~::clears throat:: well, here's the next chapter. hopefully, it gets better and better, but, oh wellz

Balamb

"Wow!" Sakura said in awe. "This is your world? It's beautiful!"

Quistis smelled the fresh air of her world and smiled. "It's good to be back again. So, where's Ragnarok?"

"I'm calling Selphie to come pick us up…" Squall said, when suddenly, two sorceress creatures riding on silver dragons came out of the sky. Everyone got ready for battle.

Squall started to attack the first sorcerers. Quistis decided to help her friend. Sakura and Syaoran took care of the other enemy. "Sword!"

It seems that the sorceress caught Sakura off balance, and (since Sakura had her wings on) knocked the Card Mistress unconscious. She fell and Syaoran ran to her side. "Sakura-san! Yue! Save her!"

Yukito, not knowing what to do, transformed into his real form. Yue flew to Sakura and caught her before she hit her head. Syaoran smiled with relief. Kero-chan, transforming into Kerberos, used his fire magic to attack the sorceress. The sorceress vanished and the dragon was left. Sakura finally came into her consciousness and finished off the dragon with the Erase Card.

Yue dropped Sakura on her feet on the ground. "Sakura-san, are you okay?"

Sakura nodded her head, "Thank you, Yue, for saving my life."

"It's only my duty, as Guardian," Yue answered. He looked around to look for Quistis and Squall and saw that they were still having trouble with the dragon. "I'll go and help them. You guys stand back here."

The Judge flew over near the dragon and Squall turned to look at him. Quistis stopped firing her magic and stood to watch what Yue will do. Yue, power ready, shot bolts of ice at the dragon. The dragon screamed and fell to the ground. Yue then used the Windy Card to drive the dragon away from the area. After this was done, the silver haired guardian flew back to the ground, losing his wings, but not his form. "I think I will stay as Yue for a while."

"Splendid!" Quistis said, running towards them. "That was a show of great power! I've never seen such pure energy!"

Kerberos sighed and frowned at Yue. "There you go again, showing off your magnificent powers. When will you learn not to overdo it, Yue?"

Yue's eyes flickered. "When I see fit. Shouldn't you go back to your own form, Kerberos? It seems better if you should."

"I will if you go back to Yukito!" Kerberos argued.

Syaoran grinned. "I think Yue is fine how he is, considering the fact that he might catch attention with the ladies. You, on the other hand, should go back to animal form, or else people might become hostile towards you."

"Li-kun is right," Sakura said, thinking about how handsome Yue was (yet, also knowing that Yukito will still look better in her opinion). "He would make many people feel schweet!"

Kerberos, growling in anger, returned to his stuffed animal state. Squall looked around for signs of the airship that would pick them up. Ragnarok approached the party slowly and then the ship opened to let everyone in. As Sakura entered the red ship, she gasped in awe. Inside Ragnarok was a group of people in uniform saluting Squall and Quistis.

"Instructor Trepe!"

"Welcome back, Instructor!"

"Nice to see you again, Squall, Quistis," says a man with brown hair tied around his back. "Selphie can't wait to see who you've brought with us, bearing in mind that she did catch a glimpse of you from the ship's window."

Quistis smiled warmly, "They're right here, Irvine. This is Sakura Kinomoto, Li Syaoran, and her friends, um…Yue, and Kero-chan."

"Nice to meet all of you," Irvine said, giving them a warm hand to shake. Yue acknowledged it with a nod. "Well…you guys seem to be a friendly group. Why don't you people go upstairs while we prepare for lunch?"

Sakura stepped up, "I would like to feel useful, if you don't mind."

"Oh?" Irvine asked, charmed at this pretty green eyed girl. "And what kind of help are you planning to do?"

"Well," Sakura said, "How about preparing the lunch? I'm quite good in cooking."

Quistis and Syaoran nodded at the thought of having Sakura make their food. Yue just shrugged, knowing he won't eat any of the food and Kero-chan rejoiced at the sound of food. "Remember to make dessert, Sakura-san!"

Irvine led Sakura to the kitchen and the others went upstairs. Selphie met them upstairs. She seemed to be excited in meeting the newcomers. Syaoran blushed, remembering that he and Sakura were wearing the costumes Tomoyo made for them. As Selphie saw them, she clasped her hands in joy. "They look so cute with those clothes! Who makes their outfits?"

Syaoran laughed rather nervously, "My friend, Tomoyo-san, makes them."

"I see," Selphie said, liking the new people. She looked at Kero-chan and laughed. "This one is adorable! What's the stuffed animal's name?"

