Last Time: The Cherry Blossom and her team of do-gooders went on the job for the first time. Bravely standing up to a dangerous cat burglar, the Cherry Blossom triumphed (while the Fantastic Camera got the encounter on tape, of course). But little do they know that the Mischievous Wizard (alias Eriol Eli Moon) has something in store for our heroes.


Who Is That Masked Cherry Blossom?: Part 4


"Master, are you sure this is a good idea?"

Eriol, donning a fresh blue wizard's robe and hat, grabbed his wand and got ready to unleash his magical spell.

"Of course I am. The best way to end all this superhero nonsense is to scare Sakura out of it. And luckily, I found the most fearsome villain in the entire universe."

"At least that's what it says on the box," Spinner grinned.

"But isn't this a little TOO dangerous?" Ruby said nervously. "I mean, Sakura could be hurt or worse."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to any of them," Eriol assured her. "This is just a scare tactic. A very REAL scare tactic, mind you, but a scare tactic nonetheless. Now stand back while I bring this action figure to life!"

Ruby and Spinner made some space while the action figure stood on the ground. Eriol wielded his wand and cast his spell, casting down a bright blue light on the action figure. Seconds later, the action figure wasn't there. It was replaced by the actual fearsome villain.

More than pleased with himself, Eriol smirked. "Welcome, my friend. I've got a job for you."

It should have been an average night, but once again the Cherry Blossom was out on patrol. Tonight, she was hovering on the rooftop of an ice cream shop. Nightly patrols were a downside that came with being a crime-fighter, apparently.

"You know, Keroberos…?"

"Ahem…Cherry Blossom, you have to stop calling me that," Keroberos interrupted. "You'll risk revealing my secret identity."

"What secret identity?" Li scoffed. "Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?"

"I am NOT being dramatic!" Keroberos huffed. "Secret identities are a sacred thing in the world of superheroes. What would I do if people found out I was actually Keroberos, Guardian Beast of the Seal?"

Li just held his head. "There are so many things wrong with that question that I think I have a headache."

Sakura sighed. "Ok, Golden Lion…don't you think my family will get a little worried about me wandering out every night to go on patrol?"

Keroberos snickered. "Bite your tongue, Cherry Blossom. Patrolling the streets is a common staple of crime-fighting. Why, just look at Batman or Superman or Spiderman? They're constantly patrolling the streets looking for bad guys."

"But Clow never intended us to be purposefully looking for trouble," Yue pointed out.

"We wouldn't be looking for trouble if the Cherry Blossom couldn't handle it," Madison grinned. "She's more than up to it."

"Exactly!" Keroberos nodded. "So what are we all worried about?"

"We're worried about something really dangerous coming out one of these days," Li answered. "Something that could get us all killed."

Madison sighed. "Oh, Li…let me explain it all to you again. Sakura has more magic in her finger than any regular person, myself included. All we're dealing with are thieves and criminals, all of whom don't have those powers. It's a big advantage in our favor. Unless we deal with something out of the ordinary, then the Cherry Blossom can handle anything."

**BOOM**

A deafening explosion lit up the sky and got everyone's attention. Everyone turned around and saw panic coming from the park.

Sakura sweatdropped. "WHY do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"We'd better check it out," Keroberos muttered.

Sakura reached for the Fly Card. Yue carried Li while Madison rode on Keroberos. The heroic tandem flew over towards the scene of all the destruction. The townspeople were fleeing and Sakura couldn't exactly see why.

"Where's this coming from?" she asked.

It didn't take long for the threat to come out. From the distance, where trees had been burned to a crisp, came out a hooded figure with a very recognizable look. He wore a hood and cowl over his head with a loincloth down below. He had the body of a bony human with a crossbones hanging over his chest.

Li's eyes widened. "That CAN'T be who I think it is!"

"Never seen him before," Yue noted. "Who is that?"

"Yeah, Li," Sakura added. "I've never seen him before. Who is it?"

"You mean you don't recognize…"

The figure kept on approaching, leaving a path of destruction in his wake, and brandishing a staff with the head of a ram at the end. The figure then lifted his head to reveal it was a human skull.

Li gulped. "Skeletor!"

Eriol was watching from the shrubs in the distance, eating a bag of popcorn. The look on Sakura's face when she saw the skull of the evil supervillain from "Masters of the Universe" was priceless. With the aid of his ram-headed Havoc Staff, Skeletor wielded sorcery and powers of darkness that rivaled even his own.

"Ruby Moon, where's my Coke?"

Ruby Moon, in her true form, handed Eriol his soda. "Master, he's leaving an awfully big trail of destruction."

"It's nothing we haven't already done," Eriol grinned. "What's amazing is, we haven't even seen half of what this guy could do."

"You're sure he won't kill them?" Spinner Sun asked.

