Card Captors: A New Beginning

By "Grand Master Shoma"

Episode 8: One Hell Of A Conundrum

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the anime, or anything doing with the anime. But I do own this story, so don't steal it.

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Ah, from that chapter...

A sign that Keroberos will appear shortly?

Or something far worse?

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Is this a dream?

I was in a temple, seeing a woman in a strange uniform. I was across from her, and Terry, and Otou-san, and this girl I never saw before, as well as that winged lion, and a couple of other faces I couldn't see very well. I was wearing something that looked like my father's ceremonial clothing when he was a kid.

The woman then got up, and led me to a place that showed the whole city in a shade of nighttime. But the Ancient Radio Tower was the only thing illuminating. As if on silver angel wings, she started to fly away through the glass, and towards the Radio Tower.

"WAIT UP!!"

I summoned the Fly Card, and with my white wings, I made haste to follow her.

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"Hey Ryuko-san! Get up!"

I then received a hard pillow to the face. It was Daidouji-san, I figured. He was the only one in the room with me, and

*bam*

I receive another pillow to the face. Now he pays.

"Now you're gonna get it, Terry!!"

I get out my Star Key, quickly change it into the Star Staff, and totally bash Terry's head in. I think I gave him a strong concussion. Oh well, he deserved it though. That's what he gets for bashing me with pillows.

"GOD dammit, Kinomoto Li-kun! You don't know how much that hurts, do you?" Terry was quite peeved.

But like I said, he deserved it... Wait a minute: did he just call me, 'Kinomoto Li-kun?" Because adding 'kun' at the end of a name means you totally respect them. Does Terry have that much respect for me?

Nah. This is Terry were talking about.

"C'mon, let's meet up with Nakuru." Terry said as he was rubbing his head, and as he walked out the door.

As for me, I still had to change out of my pajamas, and into some clothes. I returned the Star Staff back to a key, back into my pocket, and met up with the other three. I also took with me my Sakura Cards: Earthy, Fight, Sweet, Bubbles, Fly, Sword, and the newly acquired Power.

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(This Area is in 3rd-person format.)

"Dear, didn't you notice something?"

"What?"

"I feel lots of powerful magic coming from the Sakura Cards."

"What do you mean?"

"The Sakura Cards are rampant."

"How can that be? They were sealed in the Sakura Book." Then worry came over. "Unless... NO!"

The two went into the basement, and searched the bookshelves for the Book of Sakura. But it was not there.

"Where is it?"

"Who could've released the cards?"

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(Back into Ryuko's 1st-person view)

Me, Terry, and Nakuru were simply passing by the beach and heading into a lovely green park. I was blazing by them with my blades as I made it to the park entrance. It looked beautiful, with lots of green trees, and beautiful flowers, especially sunflowers. And something else caught my surprise: there were lovely Sakura trees, with some of its blossoms falling from a light breeze. Like my Mom, I really love Sakura blossoms. I don't know why. I just did.

I skated up to a clearing, with some benches. It was almost engulfed by the surrounding Sakura trees.

"Cool! This totally looks like the Tomoeda district!" I gleefully spoke as I saw the Sakura trees swaying in the wind, the blossoms dropping everywhere. One even landed on my face, but I didn't mind it.

"Looks like Ryuko's 'word of law'," Nakuru sarcastically commanded. "states that we eat here for lunch."

So we bought a lunch at the concession stand there, and stayed at the benches there. Right when Terry was about to eat his fries he ordered, I took my Star Key, grabbed the tip of the fries container with my Key, and yanked it away from him.

A few minutes later, as we were cleaning up, I noticed something green was forming at the continuation of the trail in the park. I equip my skates, and I check it out.

"Hey, where are you going, Ryuko?" I heard Terry call out for me, as I then saw him coming out after me.

"Where are you two off to?" Nakuru was then coming after the both of us. She kept up because she was a good athlete. And when she made it to the both of us, she grabbed us by the shoulders. "Stop right there."

But then the glowing green anomaly started getting larger, and then we were engulfed into it.

Why does this always happen to me?

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Where am I?

I remember entering that strange green anomaly, along with Terry, and Nakuru, although I don't know why.

Now, I came too. We were in a green-looking hallway, with two walls coming together. But then I look up, and I saw... a maze? A maze was directly above us. And a complicated one, at that.

I soon saw Terry and Nakuru get up. They were soon getting the same reactions I had when I looked up at the maze.

"Ryuko, where are we?" Nakuru asked me as she started getting nervous, not knowing what to do.

"Beats the hell out of me." I reply back without calmness. "But, I am certainly getting some strange aura from this place. Like if this place was almost like..."

"Hey Ryuko, are you alright?" Terry asked me, but he knew that I was concentrating, so he left me alone.

Then I was finished.

"This entire place is a Sakura Card!"

"Which one?"

"It feels like the Maze Card. A card that creates hard and complicated mazes. In order to capture it, we have to get to the end of the maze. And I know exactly how to do that!"

"What are you going to do?" Nakuru was sarcastic. "Go through the walls?"

"Exactly."

Now the two of them were confused.

"I'm surprised you forgot about this, Nakuru. You know that when I was younger, I would always draw through the lines. And now, I'm gonna bring this technique back to life." I then pull out my Star Key.

"Oh Key that hides the forces of the stars!

Reveal to me thy true form!

I, Ryuko, command thee under contract!

RELEASE!"

I then pull out the Sword Card.

"SWORD CARD!"

When my Staff turned into the Sword Card, I slashed at the wall which was in front of me, causing it to make a large gap.

I jumped up in happiness. "YATTA!! LET'S GO!!" But as I go through the hole, it grew back, and my face banged against it. "NANI? What's this? The walls grow back? CRAP!"