Kero-chan turned red. "I AM NOT A STUFFED ANIMAL!"

"Stuffed animal," Syaoran said, mocking the Sun Guardian. "Better not yell at the girl. You don't know what she might do to you."

Yue stood there, eyes amused. He had been silent until Selphie asked for his name. He turned to look at her and Selphie gulped. She wasn't used to looking at handsome silver haired people with purplish silver eyes. "What is it?" Yue asked innocently.

"His name is Yue," Syaoran said, noticing Selphie's uncomfortable moment. "That is if he stays in that form. When he isn't his real self, then you call him Yukito."

The Moon Guardian looked on at Selphie then he straightened and looked elsewhere. Selphie gulped again and whispered to Syaoran. "What is he to the girl in the kitchen? Is he a boyfriend of hers?"

Syaoran blushed and looked away, to find Sakura waving at him. Syaoran raised an eyebrow at her and he turned to see Selphie look at who he gazed at. "N…no, Yue's not Sakura-san's boyfriend. He's the Guardian of the Sakura Cards. Sakura's only his Mistress."

"I see," Selphie said, "Sorry for being too nosy, I just wanted to know. I'm kind of curious when it comes to the matters of the heart."

Syaoran laughed. "That's alright. I understand."

"Shouldn't we be going for lunch?" Kero-chan asked, impatient and hungry.

Yue decided to turn back into Yukito and he cleaned his glasses. "Oh, boy, where's the food? Kero-chan mentioned food, didn't he?"

"Since you both are hungry," Squall said, amused at the guardians' appetites. "I think Sakura's done with making lunch. She said to tell you guys she also made dessert."

"YAY! YAY!" Kero-chan exclaimed. "Food! Food! Dessert! Dessert! Cake! Cake!"

Sakura came to join them, carrying 8 trays on top of each other. Syaoran went to help her. "How many trays did you bring?"

"I brought 8," Sakura answered, not troubled by the trays. "Six for each of us and two for Yukito, knowing he will be this hungry. I even made him two desserts."

Syaoran sighed, remembering about Yukito's big stomach. "Eating a lot is healthy."

They reached the others and they began to eat. Quistis inquired about Irvine. Sakura said that he will be joining them soon. He just needed to clear things up with the mechanics.

"Now about this maze," Quistis asked Squall, "What are we supposed to do about it?"

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other. "We should check to see whether it's what we think it is," Syaoran spoke up. "That way maybe we know what to do."

Irvine came upon them. "Food was delicious! You're a great cook, Sakura."

"I quite agree," Yukito said, already finished. "Her food is always good."

Sakura blushed from the praise and handed the dessert for everyone. Kero-chan rejoiced, waiting for the dessert. He immediately stuffed the dessert (his favorite, pudding) into his mouth while everyone started to open up theirs. Quistis, Selphie and Squall quietly tasted their pudding and nodded with approval. Sakura beamed with joy, finding praise for her cooking in another place.

"Ah, this is good, Sakura-san!" Yukito said. Sakura turned even redder than before. Selphie noticed this and asked Syaoran how the food tasted.

Syaoran felt uncomfortable. He looked at Sakura, who smiled evilly. He gulped down the dessert and blushed. "It's very good, Sakura-san."

"Thank you, Li-kun," Sakura grinned. "That's a compliment I'll remember until the day I die."

"That's because every other time you spoil your cooking," Syaoran retorted back, gaining back his confidence.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and went back to eating her dessert in silence. Selphie chuckled silently, entertained at the show of emotion around the three people. Yukito, who seems to be attracting both forces his way, and both people liking each other. The brown haired girl enjoyed the rest of her silent lunch, thinking of another way to get the new people feel uncomfortable. Not that she disliked them, she wanted to see them blush, and they were so cute!

After lunch, everyone gathered to a meeting room in Ragnarok so they can discuss the problem. Yukito, now back to Yue, frowned. "What is all this discussing? Why can't we be heading off to where the trouble is and figure it out from there?"

"I know," Quistis said, smiling, "That's why I told them to head over to Balamb right away, While we're waiting, it might do good if we did discuss the matter, Yue."

Yue's eyes sparkled and stepped in the room. Sakura shook her head, whispering an apology for Yue's actions. Syaoran and Kero-chan followed behind, arguing. Squall sighed, having trouble coping with hyper people. He looked at Quistis for help, but she only grinned maliciously. She saluted him. "Ready to start the meeting, Commander?"

