Well, I promised to get a new chapter out soon, and I did. Now that Spring
Break is here, I can update constantly, so enjoy!
Oh, and to answer Sakura Lover's question, yes, they are quite dense. They love each other very much, but don't realize it that much…
Chapter 29
They were flying through the sky on the Fly Card when the final shrine came into view. Sakura gasped, gawking at its size. Syaoran tried to see, but Sakura's hair was blowing in his face. He pulled her hair away and got a good view of it. It was a huge tan castle. It wasn't at all like the past shrines. They couldn't even see the end of it. It was just a huge endless wall of towers. It was like it was out of the middle ages, made right out of tan bricks on top of what looked like a floating black and brown rock. It was just sitting there among the clouds. Below it, Syaoran spotted the Mage Village. "Sakura, that thing is huge! Why don't we head down to the Mage Village before we take it on? You know, to prepare." Sakura turned her head, still steering the Fly Card. "Good idea, but let's just check out the shrine from the outside first? You know, just to see if we can spot a weakness?" Sakura picked up speed and flew towards the giant structure.
Things were going pretty smoothly, when the wind began to increase and push them back. Syaoran yelled above the roar of the wind, "SAKURA! SLOW DOWN! I CAN'T HOLD ON LIKE THIS!" Sakura turned her head back. A look of concern was on her face. "I'M NOT GOING FAST! THE WIND IS DOING THIS ON ITS OWN!" They held on for life. "SAKURA! SOMETHING IS WRONG. LET'S LAND." "ALRIGHT." Sakura began to move slowly towards the ground when the clouds around them darkened. They could see something they never would have expected. It looked like a black tornado was right below the castle, suspending it in the air. "THAT MUST BE THE SKY RIFT MIA TOLD US ABOUT." Syaoran shouted. But then the winds picked up again, and Sakura was blown off the staff. She smashed into Syaoran who fell off as well, and the two of them went tumbling down to the ground as the staff followed, with the ground hundreds of feet below them.
Syaoran looked over to see they were tumbling head over heels in the air towards the ground. There wasn't a one in a billion chance either of them would survive a fall from that height at full health, and Sakura was still bandaged up and Syaoran had the bandages wrapped around the bullet wound in his arm. What could they do? Sakura regained balance and flattened out to try and stop her tumbling. "SYAORAN! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" She looked upwards and noticed her staff was slowly following them tumbling to the ground with them. "MY STAFF! IF I COULD REACH IT…" Syaoran looked up and saw it two. He spread his arms and legs out and the wind slowed him down. Sakura watched him slow down until the staff was in his grasp. He held the staff in his hands and watched Sakura. She was too far down, and the ground was quickly approaching. He faced straight down and he rocketed towards the Earth. He rocketed right past Sakura, barreling so fast the buildings of the Mage Village seemed to double in size in a matter of seconds. He tossed the staff up and spread out again to slow down. He saw Sakura catch the staff and braced for impact. It would only be a matter of seconds until he would become splattered all over the village. He closed his eyes. He waited for it to end. But nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see he was slowly falling. He was very slowly let onto his feet. He turned and saw Sakura slowly float down to the ground with a swirling gust of wind below her. "Windy Card?" Syaoran asked. "Yeah. Well, I guess you can call it paying you back. You've saved me more times than I've saved you."
They slowly opened the main door to the underground Mage Lair. The entire city was dead silent. Not a movement could be seen. Not a sound could be heard. The lights were dim. Sakura and Syaoran moved slowly moved through the darkness. Syaoran blushed as Sakura clung to his chest. "Please tell me there are no ghosts here… This is just like where ghosts hang out…" They slowly walked throughout the building. When they reached the main hall where the great feast had taken place, they saw eight figures hunched over a table.
"I wonder if they are doing that well…"
"Well, they were a big help to us and our village."
"They were to ours as well… if it weren't for them…"
"I don't care! I warned her not to go! I wanted to go in her place…"
"Will you get over that! You've been talking like that for the past week!"
"Stop this senseless arguing! It isn't going to help us figure out where they are or if they are even still alive."
"OF COURSE THEY'RE ALIVE!"
"Yeah, they're tough."
"There's no way they could lose."
