Summary: Li gets a phone call late at night. It's Sakura, who just had a nightmare. This gets them reflecting back on another certain dream Sakura's had.


Episode 44- Recalling the Dream Card and a Dream That Won't Go Away


**RING**

Li moaned and stirred towards his phone. It was late and he was trying to get some sleep. He couldn't imagine who would be calling him this late at night. But he couldn't let that phone keep ringing, so he picked it up.

"Um…hello?"

"Li? It's Sakura."

"Sakura? It's 12:30. Why are you calling so late?"

"I can't sleep. I just had a nightmare and I'm feeling a little shaken up."

Li couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's it? You called me over a nightmare?"

"What do you mean 'That's it'? Li, that nightmare scared me! And I don't want to wake my dad or Tori, so…"

"So you woke ME instead?"

"Oh, Li…if you want to be that way, then I'll just hang up."

"No, it's ok. I'm sorry. It's just that I get a little grouchy when somebody calls this late. But Sakura, I thought you'd be stronger than this. You've seen weird dreams before."

Silence. Sakura knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Oh…you mean…"

"Yeah. And do you remember when you were actually IN your dream?"

"Yeah…I remember when that happened. But I wasn't the only one seeing dreams that day, was I?"

Li suddenly realized he set himself up. "Oh…yeah…you mean that."

"Yeah. Remember, Li?"

"That was the weirdest thing I had ever seen up to that point. And it wouldn't have happened if…I hadn't stepped out for a minute…"


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


Flashback: The Movie Theater

P.O.V.: Li Shoran

Li almost dozed off. This wasn't his idea of a good movie and surprisingly, the stuffed animal, who had managed to stay inconspicuous throughout the day, agreed with him. The idea of a romantic movie just didn't appeal to Li. Of course, the girls were all loving it.

~* This is SO boring! But I can't make it look like I'm falling asleep. What would Sakura think? What would…hey! Since when do I care what Sakura thinks? I never thought that way before. I…WHOA!! *~

Li unwittingly turned his head and found himself…gazing into Sakura's emerald green eyes. They were so beautiful and Li could feel that he was blushing uncontrollably.

~* Am I glad this is a dim theater. What would people say if they saw me blushing like this? Still…maybe I should leave! *~

"Um…I'll be right back. I need a drink."

Li quickly got up and rushed out. He was breathing deeply…as if he were nervous. But what made him feel this way? Then Li started to feel…weird. He felt almost lightheaded. Then he opened his eyes to see he was back in the aisle of the theater. Only the theater was empty this time…and on the screen…was…

~* It's me! And…Sakura? *~

It was true. Li saw himself and Sakura on the screen. Then…in a shocking act…Li was handing his Clow Cards to Sakura.

"These are my Clow Cards. I want you to have them."

~* WHAT AM I DOING?!?! *~

Li couldn't believe what he was seeing. Why was he giving his Clow Cards to HER? He was the one true master, he could feel it. So why was he seeing this? Before anything else could run through Li's head…

"OW!"

Something bopped him on the head. It was the theater door. Someone had accidentally smacked him in the head with it. But suddenly, Li noticed he wasn't in the theater anymore. He was back outside the door…just as he was a few minutes ago.

~* What did I just see? It couldn't have been real. It almost felt…like a dream. *~

Li shrugged and walked back into the theater. He had to forget what he saw.

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

[Li: You didn't know what it was like to see what I saw.]

[Sakura: What about what *I* saw? What I went through was a lot weirder. I remember we walked into Tokyo Tower…and something made me feel dizzy, almost lightheaded. And when I opened my eyes…I was in the middle of that same dream I always used to have.]


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


Flashback: That Same Dream That Started It All

P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon

Sakura opened her eyes. She felt something hit her, yet it wasn't painful. It was almost…blissful. She found herself in the middle of the observatory, just like before.

~* I must be out of it. What's wrong with me today? *~

Julian, who was working there part-time, walked over and handed Sakura a drink. "Here you go, Sakura." Then he looked at Sakura's backpack. "Hi there."

"Hello," Sakura's backpack said.

Sakura gasped and looked into her backpack. "KERO?!"

"Yeah, it's me. Something wrong, Sakura?"

"But how? How did Julian…?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? You're inside a dream."

"A dream?"

As soon as Sakura muttered those two words, she was taken to another place. It was the window of the observatory. She looked out and saw an all too familiar sight.

~* Tokyo Tower. *~

Then Sakura looked out into the distance and saw another familiar sight.

~* That woman. Just like in my dream! Is that………Ms. Mackenzie?! *~

As Sakura saw her, she looked directly in front of her on the opposite side of the window. She saw…herself. It was a twin image of Sakura, only she was dressed in a costume…just like the one she wore in her dream.

~* What's going on? *~

The other Sakura then spoke as she floated closer. "It'll be ok for sure…"

And as those words came out…Sakura saw a light…

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

[Sakura: I didn't know what was happening. If I had another few minutes, I might have been able to understand everything. But you were bringing me back.]