"Thanks a lot, Quistis," Squall grumbled and entered the room.

Squall cleared his throat to let them know that he's ready to start a conversation. People were still talking, even Selphie and Irvine, who were asking Syaoran and Yue about their powers and abilities. Squall looked at Quistis, who was stifling a laugh. She looked professionally at Squall. "I'll handle this."

The blonde woman raised her hand and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Help! I'm in deep trouble!"

Everyone turned to look at Quistis and Squall watched her in admiration. "Thanks, I think."

"No problem," Quistis grinned.

Irvine ran his hand through his hair. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"Our objection is to rid Balamb and the island of this mysterious maze that appeared out of nowhere," Squall began. "Where did it come from? How did it get here? Why does it only let magic users in? Who will be going inside the maze? How will we get rid of it? These are the questions we must look at before facing this force."

Yue grumbled. "Maybe if we took a look at this phenomena, then we might be able to help."

Sakura and Syaoran nodded. Sakura looked at Irvine. "How far is it until we get to this place?"

"Oh, only a few more minutes," Irvine answered. "We'll be there soon. All we have to do now is listen to Squall's boring lectures. We might get some decent sleep before we get to business."

"I heard that," Squall said, frowning at the remark. "What I'm trying to tell you are the questions we should look over and try to answer so we could get this force clear of the way."

Syaoran stood up, "Obviously, if the maze appeared letting only magic users in, then it probably will disappear when you finish it. That is, go inside and find the exit."

"And who will conduct this deal of business, Syaoran?" Squall asked.

Syaoran raised his eyebrows. "Why would Sakura and me be here unless we have something to do to help? I certainly will go, ask Sakura whether she would like to go or not."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," Sakura retorted. "Yue might know more about this maze if we get inside."

A SeeD member walked in the room. He saluted and announced, "We have arrived to the destination, please prepare to land."

Squall nodded at the member and turned to the others. "Alright, we shall see who goes. No doubt, I can't go, since I have no pure magic powers. The power of a GF won't work with this maze, so that can't be our answers. Edea will go with those that will enter the maze."

Quistis stood up. "I certainly am not going to miss this opportunity."

Sakura and Syaoran decided. Sakura looked at Yue and Kero-chan. "You're going with me, aren't you?"

The two guardians nodded and they looked at Selphie, who showed signs of magic. Selphie gulped and nodded, "What about Rinoa?" Selphie asked.

Squall shook his head. "She won't be with us, she says that her powers are too weak to penetrate. Sadly, her sorceress powers have greatly subsided. Even Selphie has more power than her these days."

"Well, just as I have predicted," Quistis said, "Miss Heartilly has no use for us at all anymore. Too bad."

Irvine looked at the blonde in surprise. "How could you say that?"

Quistis looked at him. "Simple. I just did. And I am only stating the facts. It doesn't matter whether she is or was my friend."

Yue walked to the window and gazed out. He saw the dark portal that covered the whole Balamb island. His eyebrows raised in surprise at the force of the tremendous power. He quickly turned around. "This is not a Clow Card, or Sakura Card for that matter. It doesn't even feel like his powers. This maze is something only Lilka would know of!"

Sakura looked at Yue in alarm. "Are you sure?"

"When am I never?" Yue said.

Syaoran shrugged. "It is kind of too late to go back and tell Lilka to come over here, now is it? Like the saying goes, 'Let's go on with the show.' We might be able to do this with or without Lilka Eleniak's help. Don't worry, Sakura-san."

The Card Mistress nodded slowly, "I have you and the Sakura Cards to protect me. Yue, Kero-chan, please help Li-kun. I can protect myself."

Kero-chan protested, while Yue nodded. "Why are you asking me to protect this brat!? I don't want to!"

"Well, you're going to, Kero-chan," Sakura demanded. The sound of Sakura's voice surprised even herself, and Kero-chan stopped his complaining. Selphie sighed and asked Irvine if he will be joining them. Irvine shook his head, knowing that he doesn't even have half Rinoa's magic to begin with.

"I'll be seeing you, then," Irvine said, waving his hand good-bye.

Squall walked with the magicians. "I'll be accompanying you until I can't go on any longer. Matron will take care of the rest. I hope you guys finish this mission."

"Squall," Quistis glared at him, "Do you really think we're this helpless? Didn't you see Yue beat that blasted dragon? If his Mistress controls a power like that, I would shudder to think what Sakura and Syaoran can do. Let alone me, I have gained much power, you know."

The gunblade expert sighed, knowing the amount of magic these people held. "I just hope you're as athletic as you are powerful."