"I just want to know what that damn boy is doing to her… if I ever find out he did something to her…"
"Oh quiet. You've been talking like he's some serial murderer out to get her."
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised."
"I'm sure our master is fine…"
"Wait… I sense their energy. They are very close…"
"You're kidding?!"
Sakura and Syaoran stepped forward. "Who's there?" Syaoran asked. A figure raised its hand and the lights brightened. The figures all gasped in chorus. "SAKURA! SYAORAN! YOU'RE BACK!" They all screamed. Sakura gasped and smiled cheerfully. "Oh my God! You're all here and safe! I'm so happy!"
Before them stood all of their friends and allies they had met before:
Tomoyo, Mia, Touya, Yue, Kero, Vincent, Meilin, and even little Mihoshi!
"Oh my God! Sakura! I'm so glad to see you!" Tomoyo said as she ran up to her and hugged her. "Ahh! What happened to you?! You're covered in bandages and all battered and covered with bruises!" Touya's face turned red as he ran up to Syaoran and grabbed him by the throat, raising one fist in the air. "I warned you! I warned you about what I would do if you hurt my sister!" Sakura grabbed Touya's hand and gave him a look that would scare anyone. "For the last time, big brother… SYAORAN WOULD NEVER HURT ME!" Touya let Syaoran go and walked off without saying a word. She lowered her voice. "In fact, if it weren't for Syaoran, I'd be lying on the bottom of the ocean right now!" Syaoran lifted his arm to show the bandage from the bullet wound. "And if it weren't for Sakura, I'd be lying in a pool of blood full of lead." Meilin gasped. "You're kidding! What happened after you left our village?" Syaoran interrupted. "We'll get to that. But first, Meilin, Mihoshi, Vincent, what are you doing here? Aren't the three of you supposed to be in your own villages?" Vincent said, "Well, after you saved our village from the eternal cold, I wanted to help you out. But I wasn't sure when or if you would ever return. I wasn't sure where you were, so I decided to come here. There aren't many other villages left in all of Japan, so I figured the only place you could have gotten some of those supplies you had would be here…" "So you came to wait for us at the Mage Village." Syaoran interrupted. "Exactly." Mihoshi said, "Me and my Big Sis wanted to help too." Meilin added, "So basically, we wanted to help, but we didn't know how. So we decided there was no way you could beat Sadin on your own. So when the time comes, we'll be here." Sakura smiled. "Thank you so much! I'm glad you all care so much." Tomoyo said hastily, "Alright, we told you our story, now what happened to you? We didn't know what had happened to you after you left to fight that demon leader in the forest." Yue finally spoke up. "We knew you had beaten the demon. Keroberos and I were fighting brutally against the army, but suddenly, the entire army just vanished into thin air. You must have killed the leader. That's the only explanation." Sakura sat down. "Well, we'll tell you the entire story…"
They told the entire story as everyone listened carefully. (Author's note: Well, Touya didn't pay that close of attention. He constantly eyed Syaoran like he was some sort of criminal, as usual. -_-' ) They were enraptured in their story. Or in Touya's case, when Meilin brought up their kiss in the fortress, enraged, though he did calm down when he learned it was just an act. They finally finished up after about an hour of story telling. "..And the last thing I remember before passing out was Syaoran looking worried above me." Sakura said. "I couldn't just watch Sakura die. I got out my sword and killed the fish. I carried Sakura towards the surface. I thought she was dead. But a few minutes later, I realized she was alive and gave her CPR. Her heart started again and she began breathing." Syaoran said.
"That's when you gave her the big, nice long, kiss, right?"
They turned to see someone standing behind them. "GENE!" Sakura shouted. She stood up and walked to him. The rest of them stood and wondered who he is. Well, all except for Syaoran and Touya, who sat with veins popping on their faces. "YOU KISSED MY SISTER?!" Touya rang out. "No! I already told you, I didn't! It was just CPR!" Syaoran said angrily. "Oh, don't be so modest!" Gene said. "Not everyone can be such a good romantic!" Meilin and Mihoshi giggled. Syaoran sat in silence, blushing, as did Sakura. "…What are you doing here?" Syaoran asked. "Well, isn't that a warm welcome. I heard the entire story. I'm here for the same reason. I couldn't just let you two go off on your own, could I?" Gene said. Sakura thought for a second before asking, "Wait, didn't you say it would take two days to get here by foot?" "I didn't come by foot. I came by horse." A sweat drop rolled down Sakura and Syaoran's heads. "Then why didn't you lend us a horse?" Syaoran asked. "Hmm… guess I never thought of that."
