Well, this is it. Our last ending.
-Sakura
We worked REALLY hard on this, so you'd better like it!
-Naoko
Yeah. wasting time at school when we should be listening to our teachers.
-Sakura
*Waves hand dismissively* eh. who cares?
-Naoko
THEY DON'T OWN IT, BUT THEY SURE WISH THEY DID!
-Kuri-chan
When Sakura, Syaoran, and Keroberos arrived back at the hideout, they found their companions had arrived before them.
After everyone was done salutating each other, Meling voiced the question everyone had been thinking: "Well, what do we do now?"
Takashi spoke up. "I vote we sleep on it first."
"I agree, we have all had a pretty bad day," Chiharu agreed.
"Ok, we'll decide what to do tomorrow then," Sakura concluded. They all went to a separate tent. (A/N: I guess they popped out of no where, like the horses did ~_^ -Sakura)
The next morning found them around the breakfast fire debating on what to do. Meling, once again, was the cook. Syaoran watched her adding various ingredients to the meal warily.
Naoko, who was talking animatedly with Sakura and Chiharu, turned to see who was cooking the meal. "No! Not again!" she wailed.
Meling, cayenne pepper in hand, turned and said, "What?" She then turned back to the pot and dumped some in. "OOPS! Too much pepper. Better add in some salt to even it out!" She grabbed a nearby container and started pouring the stuff in the pot before holding it up to read the label. "OOPS! Heh heh. this is sugar."
Everyone else sweatdropped.
"I know! I bet some balsamic vinegar will combat with the sugar!" she grabbed a random bottle.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Sakura yelled and started running towards the cook. "That's the soy sauce!"
Meling looked at the bottle and sweatdropped. "You seem to be correct there, Sakura," she replied.
"I give up!! I'll never be able to teach that girl anything!" Sakura yelled.
"No offence Sakura, but you can't cook too well yourself," Tomoyo said.
Sakura scratched her head and laughed.
"So, what do you guys plan on doing?" Nabisco asked.
Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, then back at the group. Both shrugged. "I'm not really sure yet," Sakura said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean by 'yet'" Naoko asked.
Sakura shrugged again. Everyone was quiet for a while, no doubt trying to think of something to do. Meling passed out the food in bowls and sat down. No one seemed very hungry.
Takashi looked up at the sky. "Your majesty," he said to Syaoran, "We need to leave soon. You have been away from your kingdom longer than you should have been."
Syaoran sighed and looked at Sakura. Sakura carefully kept her eyes on her bowl. "I don't want to leave here," she said softly.
Syaoran nodded. "I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do," he said. " I do need to go back thought. Perhaps if everything is stable, I can come back here for a while."
Sakura looked up and smiled happily. "I'll come and visit you if you can't then," she said.
Syaoran smiled.
Meling looked a little confused. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked.
Everyone sweatdropped.
Tomoyo patted her hand reassuringly. "I'm not very hungry right now, but I'll eat it later!"
Nabisco emptied his bowl behind him when Meling wasn't looking. "It was.. Appetizing!" he said.
"Really?" she asked.
Everyone sweatdropped again.
Kero sauntered out of the woods. "OOH! Food!" He cried and attacked the stew. The others watched him devour the food. After he was done, he gave a contented belch and wandered off again.
Syaoran got up slowly. "Well," he said. "I'd best be leaving now."
Sakura got up, ran to him, hugged him, and said "Goodbye!" quickly and ran away, face cherry red.
Chiharu got up to go after her, but Takashi grabbed her wrist. "I'll miss you as well," he said, looking into her eyes.
Chiharu smiled and hugged him "I'll miss you too," she let go. "But I have to go after Sakura."
"Wait!" Takashi yelled. "At least see us off! Please?"
"Alright then," Chiharu replied. She turned around and walked back over.
Syaoran was beet red and didn't seem to be able to say anything, so he got onto his horse (A/N: where DO they all come from? -Naoko) stiffly and sat silently, waiting to go.
All of the other soldiers got onto their horsed.
"Goodbye!" Sakaguchi yelled merrily. Naoko waved back.
They left. Chiharu ran to Sakura as soon as Takashi was out of sight. "Hello Sakura," she said.
Sakura, who had been sitting on the ground, stood up and laughed nervously. "I can't believe I hugged him." she said.
Chiharu smiled. "It was cute!"
Sakura turned even redder. The rest of the girls walked over to praise Sakura for her bravery. Sakura kept on turning redder and redder.
A week later, Sakura was trying to help Meling cook. "It would help if you read the labels!" she exclaimed, exasperated.
"But it takes too much time" Meling yelled.
Sakura growled in frustration and walked off.
"Sakura! Wait!!" Meling called and dropped the ingredients that were in her hands into the pot. It exploded in Meling's face. "Pu-wee."
Everyone in the camp stopped and stared. Meling sweatdropped.
Takashi galloped into camp. His horse was foaming at the mouth and it looked like it hadn't gotten any rest on the journey there. Takashi leapt off his horse. Naoko ran up to take it from him and care for it. "Poor horsie," she said mournfully.
What's wrong?" Chiharu asked him urgently.
"The Duke's kingdom is under some sort of attack!" Takashi told them. "All his previously loyal subjects have been attacking the castle. He bids that you do not go to him until the danger is over."
Sakura glanced at Tomoyo. "Alright," she said slowly.
Takashi glared at her. "I saw that look," he said. He sat down. "I'm here to make sure you don't risk your lives."
"OF ALL THE PEOPLE!! I'M NOT A HELPLESS LITTLE GIRL!!" Sakura screamed.
"You may not be, but I swore to Duke Syaoran that I would not let you pass," Takashi said, determined.
Sakura swelled in fury. "I - AM - NOT - HELPLESS!" she bellowed.
Takashi winced and put his hand to his ear. "We established that," he said.
"Well, we CAN'T just let him DIE there," Tomoyo said.
Takashi looked 'confused'. "Who said anything about dying?"
"If his castle is being attacked by his once loyal subjects." Sakura broke off and her eyes widened. "Oh no!" She took of past him in the direction of the road.
"WAIT!" Takashi wailed. "You're not supposed to leave!"
Chiharu laughed. "Some guard you are," she said. Takashi simply smiled.
"We have to follow her!" Naoko said. She grabbed a horse that just happened to be there, and mounted. "Come on!" she said, then took off with another horse, no doubt for Sakura to ride.
Takashi stared after her, aghast. "I am going to dies," he groaned.
"You won't die! I won't allow it!" Chiharu said defensively.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
As Naoko caught up to Sakura she slowed down the pace of the horses. "Sakura! I brought you a horse!"
Sakura skidded to a stop and jumped on. "Thanks!" she said and galloped off again.
Naoko caught up to her. "Shouldn't we wait for the others?" she asked.
"They can catch up on their own," Sakura said.
Naoko raised an eyebrow. "This can't be that bad, can it?" she asked.
"I think it's that Clow Card." Sakura returned.
"Oh."
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Well, I'm going after them," Meling said. She leapt onto a horse and galloped off. Takashi watched in dismay.
Rika and Chiharu looked at each other. "Well, we can't abandon our friends," Rika said. She got on a horse and left.
Chiharu glanced at Takashi and Tomoyo. "Coming?" she asked.
Takashi looked mournfully at her. "Yes." The three of them hopped onto a horse and rode after the others.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Sakura! Give the horse a break!" Naoko yelled.
"Not until we get there!" Sakura yelled and spurred the horse to go faster.
*This girl is nuts* The horse thought.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Come on!" Meling bellowed. "We'll never catch up at this pace!" She urged her horse to go even faster.
Rika shook her head. "I'm going to catch up later," she said. "I don't want to make my horse too tired."
Chiharu looked from Rika to the rapidly disappearing Meling. "I agree with you Rika," she said.
Takashi looked even sadder. "I'm worse than dead."
"Will the Dike get that mad at you?" Tomoyo asked him.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Sakura! Naoko!! WAIT!" Meling's voice yelled.
Sakura didn't slow down or look back. Naoko turned and gestured for Meling to catch up.
"You guys are CRAZY!" Meling declared as soon as she caught up.
"We have to get there soon!" Sakura said. "I don't want the Card to get too much out of control!"
"Card?!?!?!?" Meling demanded. "Who said anything about a card?"
"I think that Control Card is wreaking havoc on Syaoran's castle right now!" Sakura yelled, eyes on the road. The three continued on until they came to a cliff (A/N: same as the one in a previous ending -Sakura) and stopped. She backed the horse up and make it jump across. Being that that was the only short-cut to the castle.
Naoko pulled her horse to a stop. "Is she insane?" Her horse whinnied. Naoko looked down at it, shocked. "Did you just answer my question?"
The horse nodded its head. It then backed up and leapt over the chasm. Naoko was too shocked to do anything. Meling followed her.
Sakura kept on pushing for her horse harder and harder. Suddenly, the horse stopped.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Sakura yelled at it.
The horse shook its head.
Sakura was shocked.
Naoko trotted up.
"The-the-the horse just shook its head at me!" Sakura said.
"Yeah. mine just answered a question for me. It was rhetorical too." Naoko replied.
Meling trotted up beside the two girls. "Why aren't you two rushing off towards the castle?"
Sakura turned to Meling. "Our horses are talking to us." She said.
Meling stared at her. "Are you. ok?"
"WHY DO YOU AUROMATICALLY ASSUME THAT I AM GOING INSANE???" Sakura screamed and threw up her hands into the air.
"I wasn't assuming. You know what happens when people assume things." Meling said.
Naoko looked at her, nonplussed.
"Nevermind!" Meling said.
The three girls started forward again.
"We're finally here!" Sakura cried. She got off her horse and it immediately bolted for the forest. "Wait!" she cried, watching it leave.
"I think they're mad at us," Naoko said as she got off hers. The horse followed its companion.
"I'm not going to get off mine," Meling said. "We might need it later."
The horse, fed up with its rider, bucked her off and high-tailed it to the forest.
"HEY!" Meling shouted after her horse.
Just then, a bunch of townsfolk came running towards them.
"Scatter!" Sakura yelled.
The three split up and ran for shelter. Sakura hid behind a nearby wall, Naoko in a shrub, and Meling on the top of a nearby shed.
The townsfolk ran by their hiding places woodenly. Sakura caught a glance at their eyes and shuddered. They were milky and completely devoid of life. The three girls watched them run by in silence. After it was safe, they came out.
"Did you see their eyes?" Meling asked them.
The other two nodded. "This certainly proves that this is something supernatural." Sakura said.
"But, Sakura," Naoko said. "Don't you think that it's a some*one*? I mean, why would an inanimate object like a Clow Card have a grudge against a person?"
"You're right. But it feels so much like a Clow Card," Sakura said, concentrating really hard on the aura. "And a really strong one at that," she mumbled.
