My story will be over soon… very soon… but I have a short chapter here… the
final battle doth approach…
Chapter 37
Sakura rubbed her head. "Ugh… What the heck happened? Ugh… my back, my head, my chest, my legs… they're all so sore…" She sat up on her bed. "Syaoran, are you there?" She sat in silence. "Syaoran? Huh? What's this? It's the Clow Cards! But… why didn't they take them?"
There was a bang on the door. "Are you awake?" A voice came from the other side. "Hoe? Who's there?" The door slammed open. In stepped two guards who grabbed her arms and dragged her arms and dragged her to the floor. "What? Where are you taking me?"
A few minutes later, after being dragged through the darkness on the rough ground, they came to a large, empty room. They pulled back and tossed her into one corner. They quickly left and locked the door tight behind them. Sakura stood up and knocked the dirt off her skirt. "Where am I?" She was in a pretty bright room. One wall, right next to the door, had a giant glass panel that showed the two guards staring back. In the corner was a TV. Apparently, a demon had brought one back from their world. Suddenly, the TV turned on. Sakura held the Clow Cards close to her. Sadin's face appeared on the TV.
"Hello, my pet… Welcome to your torture!" Sakura looked confused. "What's going on?" Sadin smiled. "Oh, you may notice that I have left the Clow Cards with you. Fear not, I'm not going to force them from you. I could have easily killed you and taken the cards from you, but where's the fun in that? So instead, I've decided to have a little… fun… with you." Sakura frowned as she watched the guards on the other side of the glass smirking back. "What do you mean by that?" She asked nervously. "Well, you see, we aren't going to let you out of that room until you surrender the cards to us. Eventually, you'll starve to death. However, if you decide you value your life and hand over your cards, you won't end up like your friends…" Sakura gasped as tears started to form in her eyes. "What… what do you mean by 'end up like your friends?'"
Sadin laughed. Well, maybe I should show you over and over again until you surrender! Have a look, and enjoy the rest of your retched life…"
Sadin's face disappeared, and a far more awful thing appeared: video. It wasn't just any video. It showed Tomoyo and Mia running down a hall… only to fall to gunfire from guards. Touya walked out a door, only to fall into what looked like an endless pit. Kero, Yue, and Eriol's group stuck in a room as the walls moved in closer and locked them out. Sakura had a look of utter horror on her face. She said nothing. She just watched in terror. Lastly, and worst of all, she watched as a horde of demons leaped from the shadows of a hallway littered with the bodies of fallen warriors, mages, archers, and villagers, and stabbed Syaoran with their swords.
Sakura couldn't believe it. All of her friends and family were gone… Sadin's forces and traps had wiped them all out. They were all dead. She put her head down on the ground and cried and cried as the tapes played over and over.
But a new feeling arose in her. Not sorrow or anger, but a new feeling arose. Determination. "I must do it… I must beat Sadin! He's caused so much grief and pain! I must stop him! I will stop him, even if I have to do it alone." Sakura pounded her fists on the ground and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Syaoran… this is for you… I know I promised not to use this in anger, so I'll only use it to help…" Sakura grabbed her staff and a card. "RELEASE!" The staff grew in the air and Sakura grabbed it. She tossed a Card in the air. "POWER CARD!"
The demons stood in shock, watching her. "What should we do? Should we try to stop her?" One asked the other. "Nah. This could be pretty entertaining! These walls are 3 feet thick brick and this glass is a foot of tempered glass! A ton of dynamite couldn't blow it away! Let's just watch her struggle!"
Sakura walked over to the guards behind the glass who laughed watching her. She raised one fist, with the Power Card's strength coursing through her veins, and punched the glass. The entire wall went tumbling down, landing on the two guards. Sakura stepped over them and ran for the nearest door. "I'm out… Now I only need to find Sadin and end this! I… I'm not going to let him get away with what he's done…" She threw open a door. She recognized the room. It was the hallway where they first met Sadin. "Now where could he- OH MY GOD!" She looked down the stairs, and saw all of her friends at the bottom. "Sakura?" Syaoran asked. "Syaoran! You're alive!" She literally leaped from the top of the stairs all the way down as Syaoran raced to her. They both landed in each other's arms and hugged as tight as they could. "Oh Syaoran… I was so scarred… Sadin said you were all dead… I… I couldn't let him get away with that… I had to defeat him… but you're alive…" They stared into each other's eyes. Syaoran could see both happiness and sadness in her beautiful emerald eyes. Sakura buried her head in his chest and cried. "I can't take this anymore! All the death, blood, hatred… I can't stand it! I need it to just end… I don't want to see my friends hurt." Syaoran rubbed her back to calm her down as he hugged her tight. "Don't worry, Sakura. It will be all over with soon. Don't you worry. Everything will be back to the way it should be soon." They stood in silence for a moment before they broke the hug and walked down.