Mia asked, "Now, I'm glad to see you again, but might I ask why you are here?" Sakura held up the Fly Card. "We were trying to get to the Wind Shrine right above us, but these giant winds blew us back. The Fly Card couldn't take it and we were blown off." Sakura said. "We almost ended up splattered over the village. Sakura managed to keep that from happening with the Windy Card, but we don't know how to get to the shrine." Mia thought out loud to herself. "Damn. I was worried this might happen… I don't know what we can do. Even if we could get past the windstorms shrine, I'm not sure you would be able to make it… The wind shrine is like a huge castle, from what I've heard. It's not as simple in design as say the past shrines you've described. It is supposedly huge. It's filled with traps, beasts, puzzles, and everything else that could possibly get in your way. Maybe we shouldn't have tried…" "Don't say that!" Sakura interrupted. "We have to do something! Mia, we're going to do whatever it takes to defeat Sadin, no matter how hard it may be! No matter the cost!" "…" Mia was silent. Tomoyo snapped her fingers. "I GOT IT!" She screamed. "Got what?" Syaoran asked. "I know how you can get in the shrine! Watch, this is a new spell I learned:" Tomoyo crossed her arms and concentrated. Her body glowed like a rainbow for a second, then she began to hover in the air by a few feet. "Neat, huh?" A sweat drop rolled down Syaoran's head. "Umm… no offense, Tomoyo, but I don't think hovering a few feet off the ground will help us reach an island a few thousand feet in the air." Tomoyo smiled. "That would be true, but I know how to use it right. It's called "Angel Wings." I named it myself. Sakura, let me see the Fly Card." Sakura handed it to her. "I don't know what you want with it though. You can't summon the cards." Sakura said. Tomoyo concentrated and the card began to glow like a rainbow. "Okay, now try using the card." Tomoyo said. Sakura looked confused, but she summoned the staff and tried it anyways. "FLY CARD!" An aura of light surrounded Sakura. When it vanished, she felt… different.
Everyone but Tomoyo stared at Sakura with wide eyes and their jaws dropped in silence. Tomoyo blushed, saying, "Aww… how utterly adorable!" Sakura didn't know what they were talking about. She didn't see anything. She wasn't even in the air. The staff didn't even have wings. "What happened?" Sakura asked. She noticed a feather sitting on her shoulder and brushed it off. But a few seconds later, it came back. She brushed it off again, but it came back again. She wondered what was happening and grabbed it. What she saw shocked her. She turned her head. Sticking out of her back was a gigantic pair of angel wings. The feathers were small white-to-gray things, very soft to the touch. "HOE! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME, TOMOYO?!" Tomoyo giggled. "Don't worry, it's just a new version of the Fly Card. It will go away when you command it to. But my God! You look SO CUTE!" A sweat drop rolled down Sakura's head. "Well, at least it's not permanent…" Tomoyo blushed. "You're so lucky. First you get the powers of the Clow Cards, now you get angel wings… I wish I could get some… Oh! I have the most adorable idea!" She raised her arms and a quick bolt of magic flew from her hands, and a golden halo appeared over Sakura's head. "Now THAT is cute!" Another sweat drop rolled down Sakura's head. "Hoe… thanks, I guess."
