Author's Note: Once you're all done reading this chapter, take a look at the bottom. I got a little something interesting in store for this series as it comes down the final stretch. Oh, and I saw the summaries for both the original and dubbed version of this episode. I thought maybe I could put in a little of both. Hope you like.
Summary: Unable to get over the dream she had, Sakura can't even leave the house anymore until she figures out what it meant. But on this day, she gets an unexpected phone call.
Episode 48- Recalling the Twin Card and Saying Goodbye
Sakura was laying flat on her bed. She didn't want to get up at all. The dream she had was consuming her every thought. She continued to try and piece together what it meant.
"Sakura, I can't take this anymore," Kero nagged. "You have to get up sooner or later."
"If I don't move, the dream can't come true."
"You're being ridiculous," Kero growled. "You have to leave sometime."
"Uh-uh! No way! You can't understand what I saw, Kero."
"What's to understand? You told me everything. I know it sounds prophetic, but you can't just keep living your life in seclusion, Sakura. You have to come out eventually."
"This is all just awful," Sakura wailed. "I wish I had never found out about Tori's secret. I was just better off when he kept it to himself. I mean, he hid it so well. I don't think anyone else even knew."
Kero pondered that statement. "Well…actually…"
**RING**
A phone call. Sakura reached over to pick it up. It was probably Madison, ready to tell her that Li was trying to pump her for information again. Or it was probably Li trying to get something out of Sakura again. Or maybe it was Eriol, trying to cheer Sakura up. It was neither.
"Hello?"
"Great to hear your voice again, Avalon. Did you miss me?"
"Meilin! How's everything going? I miss you so much!"
"I wish I could say everything was great, but Li's mother isn't doing so well. I really hope she doesn't take a turn for the worse. Li's sisters and I have been doing everything we can, but it's like nothing helps."
"Oh…I hope she gets better."
"I'm sure she'll pull through. She's a strong woman. I just needed to take a break. What's going on out there, Sakura? I talked to Li and he said something's been bothering you."
Sakura didn't want to say anything. She realized that if she told Meilin anything, she'd tell Li. And she absolutely couldn't tell Li.
"I…can't really say."
"Come on, Sakura. I know we haven't always gotten along, but we're friends and I want to be there for you…"
"Well…"
"…like you were there for me."
"I really don't…"
"Come on, Avalon! You're always so willing to help everyone, but when you need help you don't want to accept it. You've got to remember that sometimes it's better to work together than alone. Like that night seven years ago…before I left to go back to Hong Kong."
It all started to come back to Sakura. "I remember that day."
"Well, you probably don't remember the WHOLE day. But I remember the way it all started…"
~--------------------~
Flashback: Li and Meilin's Place (A scene Nelvana left out…for some reason)
P.O.V.: Meilin Rae
While she hadn't always proven herself to be a good cook, Meilin was determined to get things right this time. Her cakes were in the oven and they were almost ready. She just had to be patient. But patience wasn't working this time.
~* Do I smell…smoke? *~
**BOOM**
"AAAAHHH!!"
"YEOW!!"
Cake batter flew everywhere and the kitchen was left a mess. But Meilin's sudden outburst brought on a scream from another room. It was from Li. "Li? Are you all right?"
"Just…my finger," Li moaned. "Are YOU all right?"
"I burned my cakes again!" Meilin huffed.
It sounded like Li fell over anime-style, but Meilin couldn't tell. From the sound of it, Li was probably practicing with his sword again and he must have cut himself. She was ready for him to come in and groan over the kitchen's state. Luckily, the gentler Wei came in first.
"Meilin, you burned the cakes again?"
"I thought I had it this time, Wei."
"You have to be more patient, Meilin," Wei said.
Finally, Li looked into the kitchen. He sweatdropped at the sight of the mess. "Meilin! Again?! How many disasters do you have to have before you realize you can't bake me a cake?!"
Wei shook his head. "It's the thought that counts."
Li still kept his stone cold demeanor and had a glare focused towards Meilin.
"It's ok, Li," Meilin said timidly. "I'll clean it up."
Wei made his way out, passing by Li and repeating what he said. "It's the thought that counts."
Li shook his head and walked out behind Wei. Meilin felt bad for trying something that she had never been successful at. Baking was never her strong suit.
~* I know I can't bake. I probably just made Li mad again. *~
**RING**
The phone in the kitchen rang. Meilin ran over through the whole mess of batter to pick it up. It was probably Li's mother or sisters calling to check in.
"Hello? … Oh, hi Mom! I didn't expect to hear from you. … What? … But, Mom…! … Why? … Well…ok. … I guess if I have to. I just don't want to go. … Ok…bye."
