Summary: Laryngitis? Yes, Madison's barely recovering from a case of laryngitis. Sakura goes off to visit her best friend and begins to remember the last time Madison lost her voice (or rather had it stolen from her).
Key (For old time's sake):
"~* Thoughts *~" = Thoughts
"[Name:]" = Character Voiceover
Episode 41- Recalling Voice and a Mute Nightingale
Sakura wanted to be over at Madison's house bright and early. When Li told her that Madison had laryngitis, Sakura wanted to be there for her. Madison was feeling better thanks to some nurturing from her friends. Now that Madison was feeling a little better, Sakura wanted to go see her.
Sakura walked right through the door and was greeted by Sonomi. After the greetings were exchanged, Sakura walked up the flight of stairs and finally walked into Madison's room. Sakura's heart almost broke when she saw the sad look on Madison's face.
"Madison…do you feel any better?"
Madison shook her head. "I'm…fine. I'm just…thinking back."
Kero stuck his head out of Sakura's pocket. "About what?"
There was a brief silence before Madison said something else. Whatever this was, it must have been a sensitive subject.
"I hoped this wouldn't ever happen again. I hoped I wouldn't ever lose my voice again."
Sakura frowned. "I know what you mean. Do you remember the last time it happened?"
Madison nodded. "How could I forget?"
Sakura sweatdropped. "Oh…right. I'm sorry."
Madison smiled. "It's ok. Everything turned out fine then and I'll be fine now. It's not so bad."
"Still, though," Sakura sighed. "I was so scared when that happened. It tore me apart to see you like that."
Madison hung her head down. "That was the saddest part of that whole ordeal…seeing you so depressed…blaming yourself."
"Well, I should have seen it coming," Sakura pointed out. "I should have been there. Instead, the Clow Card just slipped right by me…"
~--------------------~
Flashback: Reedington Elementary
P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon
Sakura was in a great mood today. The cheerleaders were out practicing, but their focus was elsewhere. After practice, the cheerleaders all agreed to go watch the choir practice. Sakura was especially excited about watching Madison, who had such a beautiful singing voice.
Madison and the rest of the choir had a recital coming up and they were preparing for it. Sakura gave Madison plenty of encouragement, but earlier she ran into Ms. Mackenzie. The enigmatic teacher said something about tough times being ahead for Madison. Sakura had no idea what she meant. Madison was such a good singer. What trouble could she get in?
Sakura's eyes were elsewhere at that moment. On the other side of the fence, Tori and Julian were in the middle of a soccer game. And just then…Julian scored.
Sakura jumped up. "YEA!!" Unfortunately, her pompom flew out of her hand and over the fence.
Sakura shook her head and climbed over the fence. She bent down to pick up her pompom…and was spotted.
"Hi, Sakura!"
Sakura raised her head and smiled bashfully. "Hi, Julian!"
"Cheerleading practice?"
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I just…lost my pompom."
Of course, Tori was there, too, and he just HAD to put in his two cents. "It's a good thing it was a pompom and not your baton. Or else it might have fallen on your head again."
Sakura frowned. "Tori!"
"Your head must be as hard as a rock, squirt," Tori grinned. "How else could it take so much punishment from your baton?"
Sakura scowled. Tori just had to be such a…big brother.
Julian looked back. "Um, good luck with practice, Sakura. Tori and I have to go."
"Ok," Sakura smiled. "Good luck, Julian."
Sakura just stood and watched as Julian walked off back to the soccer field. Her eyes wouldn't have left Julian…but her ears started to hear something more appealing. It was Madison…and she was singing. Sakura turned around and sighed dreamily.
~* So beautiful. Her voice is so beautiful. *~
That's when a shadow flew over Sakura's head. Sakura looked into the sky to see something unusual flying through the air. That's when Sakura started to get that sense.
~* It feels like a Clow Card. And it's heading…for the school. *~
The Clow Card WAS heading for the school and it did reach its destination. And much to Sakura's horror, when the Clow Card got into the school, Madison's voice was cut off.
~* NO!!! *~
"MADISON!!!"
In the blink of an eye, Sakura scaled the fence, dashed passed the other cheerleaders, and ran straight for the music room. When she got there, she found Madison on her knees breathing heavily. Sakura's heart broke and she ran over to her best friend.
"Madison! Are you all right?"
Madison shook her head.
"Madison…what happened? Speak to me!"
Madison opened her mouth and tried to say something…but there was only silence. She struggled to get any words out, but there was nothing. Not even a weak squeak.
Sakura gasped. "You lost your voice…"
~----------~
[Kero: And she's not kidding when she said she was torn up. I still remember what happened when she came home that day…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: Sakura's Room
P.O.V.: Kero
Kero had just woken up from a long nap, but quickly found himself feeling bored. But he knew that Sakura would be coming through that door any second. Kero was getting hungry and he was waiting for that moment when Sakura would walk in and hand him a snack.
At that moment, Sakura DID come through the door. Kero didn't feel any happier, though. Because Sakura had tears in her eyes and she immediately plopped down on her bed and buried her face in her pillow.