Syaoran stood up and stood in front of Sakura. He slowly put his hands on one of her wings and rubbed it. Sakura tried to move the wings, rubbing it on Syaoran's face. Syaoran blushed and backed up. He said, "Well, they're soft and pretty comfortable, but how does this helps us?" Tomoyo smiled again. "This is how you're going to get to the shrine! Those wings are extremely strong and can get through any winds! If Sakura carries you, then the two of you can pass right through the wind and into the castle!" Sakura added, "Well, that would work, if I knew how to fly! I can move my wings, but I don't know how to use them." She adjusted her halo, which was falling to one side. "Oh, that's easy." Kero said, finally breaking the silence of the rest of them. Kero walked over to her. "I've done this forever. Just flap them both back, and jump. You'll get the hang of it." Sakura moved her wings a little off beat, one then another. Eventually she got the rhythm and was flapping them with a great gust of wind that blew everyone's hair back. She jumped in the air, and hovered for a moment. She picked up speed and was flying across the room. She laughed out loud. "Wow! I'm really flying! This is fun!" She giggled as she flew with increasing speed in circles across the room. She flew directly over the table gracefully, sending a gust of wind pushing everyone back. She flew towards the exit with her wings spread. Touya stood up and screamed. "COME BACK HERE, MONSTER!" They all ran behind her.
When they reached outdoors, Sakura was flying in loops outside. "Yay! This is so cool!" She screamed. She flew over and landed in front of all of them. "Wow, thanks Tomoyo! This is the most fun I've had in a long time!" Tomoyo just giggled. "And you really look like an angel! Oh, I wish I still had my video camcorder! But come on in. We'll have some dinner, change, get some sleep, and then tomorrow we can tackle the shrine!" Sakura recalled the Fly Card and her wings disappeared, though the halo remained.
The next morning, they woke up with their new clothes. Tomoyo wanted to go with an angel theme, so Sakura wore a very long white dress with short sleeves. Just after the sleeves ended, she wore long white elegant gloves that went from her elbows to her fingers. She had a pair of white shoes with long white stockings. The dress itself was very simple, with no real designs. Syaoran wore a long-sleeved white Japanese robe that covered his feet, where he wore a pair of white high boots. Tomoyo also decided to give him a halo, even though he didn't want one. She couldn't give him wings, though he seemed almost relieved so. They met up in the main hall where everyone was waiting for them.
"Aww… a couple of little angels… You two are always so cute everyday!" Tomoyo said when she saw them. Gene smirked. "You know, they're even cuter when they have one of their romantic little moments!" Meilin smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The halos really help." Mihoshi added, "Yeah! I love this, they're so adorable! I want a halo!" Sakura and Syaoran stood staring at them with veins popping. "WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" They screamed. "Look, we didn't decide to dress like a couple of angels! I didn't even want a halo! Tomoyo gave me one while my back was turned! I don't want to look like an angel." Syaoran screamed. Kero said, "Well, if we are quite done with this pointless babble, we might get on with this?" Mia said, "Yes, that's a good idea. Sakura, you'll have to carry Syaoran. Since they are the only ones who can fly, Kero and Yue will follow you." Yue added, "Though our wings aren't quite as strong, so it may take us a while longer to get in." Vincent added, "The rest of us will wait for you destroy the last shrine. Then we'll help assault Sadin together." Sakura remembered one thing. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the stones that the demons had dropped. "Mia, do you know what these are?" Mia looked at them and gasped. "Where did you find these?" She asked. Sakura answered, "Every time we defeated a demon who guarded a shrine, they dropped one of these." Mia smiled. "I know what these are! These are special magic-amplifying stones! There are 5 in all. When you have all five of them, you may combine them with a magic spell and they will increase the power of any attack! They may be only used once, but when they are used, it will make any attack about 20x more powerful! But there's no time for this talk. We need to get moving!" Sakura put the magic amplifying stones in her backpack and stepped outside. Yue and Kero followed them. Sakura grabbed her staff and the Fly Card. "FLY CARD! GRANT ME THE ANGEL WINGS!" Then the beautiful angel wings appeared on Sakura's back and spread out wide. Syaoran stepped forward. He adjusted his halo as he blushed. "I guess… we should old each other…" Syaoran said. Sakura blushed too, but didn't say anything. Syaoran grabbed Sakura, but it was more like a hug. Sakura wrapped her arms around him too. They sat there in silence for a second. Kero and Yue jumped into the air and flew off, while Sakura and Syaoran still sat there holding each other. "HEY!" Tomoyo said. "There will be plenty of time for hugging later. Get going, Kero and Yue are already flying there." They turned towards Tomoyo and blushed even more. They tried to think of a good excuse, but they couldn't come up with one. So instead, Sakura jumped high into the air, holding Syaoran in her arms, flying towards the final shrine, and quite possibly the toughest shrine of them all!