The three of them stood in silence for a while.
"Well, are we going to capture this thing or what?" Naoko asked.
"Yeah, sorry," Sakura said. "Let's go to the castle to see what's happening."
They advanced towards Syaoran's castle. As they got closer, they could see that the gates were drawn up and no one was on the battlements. The whole castle was surrounded with a very large moat. The water was boiling, as if someone had put a heating spell on it.
"Looks like we'll have to get in with magic," Meling said. "We can't swim that moat. It's too wide. And too hot."
"Who says we're going in?" Sakura asked. "This card of power is outside. I don't want to worry Syaoran by letting him know we're here."
"Aww!! That's so sweet!" Meling crowed.
Sakura blushed and glared at her. Naoko was briefly confused but recovered when Meling spoke.
"The Duke has magic too. He can help you," Meling pleaded.
"No! I don't want him hurt! I've hurt him once before!" Sakura said, letting Meling see the pain in her eyes from the previous years after she left him as a child.
"Fine," Meling grumbled. "Be that way." She gestured in the vague direction of the castle. "Lead us on!"
Sakura stared at her blankly. "To what?"
"The source of the magic, of course!"
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"We're finally here!" Chiharu cried. They were in a village at the foot of Syaoran's castle.
"Doesn't it seem a bit. empty to you?" Rika asked them.
Takashi nodded. "All the villagers are attacking the castle."
At that moment, a loud boom reverberated off the walls of the huts.
"What was that?" Rika cried.
Takashi, Chiharu, and Tomoyo shrugged.
"Let's go take a look," Tomoyo suggested.
They ran toward the noise. They arrived at the castle and saw Sakura, Naoko, and Meling fighting their way to the draw bridge.
"Are they crazy? They're completely outnumbered" Takashi yelled and took off to help them.
"Takashi!" Chiharu cried after him. He was too far ahead.
"We have to help them!" Chiharu cried and turned to Rika and Tomoyo.
"Of course! Let's go!" Rika replied.
"Remind me AGAIN why we're trying to get to the drawbridge?" Meling yelled.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten!" Naoko cried. "You'll have to wait then! They," she indicated a villager charging towards her, "might hear."
"Retreat!" Sakura yelled. The three girls ran towards the woods. Strangely enough, the villagers didn't follow them. The rapidly approaching Takashi changed course and followed them into the woods. Rika, Chiharu, and Tomoyo joined them.
"What did you do that for?" Rika demanded.
"We want whoever is behind this to think that we want to get into the castle and aren't after them," Sakura said.
Meling clapped a hand over her mouth. "Then I shouldn't have said anything."
"Don't worry," Sakura assured her. "I don't even think they even registered we were thinking. They aren't really conscious.
"But, they were walking!" Meling said.
Tomoyo patted her shoulder. "Just think about it for a minute."
Meling thought really hard. "Are they. being controlled?" She asked dumbly.
Sakura hung her head. "Yes Meling, yes they are."
"Oh, ok. But if we retreated, whoever is doing this would get the idea that we aren't being controlled, right?" Meling asked.
Sakura rose an eyebrow. "Huh?"
Meling sighed. "If we retreated, like we did, wouldn't whoever is behind all of this know we aren't being controlled? If we were being controlled wouldn't we be attacking the castle too?"
Sakura grimaced. "I think you should think about it a bit more Meling," She said.
"Can you tell where a magical power is by sensing it?" Naoko asked, changing the subject.
"Yes," Sakura said.
"Ok," Naoko said. "Then here's the plan. Sakura and one other person track down this power. The rest of us will attack the townspeople, guerilla style, to make it seem like we're all here."
"I'm so glad you're with us," Chiharu said to her gratefully.
Naoko smiled.
"Who's going with you Sakura?" Meling asked her.
Sakura thought for a minute. "I'll take you Meling, because you have martial art abilities. If this thing really is a person, then I'll need help."
"Ok," Meling said with a nod of her head.
"Please, the rest of you, be careful," Sakura said and looked at each of them.
"We will," all of them replied.
Sakura and Meling got up and walked out of their hiding place and left for the direction opposite of Syaoran's castle.
"Okay Meling, ready to fly?" Sakura asked her.
A sly smile slid across Meling's face.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sakura said. She pulled out the Fly Card and her key. She used the Card on her wand and the two lifted off into the air.
"Where do you think this thing is?" Meling asked her when they were high above the ground.
"Over there," Sakura said and pointed to a place about three miles away. It appeared to be a large clearing in the forest.
"It's a good place to hide out," Meling commented.
Sakura flew to a point about 300 feet from the clearing and landed. "We don't want this thing to see us," she explained to the confused Meling. The two crept up to the clearing. Since there was not much undergrowth, it was not hard to stay silent. When they got close enough to see whatever was in the clearing clearly, Sakura gasped.
"Yue!" she cried and stepped out.
Yue, who was holding a card in his hand, turned to Sakura. "It's nice of you to join me," he said.
Meling leapt out of her hiding place. "You're not getting away with this!" she cried.
"Aren't I?" He asked her. "Your Card Captor is not strong enough to stop me. No one is."
"You're the one who's behind this all?" Sakura asked him, choosing to ignore his insult.
Yue smiled. "Yes. His Majesty Touya wanted you to be out of the picture since you were so. irritating. I thought the best way to lure you to where I could battle with you was to create a Card and use it to attack your friend's kingdom." His smile broadened. "It worked, didn't it?"
Sakura glared at him.
"However," he continued, "I wasn't expecting you to come with someone else." His eyes glittered and he glanced at Meling. "So I'll just have to take care of her."
Sakura realized what he meant just in time. "Shield Card!" she cried, and threw a shield around Meling to protect her from Yue's Card.
Yue sighed. "Simply irritating." He said. "Fine then, I'll just keep her occupied." He closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them again.
Sakura took a step back. "What did you just do?" she demanded.
"Called all of the villagers I am controlling to come and fight your friend," he said. "That's alright, isn't it?" he finished tauntingly.
Sakura and Meling could hear crashes in the woods.
Meling looked dismayed. "How did they get here so quickly?" she asked.
"Magic, of course," Yue replied.
Meling stepped up to Sakura and squeezed her shoulder. "Good luck," she said then turned towards the noises.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
About thirty minutes ago..
"We can go to different points around the villagers and then charge," Naoko explained as she drew a map in the dirt. Rika, who looked slightly bored, wandered off into the forest.
"Right," Chiharu said. Everyone else got up and went to the different places Naoko had marked on her map. Naoko, in a place where everyone could see her, raised her arm to give the charge signal. Before she lowered her hand, all the villagers disappeared.
"What the?!" Naoko shouted.
The small group came out of their hiding placed and met at the edge of the moat.
"What do we do now? They kinda. left," Chiharu said.
"Well, maybe we should go to the Duke," Naoko suggested.
"But, Sakura said not to. Anyhow, the Duke told me that I wasn't supposed to let you get here!" Takashi cried. "I'm not about to get killed!"
"You're not going to die! Sakura is risking her life to protect the Duke! If anyone is going to die, it's more likely it's going to be Sakura! Not you! We don't know what she's up against, or if she can handle it!! All we know is that she probably needs help, and the Duke is the only one that we know is powerful enough to help her!" Chiharu exploded.
Tomoyo, Naoko, and Takashi looked shocked.
"Can we please get on with this? He has to help her now. I don't want her to get hurt." Chiharu said.
"A-alright," Takashi stuttered.
"One question. How are we supposed to get in there? The drawbridge is up," Tomoyo said and gestured towards the closed gate.
"No problem!" Takashi exclaimed and pulled out a small card.
Naoko rose an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"An entrance card," Takashi said and smiled.
Tomoyo looked around. "Hey, where's Rika?"
The others looked around.
"That's a good question." Naoko said.
A scream was heard in the forest and Rika bound out of it closely followed by a charging boar.
"RIKA!" Chiharu screamed. (A/N: dun dun dunnnnnnn.... ^.^ -Sakura)
Rika ran up to the moat and leapt into the water, which, thankfully, had cooled down. The boar, being very stupid, wondered where she went. After sniffing about for a while, trying to find the scent, it gave up and trotted back to the forest. Rika surfaced and climbed out of the moat shakily.
"What. what happened?" Chiharu asked her.
"I was playing with its babies," Rika replied.
They all stared at her.
"I thought you were an. intelligent person, Rika," Naoko said.
Rika shrugged. "Everyone has their days."
Everyone fell over anime style.
"So, what are we doing?" Rika asked.
"Today must be your day Rika," Naoko said getting up and brushing herself off. She took a deep breath and explained the whole plot.
"Oh! Ok then!" Rika said brightly. "Let's go then!"
Everyone else sweatdropped. Takashi walked up to a small stump across from the drawbridge. "Stand back," he said proudly and slid his card into a slot. The drawbridge shuddered and opened slowly.
"Whoa," Chiharu said.
They walked into a narrow courtyard. Takashi walked up to a guard who was standing by a pair of doors at the opposite side of the courtyard. "I wish to speak to the duke," he said.
"Passports please," the guard said in a monotone and stuck his hand out palm up.
Takashi searched his pockets nervously but didn't find anything. He then looked up at the guard and stuck his hand on the guard's hand palm down. The door opened and Takashi and the girls walked through. They stopped.
"What was all that about," Chiharu asked.
"Oh, I keep forgetting about the automated guards. They scan your palm to see if you are an employee of the Duke," Takashi explained.
The girls stared at him. "What's automated?" Rika asked.
"Nevermind," Takashi said. "Just follow me." He took them through several halls, up two staircases, down three more (A/N: ^^.^^ -Naoko) etc until they got to the Highest Room In The Tallest Tower. There they found Syaoran staring despondently out in the general direction of Sherwood Forest.
Takashi walked up behind him and gently tapped him on the shoulder. "My lord," he said. "This villagers have stopped attacking the castle."
Syaoran jumped and turned around. "Really?" he asked. He appeared to have gone without sleep for at least a day and not eaten anything for a while.
"Oh, Duke," Rika said. "You're in terrible condition! What's wrong?"
"I'm worried is all." he said looking out the window again. "I just saw Sakura and Meling fly somewhere."
Takashi broke down. "I'M SORRY MY LORD! I TRIED TO STOP THEM BUT I COULDN'T HOLD THEM ALL BACK!"
Syaoran waved his hand. "I'll punish you later. Right now all I care about is Sakura's safety."
"Smooth, Takashi, real smooth," Chiharu muttered. Takashi smiled and gulped nervously.
"Well, we're here about Sakura," Rika told him.
Syaoran sat up.
"We believe that Sakura might be biting off more than she can chew," Naoko said.
"She was eating?" Takashi asked.