Meilin couldn't see in front of her anymore. Her vision had become blurred…because her face was full of tears. She forgot all about the kitchen and walked into the next room, where Li was sitting on a chair. Meilin couldn't make out what he was saying, not that it mattered.
~* I'm gonna miss you! *~
Meilin immediately ran over and threw her arms around Li…knocking him out of his chair.
"Hey! Meilin! What's wrong with you?!"
"I DON'T WANNA GO BACK!!" Meilin sobbed.
~----------~
[Sakura: Was that the call?]
[Meilin: That was my mom telling me to come home. I cried the whole night…and the next day wasn't any easier…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: Reedington Elementary
P.O.V.: Meilin Rae
~* I guess this is it. No use putting it off. *~
Meilin despondently walked into the classroom. She wanted to go straight to her desk and just put her head down, but there were Sakura and Madison. They were both so full of cheer, obviously oblivious to the whole situation.
Sakura looked cheerfully at Meilin. "Meilin, come see these! They're pictures from the Literary Fest."
Madison examined the pictures. "These are really good. I didn't know Tori could take such good pictures."
"Tori CAN'T take such good pictures," Sakura grinned. "He just had a good camera, that's all. He certainly can't take pictures as good as you can, Madison."
"Oh…thank you, Sakura."
Meilin walked by Sakura and the blushing Madison and just plopped down in her chair. She just hung her head down.
Sakura walked up to her. "Meilin…what's wrong?"
Meilin only looked up solemnly. "Can I tell you later? I don't want to talk about it right now."
Sakura blinked and looked at Madison, who only shrugged, before giving her answer. "Um…sure…I guess."
Just then, Li walked right by them. "Morning." He sat down in his desk and just looked ahead…almost as if this were just another day. And that made Meilin feel even worse.
~* Li…don't you realize I'm leaving? Don't you even care? *~
~----------~
[Meilin: I felt like he didn't even care. It wasn't until later that I found out the truth.]
[Sakura: Meilin…you know he didn't mean it. Sometimes, Li has a big mouth.]
[Meilin: Yeah, well it still hurt…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: Reedington Elementary (Recess)
P.O.V.: Meilin Rae
"You're going back home?!"
Meilin didn't expect such shock out of Sakura Avalon, but there it was. Meilin just got through telling her about the phone call the night before.
"I have to go back. My grandmother's sick and my mom tells me I have to go. I'm just…sad. I was just starting to get used to life in Japan…and now I have to leave."
Meilin hung her head down again. She couldn't believe this was happening. She didn't want to leave, yet she was being pulled away. She couldn't think of anything else and she didn't even see…
"Li? Did Meilin tell you?"
Meilin raised her head to see Li standing before them. His expression hadn't changed. He looked like the same Li Showron. It almost looked like he didn't realize what was happening.
Li shrugged and turned towards Meilin. "If you have to go, you have to go. It's not like I can do anything about it."
Meilin frowned. "Don't you even care that I'm leaving?"
Li shrugged again. "It's not like we'll be in danger or anything. Most of the Clow Cards have already been sealed. We can handle the rest without you."
Meilin didn't want to make an accusation at that point, but she did anyway. "But…I thought I was helping you, Li. But…I guess I'm only in the way, aren't I?"
Li's demeanor didn't change. "Sometimes you are."
Meilin's heart broke when she heard that. It was a revelation that pained her worse than a knife in the back. Meilin could do only one thing from there…
"I KNEW IT!!!"
…run.
So she did. She got up and ran, not looking back. That's when Li called out and delivered another heartbreaking comment.
"IT'S TRUE!!"
~----------~
[Meilin: I love Li and all, but sometimes he could be such a jerk. I didn't know what to feel then. I felt so alone. But that's where you came in, Sakura. Always so willing to help anyone. I didn't know what to think when you actually invited me to spend the night.]
[Sakura: It was nothing, Meilin. You're my friend. And I wanted us to stay that way. I just wish we didn't have to fight a Clow Card that night.]
[Meilin: And this where working together comes in. If any of us tried to take that Clow Card alone, we never would have won. But…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: The Streets of Reedington
P.O.V.: Meilin Rae
A Clow Card was on the loose tonight and it didn't take Sakura long to get ready. Nor did it take Madison Taylor very long to join them. At least Madison had her camera to make her feel important. Meilin felt like she had nothing to contribute and she didn't want to go, but Sakura was literally dragging her by the arm at this point.
"Madison…I kinda feel a draft."
Undoubtedly, this was one of Madison's wildest costumes to date: A round hat with a leather ensemble that included boots that ran all the way up to Sakura's knees, a cut-off shirt that left part of her midriff exposed, and of course a short leather skirt. Meilin had to admit the whole thing made her look…trendy.
"I know you're not used to this one, Sakura," Madison grinned. "But I wanted to try something different. Besides, don't your legs feel just a little warmer now?"