To be continued…
Oh, and to answer Sakura Lover's question, yes, they are quite dense. They love each other very much, but don't realize it that much…
Chapter 29
They were flying through the sky on the Fly Card when the final shrine came into view. Sakura gasped, gawking at its size. Syaoran tried to see, but Sakura's hair was blowing in his face. He pulled her hair away and got a good view of it. It was a huge tan castle. It wasn't at all like the past shrines. They couldn't even see the end of it. It was just a huge endless wall of towers. It was like it was out of the middle ages, made right out of tan bricks on top of what looked like a floating black and brown rock. It was just sitting there among the clouds. Below it, Syaoran spotted the Mage Village. "Sakura, that thing is huge! Why don't we head down to the Mage Village before we take it on? You know, to prepare." Sakura turned her head, still steering the Fly Card. "Good idea, but let's just check out the shrine from the outside first? You know, just to see if we can spot a weakness?" Sakura picked up speed and flew towards the giant structure.
Things were going pretty smoothly, when the wind began to increase and push them back. Syaoran yelled above the roar of the wind, "SAKURA! SLOW DOWN! I CAN'T HOLD ON LIKE THIS!" Sakura turned her head back. A look of concern was on her face. "I'M NOT GOING FAST! THE WIND IS DOING THIS ON ITS OWN!" They held on for life. "SAKURA! SOMETHING IS WRONG. LET'S LAND." "ALRIGHT." Sakura began to move slowly towards the ground when the clouds around them darkened. They could see something they never would have expected. It looked like a black tornado was right below the castle, suspending it in the air. "THAT MUST BE THE SKY RIFT MIA TOLD US ABOUT." Syaoran shouted. But then the winds picked up again, and Sakura was blown off the staff. She smashed into Syaoran who fell off as well, and the two of them went tumbling down to the ground as the staff followed, with the ground hundreds of feet below them.
Syaoran looked over to see they were tumbling head over heels in the air towards the ground. There wasn't a one in a billion chance either of them would survive a fall from that height at full health, and Sakura was still bandaged up and Syaoran had the bandages wrapped around the bullet wound in his arm. What could they do? Sakura regained balance and flattened out to try and stop her tumbling. "SYAORAN! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" She looked upwards and noticed her staff was slowly following them tumbling to the ground with them. "MY STAFF! IF I COULD REACH IT…" Syaoran looked up and saw it two. He spread his arms and legs out and the wind slowed him down. Sakura watched him slow down until the staff was in his grasp. He held the staff in his hands and watched Sakura. She was too far down, and the ground was quickly approaching. He faced straight down and he rocketed towards the Earth. He rocketed right past Sakura, barreling so fast the buildings of the Mage Village seemed to double in size in a matter of seconds. He tossed the staff up and spread out again to slow down. He saw Sakura catch the staff and braced for impact. It would only be a matter of seconds until he would become splattered all over the village. He closed his eyes. He waited for it to end. But nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see he was slowly falling. He was very slowly let onto his feet. He turned and saw Sakura slowly float down to the ground with a swirling gust of wind below her. "Windy Card?" Syaoran asked. "Yeah. Well, I guess you can call it paying you back. You've saved me more times than I've saved you."
They slowly opened the main door to the underground Mage Lair. The entire city was dead silent. Not a movement could be seen. Not a sound could be heard. The lights were dim. Sakura and Syaoran moved slowly moved through the darkness. Syaoran blushed as Sakura clung to his chest. "Please tell me there are no ghosts here… This is just like where ghosts hang out…" They slowly walked throughout the building. When they reached the main hall where the great feast had taken place, they saw eight figures hunched over a table.
"I wonder if they are doing that well…"
"Well, they were a big help to us and our village."
"They were to ours as well… if it weren't for them…"
"I don't care! I warned her not to go! I wanted to go in her place…"
"Will you get over that! You've been talking like that for the past week!"
"Stop this senseless arguing! It isn't going to help us figure out where they are or if they are even still alive."
"OF COURSE THEY'RE ALIVE!"
"Yeah, they're tough."
"There's no way they could lose."
"I just want to know what that damn boy is doing to her… if I ever find out he did something to her…"
"Oh quiet. You've been talking like he's some serial murderer out to get her."