Sakura, Yue, and Syaoran exchanged looks. Sakura and Syaoran smiled, knowing how athletic they were. Sakura turned to Squall. "Don't worry about it, Squall. We'll get back alive and unscratched. And if you're that worried, we'll protect Quistis as well."

Squall looked alarmed at this comment and coughed in his hand. "It's not that I'm that worried…I mean…I know Quistis will do fine…I…oh forget it."

Quistis laughed and walked on ahead, followed by everyone else.

The party walked closer to the portal. A dark figure could be seen near the portal. Squall was prepared to turn back. "Edea's waiting for you. I have to turn back now, good luck."

Quistis waved to Squall and resumed walking to the portal. The portal was gaining energy as they walked towards it. Selphie was getting nervous. Yue, feeling the girl's nervousness, placed a hand on her shoulder. Selphie jumped and realized that Yue was looking at her. Selphie chuckled nervously and Yue's eyes sparkled. He turned away to look at the sorceress standing by the portal. She examined the newcomers and smiled.

"Welcome," Edea said warmly, "The portal is completely open now, I saw through it. Will this be it?"

Selphie nodded. "Yes, this will be the party to go in."

Edea approved. "I have one problem, though. We can't all go in, seeing that someone needs to keep the portal open, so I will be staying here, to keep the door open."

"But," Selphie protested, "What will Quistis and I do?"

Quistis frowned. "We can both take care of ourselves, Selphie. We have enough magic. Don't worry, Edea, we won't fail to liberate Balamb from this force."

"Good," Edea said, "Now go, and I will see you off."

The party stepped in the portal and they vanished. Edea sighed. "Now let's see what you guys can do."

****

As the party entered the maze, a voice was heard. "Lilka? Is that you?"

Yue answered the voice. "I'm afraid Lilka isn't with us. Who is this?"

The voice paused before answering. "Lilka is not with you? I'm afraid this was going to happen. Now what am I going to do? Forgive me, I'm Lilka's older sister, the greater of the Eleniak Witch Girls. As you can see, I'm kind of trapped in these mazes and I can't help you physically, otherwise I won't need Lilka."

"Lilka's sister?" Sakura asked. She remembered quickly about the sister Lilka talked about that was quite stronger than her. "She said you were trapped somewhere. Where are you?"

The voice paused again, before answering. "I'm here, and I'm not. You could say that I'm in these mazes. These mazes are called Millennium Puzzle Mazes. This is going to be difficult, seeing that Lilka isn't with you."

"We'll try to finish this maze," Quistis said, "What do we do?"

"First," the voice said, "You see those four floating boxes on each column? You have to shoot it with fire magic, but you have to shoot it at the standing platform in front of it. Otherwise, it won't work. Your goal is to get to each platform and use fire magic at the boxes."

Yue started to fly, when the voice interrupted. "Don't think of flying to the boxes, because it's protected by a barrier. Even those that can fly will have trouble in getting to the platform. Listen, if you follow the pathway ahead of you, then you can get to the first box. I can't always help you like this, because I can only talk to you here."

Syaoran understood and headed to the path the voice directed them to. Selphie followed Syaoran. Quistis and Sakura looked at each other. Sakura sighed and walked toward the path and Quistis waited until Yue and Kero-chan followed their Mistress before watching the party's back. Syaoran leaded the party and they walked, with Selphie keeping an eye on their tracks.

Quistis yelped and a monster attacked. Sakura and Yue chose to help at the back, while Syaoran also faced trouble in the front. Selphie and Kerberos went to his aide. The two parties fought the monsters with small trouble and they went on with their quest. The group walked on until they reached a dead end with a giant green gem facing them.

"Should we touch the green gem?" Selphie asked, looking curiously at it.

Syaoran reached for it, but Yue got to the gem first. Yue disappeared and Syaoran looked on in surprise. He also touched the gem and likewise, vanished. Sakura scowled. "Men! Won't they wait for us? No, they decide to do this all by themselves. I'm going to follow them, wherever they went."

"What if the gem transports us in different places?" Kero-chan asked, cautiously. "We should all touch it at the same time, just in case."

Quistis shrugged. "Whatever you say, just as long as I end up somewhere."

The girls and stuffed animal touched the gem and they appeared on a platform. Yue looked at them. "Where were you? Syaoran has already set fire to the first block. He is down there."

Syaoran was standing with his hands on his hips. "What took you so long?"