"Sakura?" Kero asked softly. He flew over and put a gentle paw on the sobbing Sakura's shoulder. "What's wrong? Bad day at school?"
"Madison lost her voice!" Sakura sobbed. "And it's all my fault!"
That caught Kero off guard. "Whoa! Wait a second! Madison lost her voice? How did that happen?"
Sakura dried her tears and sniffled. "I-I climbed over the fence to get my pompom and I saw something flying over my head. And I s-started to sense something. Then…Madison's voice was cut off. When I got to her…she couldn't speak. She lost her voice. It's horrible, Kero!"
"What happened then?" Kero asked. "Did Madison go home?"
"The bodyguards came and picked her up," Sakura answered. "She went to the doctor and the doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong. Madison hasn't been able to say a word."
Kero's demeanor turned somber. "Then what you sensed was probably a Clow Card."
"This is all MY fault!" Sakura cried. "I should have done something! I should have sealed it!" Sakura went right back to burying her face in her pillow and sobbing.
~* I wish there was something I could say. Come on, Kero, THINK! There can't be that many Clow Cards left. Which one could it be? Hmm…hmm…could it be…? YES! *~
"This sounds like the Voice Card!" Kero said.
Sakura raised her head again. "The Voice Card?"
"The Voice Card takes the most beautiful voice it can find…and steals it. It must have liked Madison's voice, so it stole it."
"That's awful!" Sakura huffed. Then Sakura started pondering something. "You know, Kero…I heard Ms. Mackenzie tell me earlier that Madison might face some tough times. Do you think she meant this?"
Kero looked at Sakura curiously. "Are you saying your teacher saw this coming?"
Sakura blinked. "I…don't know."
~* There's something about that teacher. Could she possess magic, too? Or is she just weird? *~
~----------~
[Kero: Sakura didn't smile at all that day. Her mind was on you the whole time, Madison.]
[Madison: I didn't want you to feel sad, Sakura. Because…it hurt me to see you like that. When you came over with Li, I just felt so sad when I saw you, I was ready to cry…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: Madison's Room
P.O.V.: Madison Taylor
Madison didn't go to school that day. It would be far too awkward to show up unable to speak at all. There was more to it, though. Madison could feel that Sakura was blaming herself about this and that hurt her. She wanted Sakura to know that it wasn't her fault. She couldn't have seen this coming.
Also, Madison's mother was worried sick. She asked Madison if she felt any pain or had any fever. Madison felt nothing. It was just her voice and Madison tried to assure her mother that she was fine, but she wouldn't buy any of it. Deep down, Madison knew Sakura wouldn't buy it either.
Just then, unexpectedly, Madison's door came open. It was Sakura…and Li.
~* They came together? I wonder… *~
Sakura's expression was solemn. "Madison…do you feel any better?"
Madison shook her head.
Sakura sniffled. "You still can't speak, can you?"
Madison shook her head again. And just as Madison feared, Sakura started to cry.
"This is all my fault," Sakura sobbed. "This never should have happened. I should have sealed that Clow Card sooner. If only I had seen it, none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry!"
Madison reached for her notepad and wrote something down. She showed the notepad to Sakura which read:
"Please don't be sad. I can't stand to see you like this. It makes me feel sad, too."
Sakura reached for Madison's hand. "Madison…I promise you…no matter what I have to do…I'll seal that card before the competition. I promise!"
~* There's so much I want to tell you. I wish I had a voice to tell you…to cheer up. *~
The door opened again. This time, it was Madison's mother. She saw Madison and Sakura, but she also saw Li.
"I haven't met you," she said.
Li stood up and introduced himself. "My name's Li Shoran."
"I'm Madison's mother. It's nice to meet you." Then Sonomi looked over at Sakura. "Hi, Sakura! Let me get you kids something to drink."
Sakura stood up and politely offered her assistance. "Let me help you."
In a way, this was the opportunity Madison was waiting for. With Sakura helping her mother, Madison was alone with Li Shoran…who was looking at Sakura.
~* Ok, Li…now it's time for me to get some answers. *~
Madison reached for her notepad and wrote:
"You're always watching Sakura."
Li's cheeks turned red. "Um…uh…what?"
Madison then wrote:
"You like her…don't you?"
Li gulped and stuttered. "Um…uh…y-you don't know what y-you're t-talking about."
Madison gave Li a nagging look. She didn't like that he was hiding his feelings. Just then, Sakura came back in.
"Li?"
"AAH!" Li nearly jumped when he heard Sakura's voice. That was enough to convince Madison that there was more to this that he was letting on.
"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked, completely oblivious to the 'conversation' Li and Madison shared.
Li hesitated. "Um…no…nothing's wrong."
~* LIAR! Why can't you just admit it? *~
Li quickly tried to change the subject. "D-Did Kero say anything about the Voice Card?"
Sakura nodded. "He said that Voice took Madison's voice because it liked it. And he said that Voice will just keep collecting voices and it'll hide from its victims."
"So we have to find Voice," Li said bluntly.
Sakura's eyes were filling with tears again. "B-But I have no idea where to find it!"