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised."
"I'm sure our master is fine…"
"Wait… I sense their energy. They are very close…"
"You're kidding?!"
Sakura and Syaoran stepped forward. "Who's there?" Syaoran asked. A figure raised its hand and the lights brightened. The figures all gasped in chorus. "SAKURA! SYAORAN! YOU'RE BACK!" They all screamed. Sakura gasped and smiled cheerfully. "Oh my God! You're all here and safe! I'm so happy!"
Before them stood all of their friends and allies they had met before:
Tomoyo, Mia, Touya, Yue, Kero, Vincent, Meilin, and even little Mihoshi!
"Oh my God! Sakura! I'm so glad to see you!" Tomoyo said as she ran up to her and hugged her. "Ahh! What happened to you?! You're covered in bandages and all battered and covered with bruises!" Touya's face turned red as he ran up to Syaoran and grabbed him by the throat, raising one fist in the air. "I warned you! I warned you about what I would do if you hurt my sister!" Sakura grabbed Touya's hand and gave him a look that would scare anyone. "For the last time, big brother… SYAORAN WOULD NEVER HURT ME!" Touya let Syaoran go and walked off without saying a word. She lowered her voice. "In fact, if it weren't for Syaoran, I'd be lying on the bottom of the ocean right now!" Syaoran lifted his arm to show the bandage from the bullet wound. "And if it weren't for Sakura, I'd be lying in a pool of blood full of lead." Meilin gasped. "You're kidding! What happened after you left our village?" Syaoran interrupted. "We'll get to that. But first, Meilin, Mihoshi, Vincent, what are you doing here? Aren't the three of you supposed to be in your own villages?" Vincent said, "Well, after you saved our village from the eternal cold, I wanted to help you out. But I wasn't sure when or if you would ever return. I wasn't sure where you were, so I decided to come here. There aren't many other villages left in all of Japan, so I figured the only place you could have gotten some of those supplies you had would be here…" "So you came to wait for us at the Mage Village." Syaoran interrupted. "Exactly." Mihoshi said, "Me and my Big Sis wanted to help too." Meilin added, "So basically, we wanted to help, but we didn't know how. So we decided there was no way you could beat Sadin on your own. So when the time comes, we'll be here." Sakura smiled. "Thank you so much! I'm glad you all care so much." Tomoyo said hastily, "Alright, we told you our story, now what happened to you? We didn't know what had happened to you after you left to fight that demon leader in the forest." Yue finally spoke up. "We knew you had beaten the demon. Keroberos and I were fighting brutally against the army, but suddenly, the entire army just vanished into thin air. You must have killed the leader. That's the only explanation." Sakura sat down. "Well, we'll tell you the entire story…"
They told the entire story as everyone listened carefully. (Author's note: Well, Touya didn't pay that close of attention. He constantly eyed Syaoran like he was some sort of criminal, as usual. -_-' ) They were enraptured in their story. Or in Touya's case, when Meilin brought up their kiss in the fortress, enraged, though he did calm down when he learned it was just an act. They finally finished up after about an hour of story telling. "..And the last thing I remember before passing out was Syaoran looking worried above me." Sakura said. "I couldn't just watch Sakura die. I got out my sword and killed the fish. I carried Sakura towards the surface. I thought she was dead. But a few minutes later, I realized she was alive and gave her CPR. Her heart started again and she began breathing." Syaoran said.
"That's when you gave her the big, nice long, kiss, right?"
They turned to see someone standing behind them. "GENE!" Sakura shouted. She stood up and walked to him. The rest of them stood and wondered who he is. Well, all except for Syaoran and Touya, who sat with veins popping on their faces. "YOU KISSED MY SISTER?!" Touya rang out. "No! I already told you, I didn't! It was just CPR!" Syaoran said angrily. "Oh, don't be so modest!" Gene said. "Not everyone can be such a good romantic!" Meilin and Mihoshi giggled. Syaoran sat in silence, blushing, as did Sakura. "…What are you doing here?" Syaoran asked. "Well, isn't that a warm welcome. I heard the entire story. I'm here for the same reason. I couldn't just let you two go off on your own, could I?" Gene said. Sakura thought for a second before asking, "Wait, didn't you say it would take two days to get here by foot?" "I didn't come by foot. I came by horse." A sweat drop rolled down Sakura and Syaoran's heads. "Then why didn't you lend us a horse?" Syaoran asked. "Hmm… guess I never thought of that."