"We were just being cautious, brat," Kero-chan replied, "Unlike the two of you, who might have ended up somewhere if you weren't careful."

Yue looked calmly at Kero-chan. "As long as we didn't, then we are fine. Do you still see us here? Then don't fuss."

Sakura sighed and jumped gracefully off to Syaoran's side. She turned to look at him. "I would prefer it if you did be careful, Syaoran-kun. It's not very good being restless."

"I'll try to be careful next time," Syaoran said, not being able to refuse the Card Mistress. "You want to use the Firey Card on the next box?"

The Card Mistress brightened and nodded. "Let's go!"

Quistis and Selphie dropped down to where everyone else was standing and Yue flew down. They were ready to get to the next box. The voice appeared again. "Go to the path on the left. The right and the path across from the one you came from are not open yet. I will work on the next path to open. Keep up the work!"

Once again, they traveled to the next pathway. They also faced monsters and handled them as usual. When they got to the green gem, Sakura touched it first. Everyone also touched it after. They appeared and saw that Sakura hasn't used her magic yet. She released her magical key and commanded the Firey Card to do her bidding. The box exploded and Sakura leaped to the bottom.

"Good job, Sakura-san!" Syaoran said, leaping after her.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Syaoran-kun. Too bad Tomoyo-san wasn't able to see this."

Syaoran smiled back. "Don't forget, we are wearing her costumes that carry a camera for her to watch. Don't say she can't see it, because she will eventually."

"I forgot," Sakura said.

Quistis and Selphie panted after doing their second jump. "Will you wait for us lowly beings?" Selphie asked, obviously tired of having to jump from very high places. "Not all of us are great jumpers and in wonderful shape, you know."

Yue flew down again, making sure everyone was off the platform. Kero-chan floated, dreaming about dessert. Kero-chan looked at Sakura. "When we get out of here, you have to make me some dessert again, Sakura-san. I'm hungry."

Sakura giggled and nodded. "Whatever you say, but we have two more boxes to unlock. Let's go!"

"Take the one in front of you," The older Eleniak Witch girl said. "I have one more path to unlock. Hurry!"

Yue shrugged at the voice, "I still don't see why I couldn't just fly right into the other box. That would have been easier. Oh, wait, I don't really control the fire element. Oh well."

Syaoran looked at Quistis. "Why don't you take over in front? I'll switch with you and go to the back."

"Sure," Quistis agreed. "I would like to see how to navigate this Millennium Maze. I was wondering how you got us through."

The group traveled once more and this path was shorter than the other two. The green gem glowed even brighter and Quistis reached for it calmly. She disappeared and reappeared into the platform facing the third box. She reached out inside of her for her magic and fire spit out to burn the box. Everyone also appeared to witness the burning box and Sakura jumped down the platform.

Selphie sighed and Syaoran looked at her. Clow's descendant concentrated on his sword and summoned the element of the Wind to aide him. His wind magic flew out to Quistis and Selphie, bringing them to the ground. Quistis looked up at Syaoran in gratitude while Selphie muttered a "thank you". Yue looked questioningly at Syaoran before flying to the ground.

"I wanted to do something," Syaoran explained, "You don't want them to be tired for doing something like this. They might need their strength for later."

Yue nodded, "I can see your point, Syaoran. Well thought of."

Kero-chan, who was at the back of Sakura, yelled out at Syaoran. "Hey, brat! We're in a hurry, here. Come down already!"

"As you command, stuffed animal," Syaoran said, mocking the guardian. He jumped down to the ground and landed on his feet, once again. Selphie made a face at his athletic ability and went ahead.

Sakura and Quistis looked at each other and shrugged. Suddenly, they heard a scream coming from ahead of them. Yue flew past them and headed towards the direction of the scream. Everyone followed suite. What they saw was Selphie backing away from a giant chimera. As the chimera swiped at Selphie, Quistis ran in front of her and made a barrier. The chimera's claw hit the barrier and it came back to swipe something else.

Sakura ran and released her wand. "Fly!" she cried, and wings sprouted from her back. She held up her wand again. "Sword!" and her wand turned into a thin, sharp sword. The Card Mistress flew into the air to attack the chimera.

On the ground, Syaoran summoned the thunder power from his sword. Kerberos appeared and threw fire magic at the monster. Selphie, gaining her momentum, began to summon her strongest limit magic. While everyone else was fighting the monster, Yue examined the monster carefully, looking for any weaknesses. He found one at his heart and prepared to attack.