"No! You're still getting me short skirts! You know, it DOES gets cold out here."
Such an innocent little argument almost brought a smile to Meilin's face. But she wasn't in any kind of jovial mood. She felt so useless and she didn't know what purpose she'd serve. She wouldn't even be surprised if Li yelled at her as soon as he saw her getting in the way again.
Then they found Li. He was in the midst of battling two short spirit-like adversaries, both of whom were identical. It was the Twin Card. And Li wasn't faring well. He was down on the ground and Meilin instinctively went to help him.
"Li! Are you all right?"
Li nodded and pointed out in front of him. The twins were on the move, but now they had their sights set on Sakura. Seeing impending danger, Sakura took action.
"Jump!"
Sakura released Jump and started bouncing high, leaping across buildings in an attempt to escape both twins. While this gave Meilin time to tend to Li, Sakura couldn't go on like that. So Sakura turned around and quickly released some help.
"Windy! Form a ribbon to contain the Twin Card! Windy! Release and dispel!"
Windy came out as fast as she could and went to work. One of the twins escaped, but Windy had the other one all tied up. Sakura then looked to finish the job.
"Twin Card! Return to your power confined! Twin!"
Sakura struck down with her wand…before a force sent her flying backwards. Meilin, Li, and Madison looked on in shock of what just happened.
Kero, on the other hand, knew exactly what happened. "The twins are two of the same card! You have to seal both of them at the same time!"
~* As if this couldn't get any harder. They don't need me here to get in the way. *~
Finally, Li got to his feet. He rushed over and nodded towards Sakura. "Lightning!"
Sakura released, "Thunder!"
Both spells went towards the two parts of Twin. Both spells hit, but not at the same time and the twins were able to recover.
"You can't let them catch you exchanging signals!" Kero cried out. "You have to work together as one."
Meilin was ready to take a step back. She wanted to let the real Cardcaptors handle this, but Sakura jumped onto a nearby roof and called out to her.
"Meilin!" Sakura looked down towards Li and Meilin. "Meilin can help us! You two have been training together since you were little and you know each other's move by heart."
Meilin shook her head. "I don't know. I…don't want to get in the way."
Surprisingly, Li stood beside Meilin and took a fighting stance. "We can do it, Meilin!"
~* He…wants me to help him? I…thought he didn't want me around. But if he wants my help…then these guys are going down! *~
Meilin took the same fighting stance. The twins seeing the new challenge ahead of them braced themselves for a fight. And they got one. Only this fight was being won by Li and Meilin. They threw fierce punches and kicks that landed at the same time. It was like poetry in motion, for Meilin's moves matched Li's step-by-step.
The twins lunged forward in an attempt to swing the momentum their way, but Li and Meilin dodged them and jumped on their shoulders. As they began stomping on their shoulders, Meilin looked towards Li.
~* He's…smiling! *~
Li had a warm smile on his face, something Meilin never saw out of Li. He never looked at her that way before. The moment didn't last, though, because the twins shrugged Meilin and Li off, sending them flying and about to hit the ground very hard…until Meilin felt something catch her.
"Nice catch, Windy!" Sakura called out.
Li and Meilin landed on their feet. The twins tried coming at them again, only this time Meilin and Li met them with one stiff kick that sent the twins down. Sakura jumped off the roof and landed. She held up her wand.
"Twin Card! Return to your power confined! Twin!"
After a long and arduous battle, the Twin Card was finally sealed. Not surprisingly, the card flew over to Li. With the battle over, Meilin sighed deeply. That's when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Li.
"I never thought you were in the way," Li said gently.
That was too much for Meilin. She threw her arms around Li. "Thank you."
~--------------------~
"But I digress. My point is that sometimes it's better to work together than alone. You should think about that, Sakura."
"I wish I could tell you everything I saw," Sakura responded. "But right now, you'll have to trust me that I can't tell anybody about this."
"I'll bet you told Madison!"
"Um…why would you think that?" Sakura asked nervously. She was glad this was a phone conversation, because she had a huge sweatdrop on her forehead.
"Just try and think about what I said, Avalon. I hope it all works out, but I have to go now. Good luck."
"Ok. Thanks for calling, Meilin. We miss you!"
"I'm sure you do. Don't worry. You'll see me again. See you later, Avalon."
Sakura hung up the phone and thought about what Meilin was saying. It's not that Sakura didn't want Li's help. But she couldn't say anything about this. She just couldn't tell him…or else…
"So are you telling the brat?" Kero asked.
Sakura sighed. "I need some more time to think about this. And I need a place to be alone."
At first, Sakura couldn't think of a place to be absolutely alone. Then a thought hit her.
Her roof.
Author's Note: Come back for the next part, because you'll definitely see something original there. You won't want to miss it.
Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below.