Madison's heart was breaking when she saw Sakura start crying again. Her best friend was falling apart before her very eyes and she couldn't stand it.
~* Sakura…please stop crying! I don't want to see you like this! It's only me! I'm not important! *~
Madison reached for her notepad and wrote:
"Please cheer up!"
Sakura only continued sobbing. "How can I? This is EXACTLY what I was afraid of! I knew something like this would happen since the first day I became a Cardcaptor! I knew I would be putting everyone I ever cared about at risk! And when the Clow Card found out who I was, I KNEW things would only get worse! And now look what's happened?
"What if I NEVER find Voice? What if you never get your voice back? I'll never be able to live with myself! I never wanted to get you mixed up in this, Madison! I didn't want you to get hurt! But I failed! This is the SECOND time I've put you in the face of danger! I still can't forget when you risked yourself to help me seal the Song Card! And now things have gotten even worse! HOW CAN I CHEER UP?!?! YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND!! I DIDN'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN!!"
~* You…really feel that way about me? Oh, Sakura… *~
Li suddenly got an idea. "That's it! The Song Card!"
Sakura looked at Li curiously. "The Song Card?"
"The Song Card copied Madison's voice exactly," Li explained. "And if Voice hears the voice it stole, then that means…"
Sakura's face brightened. "It means it'll try to steal it again. And I can seal it!"
By this time, Madison was smiling also, something she hadn't done since this horrible experience started. Madison was filled with hope.
~* Maybe this'll work. What am I saying? I believe in you, Sakura. I KNOW this'll work. *~
Sakura reached for her key. "Key of Clow. Power of magic. Power of light. Surrender the wand. The force, ignite. Release!"
Sakura held her wand as Li went over and opened the window. Madison stood by the corner of the room while Sakura got ready to lay the bait.
Sakura winked at Madison before releasing Song. "Song Card! Deliver the most supreme singing voice! Song Card! Release and dispel!"
~* Supreme singing voice? Oh, Sakura…thank you. *~
Song came out and began to sing in Madison's voice. It was a sound that Madison sorely missed. It was only a brief wait, but Voice suddenly rushed in through the window in its visible form. Voice noticed that this was all a setup and tried to escape, but Li shut the window. Voice was trapped.
Sakura approached Voice with a scowl on her face. "You're going to give my best friend her voice back! Now return to your power confined! Voice Card!"
When Voice was sealed, Madison could feel something flowing within her. She felt as if…an empty part of her soul was being filled. Madison fell to her knees and closed her eyes…just like when this all started.
Sakura walked up to Madison. "Madison…?"
Madison raised her head…and opened her mouth. "……………Sakura?"
Sakura gave Madison an emotional hug. "Thank goodness!"
Madison returned the hug and dried a tear of joy. "Thank you, Sakura."
~* You saved my voice, Sakura. Thank you so much. I just wish there was some way I can repay you. *~
Neither girl released the hug. Madison then thought of something.
~* Maybe there IS a way! *~
~----------~
[Sakura: I remember how you repaid me. It's something I've always treasured in my heart.]
[Madison: I'm glad you remember…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: Reedington Elementary
P.O.V.: Madison Taylor
To say Madison didn't have butterflies in her stomach would be a lie. She was so nervous about the recital, but for more reasons than one. She was so happy to have her voice back and now was her chance to shine like she had never shone before. But what made Madison even more nervous…was the presence of Sakura. She was right beside to wish her luck.
"Sakura…" Madison began. "Thanks again…for helping me."
Sakura smiled. "You're my best friend. I'd do anything for you. Good luck, Madison."
Madison smiled, too. "I'm dedicating this song to you, Sakura. I hope you like it."
That's when the introduction came. It was time for Madison to take the stage and begin her performance. And what a performance it was.
Sunshine dances between the clouds
And pours into the plains…
The season has just begun
I run up to the voice of my friend
And there, as I turn to her
Is always her smiling face
Where the brightest sun always shines
As I walk in the street in the freezing winter
You encourage me naturally
And helped me so many times
Like you…Just like you
I want to be someone who can give courage to others
When the song was over, Madison received a standing ovation, especially from her friends…and especially from Sakura…which warmed her heart.
~* That was for you, my friend. If you only knew how much I truly love you… *~
~--------------------~
"I've never forgotten that song, Madison," Sakura smiled. "Thank you."
"Anytime," Madison replied, her voice still a little hoarse.
"I'd better go before Eriol gets here," Sakura grinned. "I'll call you later."
"Ok. Thanks for visiting, Sakura."
Sakura walked out, leaving Madison in her room alone. Madison started to think about those last thoughts. Yes, Madison did feel something for Sakura. She once felt something…more than just friendship.
It wasn't until a few years after that day, though…that Madison Taylor came clean about her true feelings.
But that's a story for another day.
Any comments? I loved working with this chapter so much. Damn you, Nelvana! WHY WON'T YOU LET HER SING?! Oh, well. If you have anything to say, then tell me by reviewing below. I really want your feedback, because I worked hard on this chapter!