Eriol sighed. "He may be the most feared being in all the universe…"

"Or so the box says," Ruby Moon cut in.

"BUT he has his orders. He's simply there for an exhibition. A very convincing exhibition!"

Skeletor slowly stalked towards Sakura, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She had obviously never met up with anything like this dark being, whose powers would rival Sakura's.

Eriol sneered. "If this doesn't get Sakura to give up this superhero nonsense, I don't know what will."

Sakura stood frozen. She didn't know much about Skeletor. All she remembered was vaguely recalling that Tori used to watch this show a lot when he was a kid. But she didn't know how dangerous he was. Of course, no matter how dangerous he was, she couldn't just let him destroy the town.

"STOP!"

Sakura bravely stepped forward. Skeletor stopped in his tracks.

"Who are you?" he snarled. "Who dares to stand against me?"

Sakura twirled her wand in her hand, doing another choreographed pose. "I…am the mighty Cherry Blossom and I am here to harvest the fruits of justice!"

Madison, standing at a safe distance behind Sakura, smiled. "I like that one much better, don't you, Keroberos?"

"It's a much better motto than the last one," the guardian beast replied. "I think we'll keep that one."

"SILENCE!!" Skeletor bellowed. "I am Skeletor, ruler of Infinita! And you shall not stop me from conquering Eternia!"

Sakura sweatdropped. "Eternia?" She laughed sheepishly. "Oh, I see! This is all a big misunderstanding. You see, this isn't Eternia. This is Reedington and you're on…"

"ENOUGH!" Skeletor snapped. "Do not try to lie to save this world! Once I infiltrate Castle Grayskull, I shall conquer the universe!" The skull-headed villain then bent down and examined Sakura. "But what insult is this? I am used to battling with the likes of He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Battle Cat, and Ram-Man. Are you saying He-Man has gotten so COCKY over the years that he now believes he can defeat me by sending out a mere…Cherry Blossom?"

Sakura's sweatdrop got bigger. "I think there's been some kind of mistake…"

"This is an insult! I will show He-Man and the Royal Family of Eternia just who it is they are dealing with! And I will do it by dispensing with their minion, the…Cherry Blossom."

Sakura gulped. "But I don't even know He-Man or the Royal Family of Eternia! You're on the wrong…"

"The time for talk is OVER! I shall now destroy you!"

Skeletor unsheathed his sword and motioned to slash at Sakura. The terrified Cherry Blossom froze again and couldn't even dive out of the way. Luckily for her, someone was there to save her. The sword hit a barrier with a clang. Sakura turned her head to see that Yue had jumped in right on time.

"You will not harm my Mistress!" Yue said bravely.

"You're here to protect this flower," Skeletor scoffed. "And who might you be? The Daisy? The Petunia?"

"I am The Judge and it is time for me to pass judgement on you!"

"Very nice delivery," Keroberos muttered to himself. "Especially for a stiff like Yue." Knowing it was time to get serious, Keroberos charged forward. "You'll have to get past me if you want the Cherry Blossom. I am the Golden Lion. Over there at a safe distance is the Fantastic Camera and behind me, the brat known as the Incredible Wolf."

"I think we'd better skip the intros!" Li shouted. He unsheathed his own sword and tried to attack. "Fire, come to my aid!"

Li tried to attack with his fire spell. It engulfed Skeletor in flames, but he shrugged them off with ease. The attack did leave him momentarily distracted, but Sakura was in such a state of awe, she couldn't bring herself to move. It took a friendly tap from Yue to bring her back to reality.

Sakura shook off her shock and saw that her chance to attack was now. She took out one of her best cards.

"Power Card! Release and dispel!"

Sakura rushed forward as the fire surrounding Skeletor began to die down. She swung as hard as she could and connected with the fiend's jaw, sending him flying towards the fountain. He hit the water hard and cracked a big piece of the fountain.

"That looks like a knockout blow to me," Madison said.

"Nice shot," Yue added.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. Skeletor proceeded to slowly get to his feet and rub his jaw.

"That…REALLY HURT! I'm really impressed. And impressing me is no easy feat."

"Does that mean you'll leave?" Sakura asked.

"No, that just means I won't hold anything back when I destroy you!"

Sakura gulped as Skeletor held up his staff. Dark light began to radiate around the staff's head. It looked like Sakura had only succeeded in ANGERING him.

Eriol shook his box. "I'm out of popcorn."

Eriol tossed the box back behind him. He looked out towards the fight scene and saw everyone taking a fighting stance and getting ready for an intense battle…all except for Sakura, who looked like she was about to faint. It was the best reaction he could have hoped for.

He chuckled sinisterly. "Now it's about to get good."


Next Time: The fight against Skeletor intensifies, but what happens when Skeletor starts to take the exhibition too far? Can the Cherry Blossom save the day again?


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!