Sakura looked around for a second. "Hey, where's Tomoyo? And Touya?" Yue stepped forward. "Your brother was still pretty badly injured, so Tomoyo volunteered to escort him out and take care of him. She won't be joining us, and obviously Touya won't, either." Sakura stared at the ground disappointed. Mia stepped up. "But maybe, that's a good thing. Only the people in the room with Sadin when he is defeated will remember what happened here. Tomoyo will forget everything. Forget seeing her parents die, seeing you two die, and all that heartache. She can go back to normal." Sakura smiled. "You mean, she can be normal again?" Mia smiled. "Yeah. By normal, I mean relatively speaking, since she IS Tomoyo after all! But yes, she will be fine. And Touya won't know a thing about your power once again." Sakura smiled. "Then it's for the best!"
Eriol stepped up. "Now that we have that out of the way, why don't we find Sadin and bring an end to this madness once and for all?" Everyone nodded. Sakura quickly stopped, though. "Wait, Syaoran, how did you all get here? What happened to all of you?" Syaoran sighed. "It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. Well, I escaped from my cell, but I ran into Sadin's 'version' of you. It naturally wanted me dead, but I… just knew it wasn't you. It couldn't be. It was just a feeling. When I defeated the imposter, I left the room and found all of these guys locked up in a single cell. After knocking the guards out, we left. Next thing we know, we're back here, and you show up a few minutes later while we're planning to go look for you!"
They stepped up to the front of the room where they saw Sadin enter and slowly opened the door. The room was completely dark. They all walked in, but no one could see a thing. They all remained dead silent. Suddenly, they could see a figure. It was Sadin, hunched over a book in a huge room. The lights brightened quickly. Sadin slammed his book closed. He stood up and turned around. The door slammed shut and actually disappeared.
"Welcome, my honorable guests! Welcome to Hell!"
To be continued…
Chapter 37
Sakura rubbed her head. "Ugh… What the heck happened? Ugh… my back, my head, my chest, my legs… they're all so sore…" She sat up on her bed. "Syaoran, are you there?" She sat in silence. "Syaoran? Huh? What's this? It's the Clow Cards! But… why didn't they take them?"
There was a bang on the door. "Are you awake?" A voice came from the other side. "Hoe? Who's there?" The door slammed open. In stepped two guards who grabbed her arms and dragged her arms and dragged her to the floor. "What? Where are you taking me?"
A few minutes later, after being dragged through the darkness on the rough ground, they came to a large, empty room. They pulled back and tossed her into one corner. They quickly left and locked the door tight behind them. Sakura stood up and knocked the dirt off her skirt. "Where am I?" She was in a pretty bright room. One wall, right next to the door, had a giant glass panel that showed the two guards staring back. In the corner was a TV. Apparently, a demon had brought one back from their world. Suddenly, the TV turned on. Sakura held the Clow Cards close to her. Sadin's face appeared on the TV.
"Hello, my pet… Welcome to your torture!" Sakura looked confused. "What's going on?" Sadin smiled. "Oh, you may notice that I have left the Clow Cards with you. Fear not, I'm not going to force them from you. I could have easily killed you and taken the cards from you, but where's the fun in that? So instead, I've decided to have a little… fun… with you." Sakura frowned as she watched the guards on the other side of the glass smirking back. "What do you mean by that?" She asked nervously. "Well, you see, we aren't going to let you out of that room until you surrender the cards to us. Eventually, you'll starve to death. However, if you decide you value your life and hand over your cards, you won't end up like your friends…" Sakura gasped as tears started to form in her eyes. "What… what do you mean by 'end up like your friends?'"
Sadin laughed. Well, maybe I should show you over and over again until you surrender! Have a look, and enjoy the rest of your retched life…"
Sadin's face disappeared, and a far more awful thing appeared: video. It wasn't just any video. It showed Tomoyo and Mia running down a hall… only to fall to gunfire from guards. Touya walked out a door, only to fall into what looked like an endless pit. Kero, Yue, and Eriol's group stuck in a room as the walls moved in closer and locked them out. Sakura had a look of utter horror on her face. She said nothing. She just watched in terror. Lastly, and worst of all, she watched as a horde of demons leaped from the shadows of a hallway littered with the bodies of fallen warriors, mages, archers, and villagers, and stabbed Syaoran with their swords.