The girls fell over anime style. "It's just a figure of speech Takashi." Chiharu said.
"Oh! Did you know that figures of speech originated in ancient Mesopotamia?" Takashi said. "They were a form of talking in code."
Chiharu stared at him suspiciously. "I don't believe that," she said slowly.
"But, it's true!" he said. "Have I ever lied to you?"
The two got into an argument.
"Anyways," Rika said and turned back to Syaoran. "As we was saying, Sakura is putting herself up against too much alone. She told us not to come to you, but we had no choice. the villagers disappeared; I think they were heading towards the clearing where Sakura went, and another thing, she only took Meling with her."
Syaoran stood up quickly. "Then we have to help her!" he cried. He walked quickly to the door and opened it. "Come on!" he said and turned to them. "We don't have any time to waste!" he lead them to the courtyard and said, "Wait here," and walked off. He returned in his ceremonial robes and a sword strapped to his back. He snapped his fingers and six horses appeared. (A/N: Jeez. where DO they come from? -Naoko)
"More magic?" Naoko asked, confused.
"No, just the authoresses wants." Takashi informed them.
"NO MORE LIES!" Chiharu said and strangled him.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Sakura turned to Yue. "So, when do we start?" she asked him.
Yue lifted up into the air. "Now." His bow and arrow materialized and he drew it back.
"Jump!" Sakura cried and leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the arrow.
"I hope this isn't going to take too long," Yue said, bored. "I have other things to do." He drew back another arrow.
Wings sprouted out of Sakura's back. She advanced on Yue. He rained arrows down on her to drive her back. She dodged them all, but ended up back where she started.
*I can't get close enough to use my cards* she thought.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!" she heard Meling scream.
Sakura turned to where Meling was. She was lying motionless of the ground and the villagers were gone.
"MELING!" Sakura shouted. She turned to Yue. "You hurt my friend! You're going to pay for that!"
Sakura flew as fast as she could towards Yue dodging every one of his arrows.
*she seems more determined now. This should be interesting.* Yue thought.
*I have to beat him. No matter what.* "I WILL BEAT YOU!" Sakura screamed.
Yue brought out his ice crystals and shot them at Sakura. One of them hit her arm and she lost her concentration on flying and plummeted to the ground.
"Not so strong now are we? Are you afraid?" Yue taunted.
Flames could be seen in Sakura's eyes. "Stop taunting me!" she said angrily.
"Why? Does it bother you?" Yue mocked again.
Just then they heard horses in the forest. Sakura clutched her bleeding arm and turned around. *NO!*
"What's this I hear? Horses? Did you send for reinforcements?" Yue demanded.
Tomoyo, Rika, Naoko, Takashi, Chiharu, and Syaoran emerged from the forest.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo yelled as soon as she saw the blood running from her friend's arm.
"No! Get away from here!" Sakura yelled.
Syaoran jumped off his horse and embraced her. Sakura kept fighting to get away.
"Sakura, calm down," Syaoran said and still held onto her tightly.
"No! I was trying to protect you all! LET GO!!" Sakura yelled and stomped on Syaoran's foot.
Syaoran still didn't let go.
"I don't have time for this!" Yue exclaimed. He took control of Syaoran and threw him against a tree. There was a sharp crack and Syaoran cringed. He looked at his arm, which was bent at the elbow the wrong way.
Sakura ran towards Yue. "Stop hurting them!" she cried.
"Not until you defeat me. And if you don't I'll use my new Cow Card to make them kill themselves so you will be all alone." Yue said.
"What?" Sakura asked, confused. "Your Card?"
"Why, yes. I thought you would have figured it out by now. You know I can make Clow Cards, so I used this ability to my own advantage. I make the." he broke off.
"Control Card." Sakura finished.
"Ahh. so you know of it. Now your task is to defeat me. Once having that done, the Card will disappear and I will be completely under your control." Yue continued.
Sakura pulled out her Fiery Card. "Fiery Card! Lend me your flame as a barrier to contain the one who opposes me. FIREY CARD!"
Fiery flew up and surrounded Yue.
"It won't be that east Cards Mistress!" Yue closed his eyes and Fiery was pushed back towards Sakura. She stopped just before hitting Sakura.
"Thank you," Sakura said looking at her Card with compassion.
"Mistress, thy heart is good. Thou shalt prevail. Use the rest of the elemental cards together. I shall keep Windy and Watery from attacking you," Fiery said.
Sakura nodded and brought out Windy, Watery, and Earthy. Fiery flew back into her card form and joined the rest of the elements.
"You do not have enough power Mistress. You are injured," Yue taunted her again.
Sakura rose her wand and was about to call out an incantation when everything went blurry.
"Sakura!" Syaoran yelled as he saw her fall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Time was going by very fast in Sakura's dream. She saw each of her friends killing themselves because she had lost to Yue. Sakura suddenly found herself running through a deserted village. "NO!" she yelled to herself. Her elemental cards flew out.
"Mistress, please come back to us," Windy pleaded.
Sakura fell to her knees, crying. "I'm all alone," she cried.
"Mistress, please snap out of it," Earthy said and approached her.
"Mistress," Watery said quietly.
Sakura looked at her cards. She began to get up as Fiery came to her.
"Mistress, it is time," Fiery said and the other three elements surrounded her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sakura opened her eyes and saw Yue's face near hers. She stood up quickly and held her wand above her head. "Windy, Watery, Earthy, Fiery, lend me your powers once more, bind the force before me and hold him down. WINDY, WATERY, EARTHY, FIREY!"
The four cards captures Yue and tried to hold him as long as they could, but Yue pushed them all away.
"Why isn't this working?" Earthy asked, confused.
"Perhaps he is just stronger than we," Watery said calmly. "It is all possible."
"No! It's my fault. I'm not strong enough," Sakura exclaimed.
Syaoran slowly got to his feet and clutched his mangled arm. "Sakura, let me help."
Sakura turned to him. "I'm trying to protect you. If you help me, I can't do that," Sakura said, emotionless.
"Sakura, if you won't let us help you, we will all end up like Meling," Syaoran said.
Everyone turned to where Meling had been lying, but now she wasn't there.
"Up here, Card Captor," Yue said.
Sakura looked up and saw Yue holding Meling's motionless body by the wrist.
"No!" Sakura shrieked. She started to glow.
"What is this? New magic?" Yue asked, astonished.
Sakura drew up her want and called out her incantation once again. The four elements flew to Yue and surrounded him. Their power surrounded him in a blinding light and they brought him down in a golden barrier.
"You have defeated me, my mistress," Yue said and bowed his head in defeat.
The control card appeared in Sakura's hand and burned into a power.
"This card will no longer trouble the people of this land," Yue said.
Sakura turned pale and swayed. Syaoran ran forwards and caught her awkwardly. Blood was pouring out of her cut at an unnatural rate.
Tomoyo ran up. "She's lost too much blood and used too much of her remaining energy!" she said. She ripped her sleeve off her shirt and tore it into strips. "Help me tie up her arm." she said to Syaoran.
Syaoran held the bandages down with his good hand while Tomoyo tied them.
Naoko walked up and observed them. "Judging by the scale of blood that's coming out, that bandage isn't going to do much," she said quietly. She frowned. "I saw the cut though, and it wasn't that deep. Why is it bleeding so much?"
"I used magic to make the cut worse," Yue said. "I destroyed all of the blood vessels in her arm."
Tomoyo formed a tourniquet. The bleeding slowed a bit, but Naoko still looked extremely worried.
"I don't think she'll be able to make it," Naoko said.
Syaoran looked stricken. "No!" he cried. "She has to!" He looked at Yue. "You did this! Make it better!"
Yue shook his head. "I am no healer. The magic I used is not keeping her bleeding."
Syaoran looked at Sakura again. "What are we going to do?!?"
Naoko glanced at the sky. "I really don't -- wait! What is that?" She stood up to get a better look. There, in the sky, was a black dot.
"I think it's a bird." Rika said.
"No, it's a plane!" Takashi said.
"And what EXACTLY is a plane?" Chiharu demanded.
"I don't know," Takashi replied. "It's what the authors told me to say!"
Chiharu stared at him.
"It's true!" Takashi protested. "Every once in a while these voices in my head appear and tell me to say these things!"
"I don't believe you," Chiharu said.
"Oh my God!" I think it's Superman!" Meling, who was now awake, cried.
Rika looked surprised. "Why would Superman have wings?"
Syaoran looked up too. "Hey! It's Keroberos!"
"Huh?" Everyone except Yue said.
"How did he know where we are?" Chiharu asked Syaoran.
"The authors probably told him," Takashi proclaimed.
Chiharu hit him. "STOP IT WITH THE AUTHOR CRAP!!"
Keroberos landed in the clearing. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "That stew that I had last week was really filling. I was asleep the whole time!" He sweatdropped. "Anyways, I sensed my Mistress was in trouble." He spotted Yue. "You." he said suspiciously. "You're here, so that means you did it."
Yue glared at him. "Just because I am here does NOT mean that I harmed her. The fact that I DID is irrelevant."
"Well, why doesn't someone help her out?" Keroberos asked.
"I don't have anything that I can use to help her," Naoko said.
Takashi bounced up. "A message from the authors!" he cried. "They had a momentary brain fart and forgot that Yue could fly so that's why Keroberos is here, but they won't erase all of the stuff that they just wrote because they already went through the effort of writing it." He panted.
Chiharu swelled up. "Did you not just hear me scream STOP IT?!?"
"It's true!" Takashi said. He raised his face to the heavens. "O Great Authoresses! Send the Unbeliever a message!"
Chiharu's eyes widened, then narrowed again. "They say I shouldn't believe you. And that you're stoopid."
"Stoopid?" Rika asked. "Can't they spell?"
A bolt of lightning hit the clearing.
"Sorry?" Rika said meekly.
Syaoran looked angry. "Can we please stop messing around and get Sakura to safety?"
"Sorry," everybody said.
Yue stepped forwards and bent down to pick up Sakura. Syaoran clutched her possessively with his one good arm. "I will not hurt her," Yue said stiffly. "She is my new mistress."
"Whoa! She is?" Keroberos asked him.
Yue gave him a withering look and took Sakura from Syaoran's arms. Syaoran got to his feet weakly. "Take me with you," he demanded.
"I can't carry both of you," Yue said, sounding exasperated.
"I'll take him," Keroberos said, sounding reluctant.
Syaoran eyed the Beast of the Seal warily. "Alright," he said. "If it's the only way." He climbed up on Keroberos's back. The two guardians lifted off the ground.
The others on the ground watched them fly off. "I guess we'll have to walk back," Chiharu said.
"What happened to the horses?" Rika asked.
Takashi opened his mouth to say something.
"Don't even think about it!" Chiharu snapped.
