raised her wand. "Snow Card! Return to your power confined!"

Sakura successfully sealed Snow…and the whole town was just as it was before. There was an eerie silence that followed.

"Now we know what happens when Sakura gets angry," Kero mumbled.

"That was a great capture, Sakura," Li said.

Silence. Sakura hung her head down.

~* There's something she isn't telling me. Was there something about that watch? What was it about losing that watch that enraged her so much? *~

Sakura, as if she read Li's thoughts, spoke up. "That watch…was a gift…from a friend. I swore I'd never take it off."

Li finally understood. "Look…I'm really sorry."

**BONG**

It was a familiar gong. Li saw that Ms. Mackenzie was here and he finally recognized where he was. This was the roof of the temple. Instinctively, Li stood in front of Sakura.

"It's ok, Li. There's nothing to worry about. Something was lost…and now it's being returned."

Ms. Mackenzie revealed in her hand…a wristwatch.

Sakura's face brightened. "My watch! Thank you so much! But…how did you know it was mine?"

Ms. Mackenzie smiled. "I had a feeling. It's pretty late. You should get some sleep. After all, there's still school tomorrow."

And once again, keeping that aura of mystery around her, Ms. Mackenzie…walked away. Li couldn't stop glaring at her. And he couldn't help but notice the smile on Sakura's face.

~* If only Sakura knew the truth. There's something different about this woman. *~

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


Sakura was desperately fanning herself. The story didn't help much. Sure, recalling the snow sounded like a nice idea at the time. And it was kinda nice to recall those memories, but it didn't help them get any cooler.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," Li grinned.

Madison almost cringed at the thought of a vengeful Sakura. "Maybe its better I missed that capture."

Sakura smiled as she looked at those pictures again. The scrapbook really did bring back so many memories. They almost got her mind off the heat. Then again, things could have been much worse.

Madison smiled. "Well…at least you're not buried in the snow…like in the picture."

Sakura shook her head at that picture. She almost wished she could be in the snow. If only it wasn't the summertime.


Any comments? I kept this one a little short, because I want to focus on the next chapter. Come back and see it. In the meantime, if you have anything to say, then review below and tell me!