"Well, looks like were gonna have to walk out of this maze, Ryuko." Nakuru smirked.

"And if we are, we may as well do this." Terry placed a paper on the wall. "If we get lost, we'll know we started from here."

"Alright, let's go."

We started walking. We saw four corners, and assumed that this was a square.

"Ah, Ryuko?" Terry wondered.

"What, Daidouji-san?"

"You know that paper I put on that wall?"

"What about it?"

"Every corner we saw, it had the paper on it."

"WHAT!?" Strangely, me and Nakuru said in surprise.

Terry just stretched his arm out to one of the hallways that went right to the corner. His arm disappeared to the side. I felt a smack on the back of my head.

"WAH! A demon hand!!" I screamed as I saw a hand behind me.

"Ryuko, it's just me!" Daidouji-san said as he pulled his hand away from my face. "We were not only just walking in a circle, we were walking in the same corner."

"Well its obvious. This area is covered in magic! A spell is put on this place!"

We saw a girl on the top of the wall. She had blue eyes, was a long-haired brunette, and had jeans and something that was a kimono top. She leapt from the wall, and landed on her feet perfectly.

"Whoa." is all I gave as I saw this girl come right up to me.

"I'm very sure that this magic can be sensed. Can't you feel it?"

It then hit me. This was a Sakura Card.

"Yeah, it is. It keeps us trapped in one place, and we keep ending up back to where we started, like a loop, or a circle, or a... LOOP CARD!"

"I'm very sure loops can be broken."

"Of course." I pull out my Staff, summon Sword, and cut in the area where Terry placed his hand to spook the living bejeezus out of me. The line snapped off, and it started to become a Mobius strip, just floating there.

"CANCEL SWORD!!"

I was now holding my Staff up high.

"Return to thy form which though should be!

LOOP CARD!!"

I snagged the Loop Card, and it turned back into the Card.

"YATTA!"

The girl was just staring at me. Her blue eyes piercing through my own multi-color ones. She looked like she could take me out in one hit. But I don't think I would go down that easily.

"Thanks for helping us, um... er..."

"My name," the girl sneered at me. "is Kasumi Kirrinneme."

"Kasumi. That's a nice name." I hazily respond, mostly because of her cute little face. Cute? What am I saying?

"Hey Ryuko, you like her don't you?" Terry poked at me playfully aloud as that girl was staring at me with Nakuru.

"Shut up, Daidouji-san!" I yell back.

"You like her!!"

I seethe my anger, and I start to calm down. "Terry, didn't you say you wanted a haircut?"

Now Terry was confused. "No."

"Well, that can be arranged." I slash Terry's ponytail off, leaving him with short, purple hair. His ponytail just laid there like a curled-up purple snake.

Terry, was speechless. For that moment only. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" And he tackled me on the ground.

"C'mon! We don't have time to waste! We have to get out of this maze!!" Kasumi soon became the voice of reason, and was what stopped me and Terry from fighting.

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"How big is this freaking place!?" I yelled as we were wandering the maze helplessly. I then look back to account of everyone... except that Daidouji-san was missing. "Where's Terry?"

"I'm right here."

I look around, and I fail to see him. Then I look up.

"THE HELL? How'd you get up here?"

"I don't know, but get me out of here!"

"Just try to jump down!"

"Yeah! Like I'm your dad, Ryuko!"

"Dad never jumped ninja-like before!" I turn to Nakuru, "Did he?"

Nakuru just shrugged her shoulders.

I yell up to Daidouji-san. "Well, you just stay there. Call your voice out, and then we'll be able to find you."

"HAI!"

We then start moving. I stop suddenly. "Hey, Daidouji-san!! You think a small 'hai' will let me find you? GOD, you're pathetic."

"Pathetic, am I!? Well, I..."

"Perfect," I look at the two girls, whispering. "I can use his rambling to find him better."

We go through some twists, turns, and even a large U-turn. But then we start having problems locating him, because he realizes that we're not there.

"GUYS! ARE YOU EVEN THERE!?"

We now see Daidouji-san's back. He's there, just confused and looking around the Maze.

"Behind you!"

He then looks behind. "Oh, there you are."

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We go down a narrow hallway. A tunnel of light greets us, but there was a floating lock. I tried to shake it off, but it pushed me back with a barrier.

"What's wrong? Let's get out of here!" Nakuru was rushing me.

"Shut it, onei-chan! Let's see," I look at the lock. "If it's a lock, then it needs..." I look at my Sakura Key. "...A key!" I place the Sakura Key into the lock, and it started to glow. "IT'S A SAKURA CARD!"

"Two in the same day? I gotta get this!" Terry pulls out his infamous video camera.

"Oh Key that hides the forces of the stars!

Reveal to me thy true form!

I, Ryuko, command thee under contract!

RELEASE!"

"Return to thy form which though should be!

SAKURA CARD!!"

I snag the lock, and it becomes a card.

"Lock Card?" I mutter to myself. "Oh well, let's go!"

"It's about time!" Nakuru dashed out first.

We come out of the maze, only it started to do something else behind us.  It was shifting around, going madly into swirls.

"Something's wrong!" Nakuru got nervous.

"Another Card?" Terry pressed the record button again on his video camera. "MAN, THIS DAY GETS BETTER AND BETTER!!"

"This is the Maze Card! Hurry, before it starts another maze!!" Kasumi started to get to me.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!"

"Return to thy form which though should be!

MAZE CARD!!"

The swirling anomaly started to get smaller and smaller, until it became a card.

"Now that's more like it." I look around, and was in a state of disappointment. "Hey, where're you going?"

"I'm departing for now, but maybe we'll meet again."

And Kasumi disappears.

I'm also realizing that onei-chan is going to kill me for telling her to shut it...

To be continued...