"I was only going to say that they were scared off by that winged man's ice crystals," he said meekly.
"Oh. Sorry," Chiharu said.
They started back towards the castle. After about fifteen minutes, Takashi tried to convince Chiharu again that the Mighty Authors were really making him say the strange things. The others listened in amusement until Sakaguchi and Nabisco rode up with extra horses in tow.
"We thought you might need these," Nabisco said to them.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
It took a while for Syaoran to convince his servants that Yue and Keroberos weren't going to hurt them. After they got over their mistrust, the wasted no time in re-setting Syaoran's arm and stopping Sakura's bleeding.
The others arrived at the castle an hour later. They were relieved to find out that Sakura was going to be alright.
"What are we going to do?" Rika asked Takashi at one point. "Sakura still isn't in good enough shape to travel, and, even though we would do it, it will be a pain for us to travel back and forth every day."
"You guys can stay here for as long as it takes Sakura to recover," Syaoran said, who had just entered the room. He looked pale, and still as if he was in some pain. "You can stay longer if you'd like."
"I'd like that!" Sakaguchi said.
"I'm sure you would," Naoko grumbled.
"Is that an insult?" Sakaguchi demanded.
"No." Naoko smiled brightly. "Why would I do that?"
They stayed a week in the Duke's castle. Near the end of the week, Syaoran pulled Tomoyo aside after lunch.
"Yees?" Tomoyo asked him.
"Uh." Syaoran's hands twisted. "Um. do you think that Sakura would want to. uh. marry me?"
Tomoyo's face broke into a smile. "I'm sure she would." Her smile faltered. "But, isn't that forbidden?"
"What, marriage?" Syaoran asked her, confused.
"No," Tomoyo laughed. "Marriage between a noble and an outlaw."
"Well," Syaoran said slowly. "We could always try to get the prince Touya's permission. but," he said hastily in response to Tomoyo's raised eyebrow, "We could just be married in secret!"
"Why don't you ask her?" Tomoyo suggested. "Then you'll know!"
Syaoran looked sullen. "You didn't help me very much."
Tomoyo smiled and raised her hand. "Hello Sakura!" she said to someone behind Syaoran.
Syaoran jumped and turned around. True to her word, Sakura had just entered the room.
"Hello Tomoyo. Hi Syaoran. What are you two doing here?" she asked them.
"Talking," Tomoyo said. "But I think the Duke has something he wants to say to you."
Sakura looked at Syaoran. "You do?" she asked.
Syaoran turned slightly green "Uh. not yet!" he started to back out of the room. "I'll be right back!" he turned around and fled.
Sakura turned back to Tomoyo, who was grinning evilly. "Did I miss something?"
"No, you didn't," Tomoyo said. "You should stay right here. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She left the room.
Sakura just stared at her retreating back. "What's happening?" she asked.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Syaoran sat in his room, trying to get the courage to leave again. He clutched what was obviously an engagement ring in his hand. Someone knocked at his door. "Come in," he said, sounding a bit strangled. He hid the ring behind his back.
Tomoyo entered. "You'd better get back to Sakura sooner or later. She's probably very confused right now," she said.
"How. how did you know where I was?" Syaoran asked her.
"I asked some of the servants where you went," she answered.
Syaoran gulped nervously. "Well, here goes nothing," he said and stood up.
Tomoyo smiled at him. "You can do it," she said. "I'll walk with you there. To give you encouragement."
"Thanks," he said. "Just.. Please don't spy on us. I don't want to have that feeling when I'm asking her. It makes me really nervous."
Tomoyo looked affronted. "Me? Spy on you" she asked innocently.
Syaoran glared at her. "I've seen some of those 'landscapes' you've been paining around Sakura and me."
Tomoyo's eyes widened. "So, you think I'm going to spy on you and paint you proposing to Sakura?"
Syaoran glared at her.
"Fine," Tomoyo sniffed. "I didn't want to anyways."
By that time, they had reached the room that Sakura was waiting in. Syaoran looked unusually pale. He sighed.
"Good luck!" Tomoyo said brightly.
Syaoran looked startled. "Do you think I'll need it?"
Tomoyo just grinned and opened the door and pushed him through.
Sakura, who was staring out of a window in the room, turned around when Syaoran stumbled in. "Well, are you ready to tell me what you wanted to tell me?" she asked.
"Oh." Syaoran scratched his head. "Yeah, uh..."
Sakura put her hand on her hip. "Well?"
Syaoran walked over to her and stood in front of her, twisting his hands. "Um." he seemed extremely nervous. (A/N: Geeee. I WONDER why? -Naoko)
"Is everything alright?" Sakura asked him.
Syaoran grabbed her hand, held it for a second, and then got down on one knee. He looked up into her eyes. "Sakura," he said.
Sakura's eyes widened. "Syaoran, I-"
Syaoran started talking again. "I, I've loved you for so long. I don't even know when I first started loving you." He reached inside his pocket and drew out the ring. "This ring has been in my family for centuries." He slipped it on her finger. "Sakura, will you marry me? I know were not supposed to," he started rambling. "But I've been thinking about it for a while, and I have a plan. We could get married in secret or something, or go through a hand fasting ceremony (A/N: I'm watching Charmed right now. -Naoko), and we could visit each other! That way we can be with each other. Or, if we're desperate, we can ask Touya for permission to marry, although, I don't think he would let us. He would probably put us in jail just for asking."
Sakura stared at him, astonished. After several seconds, she realized what had just happened. She smiled slowly. "Syaoran, I." she got down on her knees so she could look him directly in the eyes. "You don't know how much I wished this would happen." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
# # # # # # #
"Oh, that's so sweet!" Tomoyo sighed, hand on her cheek.
Meling glanced at her. "We'd better split now. You told the Duke you wouldn't spy on him."
"Right!" Tomoyo said. The two girls hurried off to go find the others.
# # # # # # #
"Do you want to go tell the others now?" Sakura asked Syaoran.
"Sure," he answered. They stood up and walked out of the room holding hands.
# # # # # # #
"Wow! That's so great!" Rika cried, pretending to look surprised.
Sakura beamed. "I'm so happy!" she said.
"So. what are you going to do with this whole 'permission' thing?" Naoko asked. "You know that the prince is pissed off enough that you two are alive and that he doesn't have Yue anymore."
Syaoran grimaced. "I know," he said. "We have some offers that he might be persuaded by."
Sakaguchi, who was with them, along with Nabisco, perked up. "Do I have to get permission to marry?" he asked and glanced at Naoko.
Naoko glared at him. "I'm not gonna marry you right now," she stated.
"But!" Sakaguchi said.
"We've only known each other about a month!" Naoko returned.
"But, but!"
"No buts!"
"Aww.. It would be so sweet if we had a triple wedding!" Tomoyo said. Her eyes glazed over. "I could make the dresses."
Meling sweatdropped. "Triple?"
Nabisco smiled at her. "Triple."
Sakaguchi turned to Naoko. "What if we get ENGAGED that day? Officially?"
Naoko opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, closed it, and then smiled brightly. "Ok!"
Sakaguchi whipped out an engagement ring. "Naoko, will you marry me?"
Naoko's eyes widened. "Where did you get that ring?"
"It's the authoresses I tell you!" Takashi cried.
"Uh huh." Chiharu responded.
A week later, the whole company traveled to the prince Touya's castle. After many threats, explosions, and crying, they got into Touya's reception hall.
"What do you want now?" Touya demanded.
Syaoran bowed shortly to him. "Your majesty," he drawled, making it sound more like an insult, "I ask permission to marry Sakura Kinomoto."
"No." Touya said immediately.
"What if I give you money?" Syaoran prompted.
"No."
"Land?"
"No."
Syaoran glanced at the others. "Both?"
"No."
Sakura smiled sweetly. "I'll stop robbing!"
"No."
Sakura's smile disappeared. "Throw in the land and the money."
"No."
Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other again. "Ok then!" Sakura said. "Time for plan B!"
Their companions spread out, some to keep the guards from interfering, and some to block the doors.
"This is your last chance," Sakura warned.
Touya looked slightly uncomfortable. "No." he said, sounding slightly unsure.
"Create Card!" Sakura cried. "Make a really tall pole!" A pole launched itself out of the ground right next to Touya's throne.
Touya jumped. "What's that for?"
"Float Card! Lift our friendly prince to the top of this pole!"
Touya was lifted by the seat of his pants and hung up on the pole. "AHH!! WEDGIE!" he wailed.
"Now, let's try this again." Syaoran said. "I ask permission to marry Sakura Kinomoto."
"Anything!" Touya sobbed. "Just stop the pain and humiliation!"
"Wonderful!" Sakura said. She grabbed Syaoran's hand and the two started to leave.
"Wait!" Touya said. "Let me down! And I still get all the other stuff, right?"
"Haha!" Sakura said. "That's funny!"
"You would have if we hadn't had to resort to plan B." Syaoran said.
The group left and went back to Syaoran's castle.
Two months later, the preparations were ready. Instead of a triple ceremony, it was a quadruple ceremony. Takashi and Chiharu discovered that they were in love with each other when Chiharu had gotten fed up with Takashi and his stories, hit him on the head too hard, and thought she killed him.
Tomoyo was in her element. The four couples reluctantly handed the celebration planning over to her, much to her glee. She decided to have the ceremony in Sherwood forest during the fall, when all the trees were ablaze with red, orange, yellow, and brown.
"I'm so nervous!" Sakura said as Tomoyo helped her into her dress. Naoko, Chiharu, Rika, and Meling were watching. They were in a large tent equipped with three mirrors, scissors, ribbons, etc, and enough pins to make a homicidal maniac die and think he/she went to heaven, or hell, whichever was nicer to them.
The dress was white with a full skirt. It was shoulder less, with full length sleeves that tapered down to a point over her middle finger. The dress fabric had freshwater pearls woven into it. At her neck she wore a diamond pendant. Naoko was holding her veil, which was full length.
Naoko handed Tomoyo the veil. "I don't mean to be pushy, but we've been here for four hours. CAN WE PLEASE GO?!?"
"Yeah!" Meling piped up. "They must think we're dead by now!"
"NO!" Tomoyo looked slightly deranged. "I have to put on the finishing touches!" She made Sakura sit down and pulled Chiharu up. She was wearing a fill length dress with an umpire waist. It was orangish-red. The waist was composed of a burnt-orange cord. The top was embroidered with full length sleeves. Tomoyo poked at her already perfect hair, which was arranged in curls that cascaded over her shoulders.