Mia asked, "Now, I'm glad to see you again, but might I ask why you are here?" Sakura held up the Fly Card. "We were trying to get to the Wind Shrine right above us, but these giant winds blew us back. The Fly Card couldn't take it and we were blown off." Sakura said. "We almost ended up splattered over the village. Sakura managed to keep that from happening with the Windy Card, but we don't know how to get to the shrine." Mia thought out loud to herself. "Damn. I was worried this might happen… I don't know what we can do. Even if we could get past the windstorms shrine, I'm not sure you would be able to make it… The wind shrine is like a huge castle, from what I've heard. It's not as simple in design as say the past shrines you've described. It is supposedly huge. It's filled with traps, beasts, puzzles, and everything else that could possibly get in your way. Maybe we shouldn't have tried…" "Don't say that!" Sakura interrupted. "We have to do something! Mia, we're going to do whatever it takes to defeat Sadin, no matter how hard it may be! No matter the cost!" "…" Mia was silent. Tomoyo snapped her fingers. "I GOT IT!" She screamed. "Got what?" Syaoran asked. "I know how you can get in the shrine! Watch, this is a new spell I learned:" Tomoyo crossed her arms and concentrated. Her body glowed like a rainbow for a second, then she began to hover in the air by a few feet. "Neat, huh?" A sweat drop rolled down Syaoran's head. "Umm… no offense, Tomoyo, but I don't think hovering a few feet off the ground will help us reach an island a few thousand feet in the air." Tomoyo smiled. "That would be true, but I know how to use it right. It's called "Angel Wings." I named it myself. Sakura, let me see the Fly Card." Sakura handed it to her. "I don't know what you want with it though. You can't summon the cards." Sakura said. Tomoyo concentrated and the card began to glow like a rainbow. "Okay, now try using the card." Tomoyo said. Sakura looked confused, but she summoned the staff and tried it anyways. "FLY CARD!" An aura of light surrounded Sakura. When it vanished, she felt… different.
Everyone but Tomoyo stared at Sakura with wide eyes and their jaws dropped in silence. Tomoyo blushed, saying, "Aww… how utterly adorable!" Sakura didn't know what they were talking about. She didn't see anything. She wasn't even in the air. The staff didn't even have wings. "What happened?" Sakura asked. She noticed a feather sitting on her shoulder and brushed it off. But a few seconds later, it came back. She brushed it off again, but it came back again. She wondered what was happening and grabbed it. What she saw shocked her. She turned her head. Sticking out of her back was a gigantic pair of angel wings. The feathers were small white-to-gray things, very soft to the touch. "HOE! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME, TOMOYO?!" Tomoyo giggled. "Don't worry, it's just a new version of the Fly Card. It will go away when you command it to. But my God! You look SO CUTE!" A sweat drop rolled down Sakura's head. "Well, at least it's not permanent…" Tomoyo blushed. "You're so lucky. First you get the powers of the Clow Cards, now you get angel wings… I wish I could get some… Oh! I have the most adorable idea!" She raised her arms and a quick bolt of magic flew from her hands, and a golden halo appeared over Sakura's head. "Now THAT is cute!" Another sweat drop rolled down Sakura's head. "Hoe… thanks, I guess."
Syaoran stood up and stood in front of Sakura. He slowly put his hands on one of her wings and rubbed it. Sakura tried to move the wings, rubbing it on Syaoran's face. Syaoran blushed and backed up. He said, "Well, they're soft and pretty comfortable, but how does this helps us?" Tomoyo smiled again. "This is how you're going to get to the shrine! Those wings are extremely strong and can get through any winds! If Sakura carries you, then the two of you can pass right through the wind and into the castle!" Sakura added, "Well, that would work, if I knew how to fly! I can move my wings, but I don't know how to use them." She adjusted her halo, which was falling to one side. "Oh, that's easy." Kero said, finally breaking the silence of the rest of them. Kero walked over to her. "I've done this forever. Just flap them both back, and jump. You'll get the hang of it." Sakura moved her wings a little off beat, one then another. Eventually she got the rhythm and was flapping them with a great gust of wind that blew everyone's hair back. She jumped in the air, and hovered for a moment. She picked up speed and was flying across the room. She laughed out loud. "Wow! I'm really flying! This is fun!" She giggled as she flew with increasing speed in circles across the room. She flew directly over the table gracefully, sending a gust of wind pushing everyone back. She flew towards the exit with her wings spread. Touya stood up and screamed. "COME BACK HERE, MONSTER!" They all ran behind her.