Sakura couldn't believe it. All of her friends and family were gone… Sadin's forces and traps had wiped them all out. They were all dead. She put her head down on the ground and cried and cried as the tapes played over and over.
But a new feeling arose in her. Not sorrow or anger, but a new feeling arose. Determination. "I must do it… I must beat Sadin! He's caused so much grief and pain! I must stop him! I will stop him, even if I have to do it alone." Sakura pounded her fists on the ground and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Syaoran… this is for you… I know I promised not to use this in anger, so I'll only use it to help…" Sakura grabbed her staff and a card. "RELEASE!" The staff grew in the air and Sakura grabbed it. She tossed a Card in the air. "POWER CARD!"
The demons stood in shock, watching her. "What should we do? Should we try to stop her?" One asked the other. "Nah. This could be pretty entertaining! These walls are 3 feet thick brick and this glass is a foot of tempered glass! A ton of dynamite couldn't blow it away! Let's just watch her struggle!"
Sakura walked over to the guards behind the glass who laughed watching her. She raised one fist, with the Power Card's strength coursing through her veins, and punched the glass. The entire wall went tumbling down, landing on the two guards. Sakura stepped over them and ran for the nearest door. "I'm out… Now I only need to find Sadin and end this! I… I'm not going to let him get away with what he's done…" She threw open a door. She recognized the room. It was the hallway where they first met Sadin. "Now where could he- OH MY GOD!" She looked down the stairs, and saw all of her friends at the bottom. "Sakura?" Syaoran asked. "Syaoran! You're alive!" She literally leaped from the top of the stairs all the way down as Syaoran raced to her. They both landed in each other's arms and hugged as tight as they could. "Oh Syaoran… I was so scarred… Sadin said you were all dead… I… I couldn't let him get away with that… I had to defeat him… but you're alive…" They stared into each other's eyes. Syaoran could see both happiness and sadness in her beautiful emerald eyes. Sakura buried her head in his chest and cried. "I can't take this anymore! All the death, blood, hatred… I can't stand it! I need it to just end… I don't want to see my friends hurt." Syaoran rubbed her back to calm her down as he hugged her tight. "Don't worry, Sakura. It will be all over with soon. Don't you worry. Everything will be back to the way it should be soon." They stood in silence for a moment before they broke the hug and walked down.
Sakura looked around for a second. "Hey, where's Tomoyo? And Touya?" Yue stepped forward. "Your brother was still pretty badly injured, so Tomoyo volunteered to escort him out and take care of him. She won't be joining us, and obviously Touya won't, either." Sakura stared at the ground disappointed. Mia stepped up. "But maybe, that's a good thing. Only the people in the room with Sadin when he is defeated will remember what happened here. Tomoyo will forget everything. Forget seeing her parents die, seeing you two die, and all that heartache. She can go back to normal." Sakura smiled. "You mean, she can be normal again?" Mia smiled. "Yeah. By normal, I mean relatively speaking, since she IS Tomoyo after all! But yes, she will be fine. And Touya won't know a thing about your power once again." Sakura smiled. "Then it's for the best!"
Eriol stepped up. "Now that we have that out of the way, why don't we find Sadin and bring an end to this madness once and for all?" Everyone nodded. Sakura quickly stopped, though. "Wait, Syaoran, how did you all get here? What happened to all of you?" Syaoran sighed. "It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. Well, I escaped from my cell, but I ran into Sadin's 'version' of you. It naturally wanted me dead, but I… just knew it wasn't you. It couldn't be. It was just a feeling. When I defeated the imposter, I left the room and found all of these guys locked up in a single cell. After knocking the guards out, we left. Next thing we know, we're back here, and you show up a few minutes later while we're planning to go look for you!"
They stepped up to the front of the room where they saw Sadin enter and slowly opened the door. The room was completely dark. They all walked in, but no one could see a thing. They all remained dead silent. Suddenly, they could see a figure. It was Sadin, hunched over a book in a huge room. The lights brightened quickly. Sadin slammed his book closed. He stood up and turned around. The door slammed shut and actually disappeared.
"Welcome, my honorable guests! Welcome to Hell!"
To be continued…