"Alright." Tomoyo said and scanned the other girls. Meling was wearing a light blue underdress with sleeves that reached to her fingertips and a darker blue, sleeveless overdress. The neck and the bottom of the overdress were lined with a white fur. (Faux fur!! *sniffles* don't be cruel to animals!! -Naoko and Sakura) A gold cord looped several times around her waist, and she wore a dark blue fabric wreath wrapped in a gold cord on her head. Her long black hair was down. Naoko was wearing a light green skirt with a green overdress the same color, but slightly shorter, over it. The bottom of the dress was composed of pointed scallops with a hunter green cord running over it. The sleeves flared out and were much longer than her arms, and also edges with scallops and green cord. At her waist, she wore a dark green girdle with a pale purple stone at the center. She had a slightly darker green cape with a broach made out of the same amethyst stone. Her hair was arranged in an elegant French twist.
"I still don't see why I have to dress up," Rika said grumpily.
"You and I are the Special-Maids-Of-All-Honors!" Tomoyo told her. "Now, I need to make your hair perfect!"
Rika stood up, muttering ominously. She was wearing a dress with an umpire waist. Below the waist, the dress was a dark pink satin with a light, white, gauzy material over it. The top and sleeves, which reached to the elbow, were the same pink satin. Below the elbow the sleeves were made out of the white gauze. They reached to her fingertips and flared out. Pink ribbons were tied to her elbows. Her hair was halfway up with ribbons keeping it in place. Tomoyo brushed her already shining hair.
"Alright then," Tomoyo said, sounding distracted. "I think we can go." She glanced in the mirror. She was wearing a red dress with a slit that opened up in the front. Underneath you could see a black underskirt. The sleeves also tapered down to her middle finger, and were richly embroidered with black beads. Her hair was in a simple braid down her back with red and black ribbons woven in. She walked over to a vase and grabbed a bouquet of cherry blossoms. "Here Sakura," she said and handed them to the bride.
Sakura made an exclamation of delight.
Rika walked over and opened the door of their makeshift room. They could see a red velvet rug leading from it up to the altar, where Yelan, who had decided to conduct the ceremony, was standing. Rika gave Sakura a small smile, grabbed a bouquet of flowers that matched her dress, and stepped out with Tomoyo, who also had a bouquet of flowers that matched her dress.
Sakura drew a shaking breath. "Well, here I go!" She stepped out of the tent.
WERE FINALLY FINISHED!! YAAAAAAAAAY!!
-Sakura
Yeah! . Describing those dresses was a pain in the a$$!!
-Naoko
Yep yep. Lucky for me you did them.
-Sakura
¬.¬ yeah.. Lucky. Sorry if something didn't make sense back there.. I was running out of synonyms, etc.
-Naoko
Hey, if you guys would like us to make a sequel, please leave a message after the beep!
-Sakura
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!
-Naoko
*rolls eyes* oi, Naoko, oi..
-Sakura
^.^
-Naoko
-Sakura
We worked REALLY hard on this, so you'd better like it!
-Naoko
Yeah. wasting time at school when we should be listening to our teachers.
-Sakura
*Waves hand dismissively* eh. who cares?
-Naoko
THEY DON'T OWN IT, BUT THEY SURE WISH THEY DID!
-Kuri-chan
When Sakura, Syaoran, and Keroberos arrived back at the hideout, they found their companions had arrived before them.
After everyone was done salutating each other, Meling voiced the question everyone had been thinking: "Well, what do we do now?"
Takashi spoke up. "I vote we sleep on it first."
"I agree, we have all had a pretty bad day," Chiharu agreed.
"Ok, we'll decide what to do tomorrow then," Sakura concluded. They all went to a separate tent. (A/N: I guess they popped out of no where, like the horses did ~_^ -Sakura)
The next morning found them around the breakfast fire debating on what to do. Meling, once again, was the cook. Syaoran watched her adding various ingredients to the meal warily.
Naoko, who was talking animatedly with Sakura and Chiharu, turned to see who was cooking the meal. "No! Not again!" she wailed.
Meling, cayenne pepper in hand, turned and said, "What?" She then turned back to the pot and dumped some in. "OOPS! Too much pepper. Better add in some salt to even it out!" She grabbed a nearby container and started pouring the stuff in the pot before holding it up to read the label. "OOPS! Heh heh. this is sugar."
Everyone else sweatdropped.
"I know! I bet some balsamic vinegar will combat with the sugar!" she grabbed a random bottle.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Sakura yelled and started running towards the cook. "That's the soy sauce!"
Meling looked at the bottle and sweatdropped. "You seem to be correct there, Sakura," she replied.
"I give up!! I'll never be able to teach that girl anything!" Sakura yelled.
"No offence Sakura, but you can't cook too well yourself," Tomoyo said.
Sakura scratched her head and laughed.
"So, what do you guys plan on doing?" Nabisco asked.
Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, then back at the group. Both shrugged. "I'm not really sure yet," Sakura said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean by 'yet'" Naoko asked.
Sakura shrugged again. Everyone was quiet for a while, no doubt trying to think of something to do. Meling passed out the food in bowls and sat down. No one seemed very hungry.
Takashi looked up at the sky. "Your majesty," he said to Syaoran, "We need to leave soon. You have been away from your kingdom longer than you should have been."
Syaoran sighed and looked at Sakura. Sakura carefully kept her eyes on her bowl. "I don't want to leave here," she said softly.
Syaoran nodded. "I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do," he said. " I do need to go back thought. Perhaps if everything is stable, I can come back here for a while."
Sakura looked up and smiled happily. "I'll come and visit you if you can't then," she said.
Syaoran smiled.
Meling looked a little confused. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked.
Everyone sweatdropped.
Tomoyo patted her hand reassuringly. "I'm not very hungry right now, but I'll eat it later!"
Nabisco emptied his bowl behind him when Meling wasn't looking. "It was.. Appetizing!" he said.
"Really?" she asked.
Everyone sweatdropped again.
Kero sauntered out of the woods. "OOH! Food!" He cried and attacked the stew. The others watched him devour the food. After he was done, he gave a contented belch and wandered off again.
Syaoran got up slowly. "Well," he said. "I'd best be leaving now."
Sakura got up, ran to him, hugged him, and said "Goodbye!" quickly and ran away, face cherry red.
Chiharu got up to go after her, but Takashi grabbed her wrist. "I'll miss you as well," he said, looking into her eyes.
Chiharu smiled and hugged him "I'll miss you too," she let go. "But I have to go after Sakura."
"Wait!" Takashi yelled. "At least see us off! Please?"
"Alright then," Chiharu replied. She turned around and walked back over.
Syaoran was beet red and didn't seem to be able to say anything, so he got onto his horse (A/N: where DO they all come from? -Naoko) stiffly and sat silently, waiting to go.
All of the other soldiers got onto their horsed.
"Goodbye!" Sakaguchi yelled merrily. Naoko waved back.
They left. Chiharu ran to Sakura as soon as Takashi was out of sight. "Hello Sakura," she said.
Sakura, who had been sitting on the ground, stood up and laughed nervously. "I can't believe I hugged him." she said.
Chiharu smiled. "It was cute!"
Sakura turned even redder. The rest of the girls walked over to praise Sakura for her bravery. Sakura kept on turning redder and redder.
A week later, Sakura was trying to help Meling cook. "It would help if you read the labels!" she exclaimed, exasperated.
"But it takes too much time" Meling yelled.
Sakura growled in frustration and walked off.
"Sakura! Wait!!" Meling called and dropped the ingredients that were in her hands into the pot. It exploded in Meling's face. "Pu-wee."
Everyone in the camp stopped and stared. Meling sweatdropped.
Takashi galloped into camp. His horse was foaming at the mouth and it looked like it hadn't gotten any rest on the journey there. Takashi leapt off his horse. Naoko ran up to take it from him and care for it. "Poor horsie," she said mournfully.
What's wrong?" Chiharu asked him urgently.
"The Duke's kingdom is under some sort of attack!" Takashi told them. "All his previously loyal subjects have been attacking the castle. He bids that you do not go to him until the danger is over."
Sakura glanced at Tomoyo. "Alright," she said slowly.
Takashi glared at her. "I saw that look," he said. He sat down. "I'm here to make sure you don't risk your lives."
"OF ALL THE PEOPLE!! I'M NOT A HELPLESS LITTLE GIRL!!" Sakura screamed.
"You may not be, but I swore to Duke Syaoran that I would not let you pass," Takashi said, determined.
Sakura swelled in fury. "I - AM - NOT - HELPLESS!" she bellowed.
Takashi winced and put his hand to his ear. "We established that," he said.
"Well, we CAN'T just let him DIE there," Tomoyo said.
Takashi looked 'confused'. "Who said anything about dying?"
"If his castle is being attacked by his once loyal subjects." Sakura broke off and her eyes widened. "Oh no!" She took of past him in the direction of the road.
"WAIT!" Takashi wailed. "You're not supposed to leave!"
Chiharu laughed. "Some guard you are," she said. Takashi simply smiled.
"We have to follow her!" Naoko said. She grabbed a horse that just happened to be there, and mounted. "Come on!" she said, then took off with another horse, no doubt for Sakura to ride.
Takashi stared after her, aghast. "I am going to dies," he groaned.
"You won't die! I won't allow it!" Chiharu said defensively.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
As Naoko caught up to Sakura she slowed down the pace of the horses. "Sakura! I brought you a horse!"
Sakura skidded to a stop and jumped on. "Thanks!" she said and galloped off again.
Naoko caught up to her. "Shouldn't we wait for the others?" she asked.
"They can catch up on their own," Sakura said.
Naoko raised an eyebrow. "This can't be that bad, can it?" she asked.
"I think it's that Clow Card." Sakura returned.
"Oh."
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Well, I'm going after them," Meling said. She leapt onto a horse and galloped off. Takashi watched in dismay.
Rika and Chiharu looked at each other. "Well, we can't abandon our friends," Rika said. She got on a horse and left.
Chiharu glanced at Takashi and Tomoyo. "Coming?" she asked.
Takashi looked mournfully at her. "Yes." The three of them hopped onto a horse and rode after the others.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Sakura! Give the horse a break!" Naoko yelled.
"Not until we get there!" Sakura yelled and spurred the horse to go faster.
*This girl is nuts* The horse thought.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Come on!" Meling bellowed. "We'll never catch up at this pace!" She urged her horse to go even faster.
Rika shook her head. "I'm going to catch up later," she said. "I don't want to make my horse too tired."
Chiharu looked from Rika to the rapidly disappearing Meling. "I agree with you Rika," she said.
Takashi looked even sadder. "I'm worse than dead."
"Will the Dike get that mad at you?" Tomoyo asked him.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Sakura! Naoko!! WAIT!" Meling's voice yelled.
Sakura didn't slow down or look back. Naoko turned and gestured for Meling to catch up.
"You guys are CRAZY!" Meling declared as soon as she caught up.
"We have to get there soon!" Sakura said. "I don't want the Card to get too much out of control!"