Selphie, angry at being surprised, stopped Yue from attacking. Instead, she unleashed her energy and used her ultimate limit break. The chimera roared and then disappeared. Selphie panted and smiled. "Not bad, huh? Don't worry, I'm okay."

"That show of power was quite impressive," Kerberos said. Yue frowned and turned away.

Quistis smiled and pulled Selphie with her. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The fourth platform wasn't far away, and they handled it as well. The voice came back. "I am sorry, I forgot to get rid of the chimera on the fourth path. I must have been working too quickly. Are you guys all right?"

"Yes, we are all fine, and alive," Sakura said, "Now how do we get out of here?"

The voice paused, making it sound as if she didn't know how. Quistis was getting nervous when the voice came back. "Now that you burned all four boxes, a bigger one has appeared in the middle. You have to burn this one, too. Once broken, the door in front of you will open and reveal the exit. After that, the maze will disappear and never be seen again unless summoned by those who know how to summon it."

"Alright, piece of cake," Selphie and Kerberos said in unison. "All we need to do is burn it."

Sakura held out her Firey Card and released it. The box was surrounded completely by fire and the box was burned. A sudden glowing light then filled the door and it opened. The voice spoke for one last time. "Sakura, can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" Sakura asked, curious.

The voice paused, while everyone but Sakura and Syaoran were left near the door. Quistis told them to be hasty and left. "Can you tell Lilka that I am free? Tell her that I pulled through and waiting in Sielje for her, when she returns from her mission. Thanks to you, I am no longer the prisoner of the Millennium Mazes. I have broken the spell."

Sakura smiled. "I will tell Lilka-san what you told me, and I am glad to help you. Good-bye!"

Syaoran turned to look at the maze again before following Sakura and he turned to go. As the last person came back to the real world, the maze disappeared and Balamb was seen once again. Edea clapped her hands in delight. "Splendid! You have all done it!"

Zell came running towards the group. "Quistis! Selphie! What in the world happened? The last thing I knew, I was eating a hotdog and then everything turned green. I was trapped in this room with my food."

"Squall and I will explain to you when we are settled again, Zell," Selphie said, smiling. "Let's just say that you missed all the fun."

Sakura smiled and looked at her costume with the digital camera. It seems that Tomoyo didn't miss the adventure. Magic or no, she will be able to see the inside of the maze no matter what. Sighing, Sakura turned the camera off. Syaoran noticed this and turned his off too. Kerberos was back to his fake form and Yue lost his wings. The party looked less aggressive than before.

Squall came running from Ragnarok and waved at the group. Quistis and Selphie waved back, happy to see him again. As he came closer, he laughed at Zell's curious face. "So, it seems you all made it in one piece."

"You could say that again," Quistis said, "Listen, we have to return to Mugen Gakuen. The others are waiting for us there."

Syaoran nodded. "I wonder how Tomoyo and Duo are doing with the party. They probably need help by now, having to explain the tremendous damage done by that dinosaur."

Yue shook his head. "All you need to do is turn back time for them, that's all. But worry about that later. It seems Kero-chan is hungry, though."

The guardian was right. So was the rest of the party, who hadn't had anything to eat ever since they entered the maze. It seemed to have taken a long time in the puzzle and they were now mindful of the food they wanted to eat.

"Maybe I should plan what we should eat right away," Sakura said, "Why don't you help me, Li-kun? You're not bad at cooking."

Syaoran sighed. "Whatever you say, Sakura-san."

The two left, leaving Yue and Kero-chan alone with Quistis, Selphie, Edea, Squall, and Zell. Edea looked curiously at Yue. "I have heard of Clow Reed's guardians. You must be Yue, right?" she asked.

"How do you know of Clow Reed?" Yue asked, astonished at the sorceress' knowledge.

Edea smiled. "I have…resources. How else am I a great sorceress without knowing about those even more powerful than me?"

"Edea…" Kero-chan murmured. "I have heard Clow utter that name before. Why…"

Edea turned her attention away from the two guardians and looked at her "children". "Why don't we all go and have something to eat? I must say, trying to keep the portal from closing took a lot from me. A sorceress needs some kind of nourishment."

"On your way, Matron," Squall said. He ran back to the ship and commanded the SeeD members to open up the ship. With that done, he signaled the others to come in and rest.

Selphie, Zell and Quistis ran while Edea walked calmly into the ship. Kero-chan smelled Sakura's cooking and flew quickly to find the source of the smell. Yue hesitated, looking to the place in which the maze was originally in. "Are you testing us, Clow?" he whispered, so only he could hear. The guardian turned and walked into the ship.