When they reached outdoors, Sakura was flying in loops outside. "Yay! This is so cool!" She screamed. She flew over and landed in front of all of them. "Wow, thanks Tomoyo! This is the most fun I've had in a long time!" Tomoyo just giggled. "And you really look like an angel! Oh, I wish I still had my video camcorder! But come on in. We'll have some dinner, change, get some sleep, and then tomorrow we can tackle the shrine!" Sakura recalled the Fly Card and her wings disappeared, though the halo remained.
The next morning, they woke up with their new clothes. Tomoyo wanted to go with an angel theme, so Sakura wore a very long white dress with short sleeves. Just after the sleeves ended, she wore long white elegant gloves that went from her elbows to her fingers. She had a pair of white shoes with long white stockings. The dress itself was very simple, with no real designs. Syaoran wore a long-sleeved white Japanese robe that covered his feet, where he wore a pair of white high boots. Tomoyo also decided to give him a halo, even though he didn't want one. She couldn't give him wings, though he seemed almost relieved so. They met up in the main hall where everyone was waiting for them.
"Aww… a couple of little angels… You two are always so cute everyday!" Tomoyo said when she saw them. Gene smirked. "You know, they're even cuter when they have one of their romantic little moments!" Meilin smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The halos really help." Mihoshi added, "Yeah! I love this, they're so adorable! I want a halo!" Sakura and Syaoran stood staring at them with veins popping. "WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" They screamed. "Look, we didn't decide to dress like a couple of angels! I didn't even want a halo! Tomoyo gave me one while my back was turned! I don't want to look like an angel." Syaoran screamed. Kero said, "Well, if we are quite done with this pointless babble, we might get on with this?" Mia said, "Yes, that's a good idea. Sakura, you'll have to carry Syaoran. Since they are the only ones who can fly, Kero and Yue will follow you." Yue added, "Though our wings aren't quite as strong, so it may take us a while longer to get in." Vincent added, "The rest of us will wait for you destroy the last shrine. Then we'll help assault Sadin together." Sakura remembered one thing. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the stones that the demons had dropped. "Mia, do you know what these are?" Mia looked at them and gasped. "Where did you find these?" She asked. Sakura answered, "Every time we defeated a demon who guarded a shrine, they dropped one of these." Mia smiled. "I know what these are! These are special magic-amplifying stones! There are 5 in all. When you have all five of them, you may combine them with a magic spell and they will increase the power of any attack! They may be only used once, but when they are used, it will make any attack about 20x more powerful! But there's no time for this talk. We need to get moving!" Sakura put the magic amplifying stones in her backpack and stepped outside. Yue and Kero followed them. Sakura grabbed her staff and the Fly Card. "FLY CARD! GRANT ME THE ANGEL WINGS!" Then the beautiful angel wings appeared on Sakura's back and spread out wide. Syaoran stepped forward. He adjusted his halo as he blushed. "I guess… we should old each other…" Syaoran said. Sakura blushed too, but didn't say anything. Syaoran grabbed Sakura, but it was more like a hug. Sakura wrapped her arms around him too. They sat there in silence for a second. Kero and Yue jumped into the air and flew off, while Sakura and Syaoran still sat there holding each other. "HEY!" Tomoyo said. "There will be plenty of time for hugging later. Get going, Kero and Yue are already flying there." They turned towards Tomoyo and blushed even more. They tried to think of a good excuse, but they couldn't come up with one. So instead, Sakura jumped high into the air, holding Syaoran in her arms, flying towards the final shrine, and quite possibly the toughest shrine of them all!
To be continued…