"Card?!?!?!?" Meling demanded. "Who said anything about a card?"
"I think that Control Card is wreaking havoc on Syaoran's castle right now!" Sakura yelled, eyes on the road. The three continued on until they came to a cliff (A/N: same as the one in a previous ending -Sakura) and stopped. She backed the horse up and make it jump across. Being that that was the only short-cut to the castle.
Naoko pulled her horse to a stop. "Is she insane?" Her horse whinnied. Naoko looked down at it, shocked. "Did you just answer my question?"
The horse nodded its head. It then backed up and leapt over the chasm. Naoko was too shocked to do anything. Meling followed her.
Sakura kept on pushing for her horse harder and harder. Suddenly, the horse stopped.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Sakura yelled at it.
The horse shook its head.
Sakura was shocked.
Naoko trotted up.
"The-the-the horse just shook its head at me!" Sakura said.
"Yeah. mine just answered a question for me. It was rhetorical too." Naoko replied.
Meling trotted up beside the two girls. "Why aren't you two rushing off towards the castle?"
Sakura turned to Meling. "Our horses are talking to us." She said.
Meling stared at her. "Are you. ok?"
"WHY DO YOU AUROMATICALLY ASSUME THAT I AM GOING INSANE???" Sakura screamed and threw up her hands into the air.
"I wasn't assuming. You know what happens when people assume things." Meling said.
Naoko looked at her, nonplussed.
"Nevermind!" Meling said.
The three girls started forward again.
"We're finally here!" Sakura cried. She got off her horse and it immediately bolted for the forest. "Wait!" she cried, watching it leave.
"I think they're mad at us," Naoko said as she got off hers. The horse followed its companion.
"I'm not going to get off mine," Meling said. "We might need it later."
The horse, fed up with its rider, bucked her off and high-tailed it to the forest.
"HEY!" Meling shouted after her horse.
Just then, a bunch of townsfolk came running towards them.
"Scatter!" Sakura yelled.
The three split up and ran for shelter. Sakura hid behind a nearby wall, Naoko in a shrub, and Meling on the top of a nearby shed.
The townsfolk ran by their hiding places woodenly. Sakura caught a glance at their eyes and shuddered. They were milky and completely devoid of life. The three girls watched them run by in silence. After it was safe, they came out.
"Did you see their eyes?" Meling asked them.
The other two nodded. "This certainly proves that this is something supernatural." Sakura said.
"But, Sakura," Naoko said. "Don't you think that it's a some*one*? I mean, why would an inanimate object like a Clow Card have a grudge against a person?"
"You're right. But it feels so much like a Clow Card," Sakura said, concentrating really hard on the aura. "And a really strong one at that," she mumbled.
The three of them stood in silence for a while.
"Well, are we going to capture this thing or what?" Naoko asked.
"Yeah, sorry," Sakura said. "Let's go to the castle to see what's happening."
They advanced towards Syaoran's castle. As they got closer, they could see that the gates were drawn up and no one was on the battlements. The whole castle was surrounded with a very large moat. The water was boiling, as if someone had put a heating spell on it.
"Looks like we'll have to get in with magic," Meling said. "We can't swim that moat. It's too wide. And too hot."
"Who says we're going in?" Sakura asked. "This card of power is outside. I don't want to worry Syaoran by letting him know we're here."
"Aww!! That's so sweet!" Meling crowed.
Sakura blushed and glared at her. Naoko was briefly confused but recovered when Meling spoke.
"The Duke has magic too. He can help you," Meling pleaded.
"No! I don't want him hurt! I've hurt him once before!" Sakura said, letting Meling see the pain in her eyes from the previous years after she left him as a child.
"Fine," Meling grumbled. "Be that way." She gestured in the vague direction of the castle. "Lead us on!"
Sakura stared at her blankly. "To what?"
"The source of the magic, of course!"
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"We're finally here!" Chiharu cried. They were in a village at the foot of Syaoran's castle.
"Doesn't it seem a bit. empty to you?" Rika asked them.
Takashi nodded. "All the villagers are attacking the castle."
At that moment, a loud boom reverberated off the walls of the huts.
"What was that?" Rika cried.
Takashi, Chiharu, and Tomoyo shrugged.
"Let's go take a look," Tomoyo suggested.
They ran toward the noise. They arrived at the castle and saw Sakura, Naoko, and Meling fighting their way to the draw bridge.
"Are they crazy? They're completely outnumbered" Takashi yelled and took off to help them.
"Takashi!" Chiharu cried after him. He was too far ahead.
"We have to help them!" Chiharu cried and turned to Rika and Tomoyo.
"Of course! Let's go!" Rika replied.
"Remind me AGAIN why we're trying to get to the drawbridge?" Meling yelled.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten!" Naoko cried. "You'll have to wait then! They," she indicated a villager charging towards her, "might hear."
"Retreat!" Sakura yelled. The three girls ran towards the woods. Strangely enough, the villagers didn't follow them. The rapidly approaching Takashi changed course and followed them into the woods. Rika, Chiharu, and Tomoyo joined them.
"What did you do that for?" Rika demanded.
"We want whoever is behind this to think that we want to get into the castle and aren't after them," Sakura said.
Meling clapped a hand over her mouth. "Then I shouldn't have said anything."
"Don't worry," Sakura assured her. "I don't even think they even registered we were thinking. They aren't really conscious.
"But, they were walking!" Meling said.
Tomoyo patted her shoulder. "Just think about it for a minute."
Meling thought really hard. "Are they. being controlled?" She asked dumbly.
Sakura hung her head. "Yes Meling, yes they are."
"Oh, ok. But if we retreated, whoever is doing this would get the idea that we aren't being controlled, right?" Meling asked.
Sakura rose an eyebrow. "Huh?"
Meling sighed. "If we retreated, like we did, wouldn't whoever is behind all of this know we aren't being controlled? If we were being controlled wouldn't we be attacking the castle too?"
Sakura grimaced. "I think you should think about it a bit more Meling," She said.
"Can you tell where a magical power is by sensing it?" Naoko asked, changing the subject.
"Yes," Sakura said.
"Ok," Naoko said. "Then here's the plan. Sakura and one other person track down this power. The rest of us will attack the townspeople, guerilla style, to make it seem like we're all here."
"I'm so glad you're with us," Chiharu said to her gratefully.
Naoko smiled.
"Who's going with you Sakura?" Meling asked her.
Sakura thought for a minute. "I'll take you Meling, because you have martial art abilities. If this thing really is a person, then I'll need help."
"Ok," Meling said with a nod of her head.
"Please, the rest of you, be careful," Sakura said and looked at each of them.
"We will," all of them replied.
Sakura and Meling got up and walked out of their hiding place and left for the direction opposite of Syaoran's castle.
"Okay Meling, ready to fly?" Sakura asked her.
A sly smile slid across Meling's face.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sakura said. She pulled out the Fly Card and her key. She used the Card on her wand and the two lifted off into the air.
"Where do you think this thing is?" Meling asked her when they were high above the ground.
"Over there," Sakura said and pointed to a place about three miles away. It appeared to be a large clearing in the forest.
"It's a good place to hide out," Meling commented.
Sakura flew to a point about 300 feet from the clearing and landed. "We don't want this thing to see us," she explained to the confused Meling. The two crept up to the clearing. Since there was not much undergrowth, it was not hard to stay silent. When they got close enough to see whatever was in the clearing clearly, Sakura gasped.
"Yue!" she cried and stepped out.
Yue, who was holding a card in his hand, turned to Sakura. "It's nice of you to join me," he said.
Meling leapt out of her hiding place. "You're not getting away with this!" she cried.
"Aren't I?" He asked her. "Your Card Captor is not strong enough to stop me. No one is."
"You're the one who's behind this all?" Sakura asked him, choosing to ignore his insult.
Yue smiled. "Yes. His Majesty Touya wanted you to be out of the picture since you were so. irritating. I thought the best way to lure you to where I could battle with you was to create a Card and use it to attack your friend's kingdom." His smile broadened. "It worked, didn't it?"
Sakura glared at him.
"However," he continued, "I wasn't expecting you to come with someone else." His eyes glittered and he glanced at Meling. "So I'll just have to take care of her."
Sakura realized what he meant just in time. "Shield Card!" she cried, and threw a shield around Meling to protect her from Yue's Card.
Yue sighed. "Simply irritating." He said. "Fine then, I'll just keep her occupied." He closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them again.
Sakura took a step back. "What did you just do?" she demanded.
"Called all of the villagers I am controlling to come and fight your friend," he said. "That's alright, isn't it?" he finished tauntingly.
Sakura and Meling could hear crashes in the woods.
Meling looked dismayed. "How did they get here so quickly?" she asked.
"Magic, of course," Yue replied.
Meling stepped up to Sakura and squeezed her shoulder. "Good luck," she said then turned towards the noises.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
About thirty minutes ago..
"We can go to different points around the villagers and then charge," Naoko explained as she drew a map in the dirt. Rika, who looked slightly bored, wandered off into the forest.
"Right," Chiharu said. Everyone else got up and went to the different places Naoko had marked on her map. Naoko, in a place where everyone could see her, raised her arm to give the charge signal. Before she lowered her hand, all the villagers disappeared.
"What the?!" Naoko shouted.
The small group came out of their hiding placed and met at the edge of the moat.
"What do we do now? They kinda. left," Chiharu said.
"Well, maybe we should go to the Duke," Naoko suggested.
"But, Sakura said not to. Anyhow, the Duke told me that I wasn't supposed to let you get here!" Takashi cried. "I'm not about to get killed!"
"You're not going to die! Sakura is risking her life to protect the Duke! If anyone is going to die, it's more likely it's going to be Sakura! Not you! We don't know what she's up against, or if she can handle it!! All we know is that she probably needs help, and the Duke is the only one that we know is powerful enough to help her!" Chiharu exploded.
Tomoyo, Naoko, and Takashi looked shocked.
"Can we please get on with this? He has to help her now. I don't want her to get hurt." Chiharu said.
"A-alright," Takashi stuttered.
"One question. How are we supposed to get in there? The drawbridge is up," Tomoyo said and gestured towards the closed gate.
"No problem!" Takashi exclaimed and pulled out a small card.
Naoko rose an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"An entrance card," Takashi said and smiled.
Tomoyo looked around. "Hey, where's Rika?"
The others looked around.
"That's a good question." Naoko said.
A scream was heard in the forest and Rika bound out of it closely followed by a charging boar.
"RIKA!" Chiharu screamed. (A/N: dun dun dunnnnnnn.... ^.^ -Sakura)
Rika ran up to the moat and leapt into the water, which, thankfully, had cooled down. The boar, being very stupid, wondered where she went. After sniffing about for a while, trying to find the scent, it gave up and trotted back to the forest. Rika surfaced and climbed out of the moat shakily.