[Li: And it took a lot for me to bring you back…]


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


Flashback: The Observatory (A few minutes earlier)

P.O.V.: Li Shoran

Something had happened. Sakura walked into the observatory and fell over, knocking herself unconscious. Li immediately rushed over and took her in his arms.

"Sakura! SAKURA!"

Nothing. Sakura was out and by this time, everyone was getting concerned.

"Li!" Madison panicked. "What's happened to her?!"

Li suddenly noticed something under Sakura's foot. "She fell over…and I think THIS might have something to do with it."

"What is that?" Meilin asked. "Looks like a butterfly."

"It's a Clow Card," Kero said from Sakura's backpack. He hesitated for a moment, trying to piece together which one it was. "A butterfly? Sounds like the Dream Card. And I don't think it's going anywhere any time soon. If we can wake up Sakura, then she can seal it."

"Here?!" Meilin pointed out. "What if someone sees?"

~* Good point. Someone could walk through that door any minute. I have to think of something else. Wait! There is ONE thing I can do. Oh…but I HATE using this card! *~

"Stand back," Li instructed. "I'm going to use the Time Card."

"Are you sure?" Meilin asked. "You know what Time does to you, Li."

"I don't have any other choice," Li replied. "Stand back."

Li's two friends took a few steps back as Li took out his jade charm. The charm extended out into his sword and with his other hand, Li took out the Time Card.

"Bring her back, Li," Madison said softly.

Li nodded and threw up the Time Card. "Time Card!" He struck the Time Card and all time was frozen. No one was moving, but Sakura was starting to stir. Then Li saw the small butterfly trying to get away. The Dream Card was trying to shake loose, so Li shook Sakura in a desperate effort to wake her up.

"Sakura…WAKE UP!!"

Sakura finally moaned softly and opened her eyes. "Li? What happened?"

"We've got a Clow Card."

Sakura sat up abruptly upon hearing that. "A Clow Card? Where?"

"Under your foot."

Sakura looked under her foot to see that the Dream Card was still there. In a bad move, Sakura lifted her foot, giving Dream a chance to escape. But Li put a stop to that.

"No you don't!"

Li thrust his sword towards the ground and pinned Dream down, but he was also starting to feel tired. The power of Time was starting to take its toll and Li was feeling exhausted.

"Hurry and seal it, Sakura! I can't keep time frozen much longer!"

Sakura quickly reached for her key. "Key of Clow. Power of magic. Power of light. Surrender the wand. The force, ignite. Release!" Sakura quickly took her wand as Li started to feel even worse. "Clow Card! Return to your power confined!"

Just in time, Sakura sealed the card just as Li fell over in exhaustion. But the card flew over to Li. Sure enough, it read…

The Dream

"Li, are you all right?"

Li didn't say anything. Instead, he just recalled Time. And as soon as time unfroze, Meilin was right at his side.

"Li! Say something! Oh, I knew Time would do this to you!"

Madison, on the other hand, went to check on Sakura. "Are you all right? You collapsed as soon as you walked in."

"No…I feel awful," Sakura said. She walked over to Li. "I'm sorry, Li. This is my fault. If I had noticed that Clow Card earlier, then none of this would have happened."

"Don't worry about me," Li groaned. "I can take it. I'm sort of starting to get used to this by now."

"It was lucky we found the Clow Card under your foot," Kero told Sakura. "But you were out for quite a while."

"It all felt so real," Sakura said softly. "So everything I saw when I walked through the door…was just a dream?"

"Not exactly," Kero answered. "Anything Dream shows you is not just a dream. It's more of a prophecy."

Suddenly, as exhausted as Li was, he sat up in an instant.

~* A prophecy? No…what about…MY dream?! That…that…that CAN'T be a prophecy! I would never give my Clow Cards away. Not to HER! *~

Li looked at his rival for a moment. It was the first time in a while that he thought of her for what she truly was. She was his rival. But lately, he was starting to think of her more as a friend. Maybe even…something more. But he wouldn't give his Clow Cards to her.

~* No…he has to be wrong on this one. He's just a stuffed animal. What does he know? It's not true. They'll all be mine…soon. *~


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


"So you really thought that, huh?"

"You know me by now, Sakura. You know how stubborn I could be. So now that we've looked back at our dreams of the past…what's got you so shaken up? What did you see?"

Silence. Li had struck something delicate inside Sakura, making him think this was no ordinary nightmare.

"Well…I saw me…and I saw…Tori."

"Tori? What about your brother could possibly scare you?"

"Well…we might have been keeping secrets from each other…for a long time. But I dreamt that we both came clean…and then something happened…I…I can't describe it. I-I'm sorry, Li. I'd better call back tomorrow. I'm just…I can't talk about it right now."

And with that, Sakura hung up. Now Li was feeling panicked. There was something deeply troubling his girlfriend.

And he wanted to know what it was.


Author's Note: More and more, I'm leading to something with this. (Of course, even *I* don't know what yet) I'll think of something as I go along, so keep reading.


Any comments? Mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below.