"What. what happened?" Chiharu asked her.
"I was playing with its babies," Rika replied.
They all stared at her.
"I thought you were an. intelligent person, Rika," Naoko said.
Rika shrugged. "Everyone has their days."
Everyone fell over anime style.
"So, what are we doing?" Rika asked.
"Today must be your day Rika," Naoko said getting up and brushing herself off. She took a deep breath and explained the whole plot.
"Oh! Ok then!" Rika said brightly. "Let's go then!"
Everyone else sweatdropped. Takashi walked up to a small stump across from the drawbridge. "Stand back," he said proudly and slid his card into a slot. The drawbridge shuddered and opened slowly.
"Whoa," Chiharu said.
They walked into a narrow courtyard. Takashi walked up to a guard who was standing by a pair of doors at the opposite side of the courtyard. "I wish to speak to the duke," he said.
"Passports please," the guard said in a monotone and stuck his hand out palm up.
Takashi searched his pockets nervously but didn't find anything. He then looked up at the guard and stuck his hand on the guard's hand palm down. The door opened and Takashi and the girls walked through. They stopped.
"What was all that about," Chiharu asked.
"Oh, I keep forgetting about the automated guards. They scan your palm to see if you are an employee of the Duke," Takashi explained.
The girls stared at him. "What's automated?" Rika asked.
"Nevermind," Takashi said. "Just follow me." He took them through several halls, up two staircases, down three more (A/N: ^^.^^ -Naoko) etc until they got to the Highest Room In The Tallest Tower. There they found Syaoran staring despondently out in the general direction of Sherwood Forest.
Takashi walked up behind him and gently tapped him on the shoulder. "My lord," he said. "This villagers have stopped attacking the castle."
Syaoran jumped and turned around. "Really?" he asked. He appeared to have gone without sleep for at least a day and not eaten anything for a while.
"Oh, Duke," Rika said. "You're in terrible condition! What's wrong?"
"I'm worried is all." he said looking out the window again. "I just saw Sakura and Meling fly somewhere."
Takashi broke down. "I'M SORRY MY LORD! I TRIED TO STOP THEM BUT I COULDN'T HOLD THEM ALL BACK!"
Syaoran waved his hand. "I'll punish you later. Right now all I care about is Sakura's safety."
"Smooth, Takashi, real smooth," Chiharu muttered. Takashi smiled and gulped nervously.
"Well, we're here about Sakura," Rika told him.
Syaoran sat up.
"We believe that Sakura might be biting off more than she can chew," Naoko said.
"She was eating?" Takashi asked.
The girls fell over anime style. "It's just a figure of speech Takashi." Chiharu said.
"Oh! Did you know that figures of speech originated in ancient Mesopotamia?" Takashi said. "They were a form of talking in code."
Chiharu stared at him suspiciously. "I don't believe that," she said slowly.
"But, it's true!" he said. "Have I ever lied to you?"
The two got into an argument.
"Anyways," Rika said and turned back to Syaoran. "As we was saying, Sakura is putting herself up against too much alone. She told us not to come to you, but we had no choice. the villagers disappeared; I think they were heading towards the clearing where Sakura went, and another thing, she only took Meling with her."
Syaoran stood up quickly. "Then we have to help her!" he cried. He walked quickly to the door and opened it. "Come on!" he said and turned to them. "We don't have any time to waste!" he lead them to the courtyard and said, "Wait here," and walked off. He returned in his ceremonial robes and a sword strapped to his back. He snapped his fingers and six horses appeared. (A/N: Jeez. where DO they come from? -Naoko)
"More magic?" Naoko asked, confused.
"No, just the authoresses wants." Takashi informed them.
"NO MORE LIES!" Chiharu said and strangled him.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Sakura turned to Yue. "So, when do we start?" she asked him.
Yue lifted up into the air. "Now." His bow and arrow materialized and he drew it back.
"Jump!" Sakura cried and leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the arrow.
"I hope this isn't going to take too long," Yue said, bored. "I have other things to do." He drew back another arrow.
Wings sprouted out of Sakura's back. She advanced on Yue. He rained arrows down on her to drive her back. She dodged them all, but ended up back where she started.
*I can't get close enough to use my cards* she thought.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!" she heard Meling scream.
Sakura turned to where Meling was. She was lying motionless of the ground and the villagers were gone.
"MELING!" Sakura shouted. She turned to Yue. "You hurt my friend! You're going to pay for that!"
Sakura flew as fast as she could towards Yue dodging every one of his arrows.
*she seems more determined now. This should be interesting.* Yue thought.
*I have to beat him. No matter what.* "I WILL BEAT YOU!" Sakura screamed.
Yue brought out his ice crystals and shot them at Sakura. One of them hit her arm and she lost her concentration on flying and plummeted to the ground.
"Not so strong now are we? Are you afraid?" Yue taunted.
Flames could be seen in Sakura's eyes. "Stop taunting me!" she said angrily.
"Why? Does it bother you?" Yue mocked again.
Just then they heard horses in the forest. Sakura clutched her bleeding arm and turned around. *NO!*
"What's this I hear? Horses? Did you send for reinforcements?" Yue demanded.
Tomoyo, Rika, Naoko, Takashi, Chiharu, and Syaoran emerged from the forest.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo yelled as soon as she saw the blood running from her friend's arm.
"No! Get away from here!" Sakura yelled.
Syaoran jumped off his horse and embraced her. Sakura kept fighting to get away.
"Sakura, calm down," Syaoran said and still held onto her tightly.
"No! I was trying to protect you all! LET GO!!" Sakura yelled and stomped on Syaoran's foot.
Syaoran still didn't let go.
"I don't have time for this!" Yue exclaimed. He took control of Syaoran and threw him against a tree. There was a sharp crack and Syaoran cringed. He looked at his arm, which was bent at the elbow the wrong way.
Sakura ran towards Yue. "Stop hurting them!" she cried.
"Not until you defeat me. And if you don't I'll use my new Cow Card to make them kill themselves so you will be all alone." Yue said.
"What?" Sakura asked, confused. "Your Card?"
"Why, yes. I thought you would have figured it out by now. You know I can make Clow Cards, so I used this ability to my own advantage. I make the." he broke off.
"Control Card." Sakura finished.
"Ahh. so you know of it. Now your task is to defeat me. Once having that done, the Card will disappear and I will be completely under your control." Yue continued.
Sakura pulled out her Fiery Card. "Fiery Card! Lend me your flame as a barrier to contain the one who opposes me. FIREY CARD!"
Fiery flew up and surrounded Yue.
"It won't be that east Cards Mistress!" Yue closed his eyes and Fiery was pushed back towards Sakura. She stopped just before hitting Sakura.
"Thank you," Sakura said looking at her Card with compassion.
"Mistress, thy heart is good. Thou shalt prevail. Use the rest of the elemental cards together. I shall keep Windy and Watery from attacking you," Fiery said.
Sakura nodded and brought out Windy, Watery, and Earthy. Fiery flew back into her card form and joined the rest of the elements.
"You do not have enough power Mistress. You are injured," Yue taunted her again.
Sakura rose her wand and was about to call out an incantation when everything went blurry.
"Sakura!" Syaoran yelled as he saw her fall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Time was going by very fast in Sakura's dream. She saw each of her friends killing themselves because she had lost to Yue. Sakura suddenly found herself running through a deserted village. "NO!" she yelled to herself. Her elemental cards flew out.
"Mistress, please come back to us," Windy pleaded.
Sakura fell to her knees, crying. "I'm all alone," she cried.
"Mistress, please snap out of it," Earthy said and approached her.
"Mistress," Watery said quietly.
Sakura looked at her cards. She began to get up as Fiery came to her.
"Mistress, it is time," Fiery said and the other three elements surrounded her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sakura opened her eyes and saw Yue's face near hers. She stood up quickly and held her wand above her head. "Windy, Watery, Earthy, Fiery, lend me your powers once more, bind the force before me and hold him down. WINDY, WATERY, EARTHY, FIREY!"
The four cards captures Yue and tried to hold him as long as they could, but Yue pushed them all away.
"Why isn't this working?" Earthy asked, confused.
"Perhaps he is just stronger than we," Watery said calmly. "It is all possible."
"No! It's my fault. I'm not strong enough," Sakura exclaimed.
Syaoran slowly got to his feet and clutched his mangled arm. "Sakura, let me help."
Sakura turned to him. "I'm trying to protect you. If you help me, I can't do that," Sakura said, emotionless.
"Sakura, if you won't let us help you, we will all end up like Meling," Syaoran said.
Everyone turned to where Meling had been lying, but now she wasn't there.
"Up here, Card Captor," Yue said.
Sakura looked up and saw Yue holding Meling's motionless body by the wrist.
"No!" Sakura shrieked. She started to glow.
"What is this? New magic?" Yue asked, astonished.
Sakura drew up her want and called out her incantation once again. The four elements flew to Yue and surrounded him. Their power surrounded him in a blinding light and they brought him down in a golden barrier.
"You have defeated me, my mistress," Yue said and bowed his head in defeat.
The control card appeared in Sakura's hand and burned into a power.
"This card will no longer trouble the people of this land," Yue said.
Sakura turned pale and swayed. Syaoran ran forwards and caught her awkwardly. Blood was pouring out of her cut at an unnatural rate.
Tomoyo ran up. "She's lost too much blood and used too much of her remaining energy!" she said. She ripped her sleeve off her shirt and tore it into strips. "Help me tie up her arm." she said to Syaoran.
Syaoran held the bandages down with his good hand while Tomoyo tied them.
Naoko walked up and observed them. "Judging by the scale of blood that's coming out, that bandage isn't going to do much," she said quietly. She frowned. "I saw the cut though, and it wasn't that deep. Why is it bleeding so much?"
"I used magic to make the cut worse," Yue said. "I destroyed all of the blood vessels in her arm."
Tomoyo formed a tourniquet. The bleeding slowed a bit, but Naoko still looked extremely worried.
"I don't think she'll be able to make it," Naoko said.
Syaoran looked stricken. "No!" he cried. "She has to!" He looked at Yue. "You did this! Make it better!"
Yue shook his head. "I am no healer. The magic I used is not keeping her bleeding."
Syaoran looked at Sakura again. "What are we going to do?!?"
Naoko glanced at the sky. "I really don't -- wait! What is that?" She stood up to get a better look. There, in the sky, was a black dot.
"I think it's a bird." Rika said.
"No, it's a plane!" Takashi said.
"And what EXACTLY is a plane?" Chiharu demanded.
"I don't know," Takashi replied. "It's what the authors told me to say!"
Chiharu stared at him.
"It's true!" Takashi protested. "Every once in a while these voices in my head appear and tell me to say these things!"
"I don't believe you," Chiharu said.
"Oh my God!" I think it's Superman!" Meling, who was now awake, cried.
Rika looked surprised. "Why would Superman have wings?"
Syaoran looked up too. "Hey! It's Keroberos!"
"Huh?" Everyone except Yue said.
"How did he know where we are?" Chiharu asked Syaoran.
"The authors probably told him," Takashi proclaimed.
Chiharu hit him. "STOP IT WITH THE AUTHOR CRAP!!"
Keroberos landed in the clearing. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "That stew that I had last week was really filling. I was asleep the whole time!" He sweatdropped. "Anyways, I sensed my Mistress was in trouble." He spotted Yue. "You." he said suspiciously. "You're here, so that means you did it."
Yue glared at him. "Just because I am here does NOT mean that I harmed her. The fact that I DID is irrelevant."
"Well, why doesn't someone help her out?" Keroberos asked.
"I don't have anything that I can use to help her," Naoko said.
Takashi bounced up. "A message from the authors!" he cried. "They had a momentary brain fart and forgot that Yue could fly so that's why Keroberos is here, but they won't erase all of the stuff that they just wrote because they already went through the effort of writing it." He panted.
Chiharu swelled up. "Did you not just hear me scream STOP IT?!?"
"It's true!" Takashi said. He raised his face to the heavens. "O Great Authoresses! Send the Unbeliever a message!"
Chiharu's eyes widened, then narrowed again. "They say I shouldn't believe you. And that you're stoopid."
"Stoopid?" Rika asked. "Can't they spell?"
A bolt of lightning hit the clearing.
"Sorry?" Rika said meekly.
Syaoran looked angry. "Can we please stop messing around and get Sakura to safety?"
"Sorry," everybody said.
Yue stepped forwards and bent down to pick up Sakura. Syaoran clutched her possessively with his one good arm. "I will not hurt her," Yue said stiffly. "She is my new mistress."
"Whoa! She is?" Keroberos asked him.
Yue gave him a withering look and took Sakura from Syaoran's arms. Syaoran got to his feet weakly. "Take me with you," he demanded.
"I can't carry both of you," Yue said, sounding exasperated.
"I'll take him," Keroberos said, sounding reluctant.
Syaoran eyed the Beast of the Seal warily. "Alright," he said. "If it's the only way." He climbed up on Keroberos's back. The two guardians lifted off the ground.
The others on the ground watched them fly off. "I guess we'll have to walk back," Chiharu said.
"What happened to the horses?" Rika asked.
Takashi opened his mouth to say something.
"Don't even think about it!" Chiharu snapped.
"I was only going to say that they were scared off by that winged man's ice crystals," he said meekly.
"Oh. Sorry," Chiharu said.
They started back towards the castle. After about fifteen minutes, Takashi tried to convince Chiharu again that the Mighty Authors were really making him say the strange things. The others listened in amusement until Sakaguchi and Nabisco rode up with extra horses in tow.
"We thought you might need these," Nabisco said to them.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
It took a while for Syaoran to convince his servants that Yue and Keroberos weren't going to hurt them. After they got over their mistrust, the wasted no time in re-setting Syaoran's arm and stopping Sakura's bleeding.
The others arrived at the castle an hour later. They were relieved to find out that Sakura was going to be alright.
"What are we going to do?" Rika asked Takashi at one point. "Sakura still isn't in good enough shape to travel, and, even though we would do it, it will be a pain for us to travel back and forth every day."
"You guys can stay here for as long as it takes Sakura to recover," Syaoran said, who had just entered the room. He looked pale, and still as if he was in some pain. "You can stay longer if you'd like."
"I'd like that!" Sakaguchi said.
"I'm sure you would," Naoko grumbled.
"Is that an insult?" Sakaguchi demanded.
"No." Naoko smiled brightly. "Why would I do that?"
They stayed a week in the Duke's castle. Near the end of the week, Syaoran pulled Tomoyo aside after lunch.
"Yees?" Tomoyo asked him.
"Uh." Syaoran's hands twisted. "Um. do you think that Sakura would want to. uh. marry me?"
Tomoyo's face broke into a smile. "I'm sure she would." Her smile faltered. "But, isn't that forbidden?"
"What, marriage?" Syaoran asked her, confused.
"No," Tomoyo laughed. "Marriage between a noble and an outlaw."
"Well," Syaoran said slowly. "We could always try to get the prince Touya's permission. but," he said hastily in response to Tomoyo's raised eyebrow, "We could just be married in secret!"
"Why don't you ask her?" Tomoyo suggested. "Then you'll know!"
Syaoran looked sullen. "You didn't help me very much."
Tomoyo smiled and raised her hand. "Hello Sakura!" she said to someone behind Syaoran.
Syaoran jumped and turned around. True to her word, Sakura had just entered the room.
"Hello Tomoyo. Hi Syaoran. What are you two doing here?" she asked them.
"Talking," Tomoyo said. "But I think the Duke has something he wants to say to you."
Sakura looked at Syaoran. "You do?" she asked.
Syaoran turned slightly green "Uh. not yet!" he started to back out of the room. "I'll be right back!" he turned around and fled.
Sakura turned back to Tomoyo, who was grinning evilly. "Did I miss something?"
"No, you didn't," Tomoyo said. "You should stay right here. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She left the room.
Sakura just stared at her retreating back. "What's happening?" she asked.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Syaoran sat in his room, trying to get the courage to leave again. He clutched what was obviously an engagement ring in his hand. Someone knocked at his door. "Come in," he said, sounding a bit strangled. He hid the ring behind his back.
Tomoyo entered. "You'd better get back to Sakura sooner or later. She's probably very confused right now," she said.
"How. how did you know where I was?" Syaoran asked her.
"I asked some of the servants where you went," she answered.
Syaoran gulped nervously. "Well, here goes nothing," he said and stood up.
Tomoyo smiled at him. "You can do it," she said. "I'll walk with you there. To give you encouragement."
"Thanks," he said. "Just.. Please don't spy on us. I don't want to have that feeling when I'm asking her. It makes me really nervous."
Tomoyo looked affronted. "Me? Spy on you" she asked innocently.
Syaoran glared at her. "I've seen some of those 'landscapes' you've been paining around Sakura and me."
Tomoyo's eyes widened. "So, you think I'm going to spy on you and paint you proposing to Sakura?"
Syaoran glared at her.
"Fine," Tomoyo sniffed. "I didn't want to anyways."
By that time, they had reached the room that Sakura was waiting in. Syaoran looked unusually pale. He sighed.
"Good luck!" Tomoyo said brightly.
Syaoran looked startled. "Do you think I'll need it?"
Tomoyo just grinned and opened the door and pushed him through.
Sakura, who was staring out of a window in the room, turned around when Syaoran stumbled in. "Well, are you ready to tell me what you wanted to tell me?" she asked.
"Oh." Syaoran scratched his head. "Yeah, uh..."
Sakura put her hand on her hip. "Well?"
Syaoran walked over to her and stood in front of her, twisting his hands. "Um." he seemed extremely nervous. (A/N: Geeee. I WONDER why? -Naoko)
"Is everything alright?" Sakura asked him.
Syaoran grabbed her hand, held it for a second, and then got down on one knee. He looked up into her eyes. "Sakura," he said.
Sakura's eyes widened. "Syaoran, I-"
Syaoran started talking again. "I, I've loved you for so long. I don't even know when I first started loving you." He reached inside his pocket and drew out the ring. "This ring has been in my family for centuries." He slipped it on her finger. "Sakura, will you marry me? I know were not supposed to," he started rambling. "But I've been thinking about it for a while, and I have a plan. We could get married in secret or something, or go through a hand fasting ceremony (A/N: I'm watching Charmed right now. -Naoko), and we could visit each other! That way we can be with each other. Or, if we're desperate, we can ask Touya for permission to marry, although, I don't think he would let us. He would probably put us in jail just for asking."
Sakura stared at him, astonished. After several seconds, she realized what had just happened. She smiled slowly. "Syaoran, I." she got down on her knees so she could look him directly in the eyes. "You don't know how much I wished this would happen." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
# # # # # # #
"Oh, that's so sweet!" Tomoyo sighed, hand on her cheek.
Meling glanced at her. "We'd better split now. You told the Duke you wouldn't spy on him."
"Right!" Tomoyo said. The two girls hurried off to go find the others.
# # # # # # #
"Do you want to go tell the others now?" Sakura asked Syaoran.
"Sure," he answered. They stood up and walked out of the room holding hands.
# # # # # # #
"Wow! That's so great!" Rika cried, pretending to look surprised.
Sakura beamed. "I'm so happy!" she said.
"So. what are you going to do with this whole 'permission' thing?" Naoko asked. "You know that the prince is pissed off enough that you two are alive and that he doesn't have Yue anymore."
Syaoran grimaced. "I know," he said. "We have some offers that he might be persuaded by."
Sakaguchi, who was with them, along with Nabisco, perked up. "Do I have to get permission to marry?" he asked and glanced at Naoko.
Naoko glared at him. "I'm not gonna marry you right now," she stated.
"But!" Sakaguchi said.
"We've only known each other about a month!" Naoko returned.
"But, but!"
"No buts!"
"Aww.. It would be so sweet if we had a triple wedding!" Tomoyo said. Her eyes glazed over. "I could make the dresses."
Meling sweatdropped. "Triple?"
Nabisco smiled at her. "Triple."
Sakaguchi turned to Naoko. "What if we get ENGAGED that day? Officially?"
Naoko opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, closed it, and then smiled brightly. "Ok!"
Sakaguchi whipped out an engagement ring. "Naoko, will you marry me?"
Naoko's eyes widened. "Where did you get that ring?"
"It's the authoresses I tell you!" Takashi cried.
"Uh huh." Chiharu responded.
A week later, the whole company traveled to the prince Touya's castle. After many threats, explosions, and crying, they got into Touya's reception hall.
"What do you want now?" Touya demanded.
Syaoran bowed shortly to him. "Your majesty," he drawled, making it sound more like an insult, "I ask permission to marry Sakura Kinomoto."
"No." Touya said immediately.
"What if I give you money?" Syaoran prompted.
"No."
"Land?"
"No."
Syaoran glanced at the others. "Both?"
"No."
Sakura smiled sweetly. "I'll stop robbing!"
"No."
Sakura's smile disappeared. "Throw in the land and the money."
"No."
Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other again. "Ok then!" Sakura said. "Time for plan B!"
Their companions spread out, some to keep the guards from interfering, and some to block the doors.
"This is your last chance," Sakura warned.
Touya looked slightly uncomfortable. "No." he said, sounding slightly unsure.
"Create Card!" Sakura cried. "Make a really tall pole!" A pole launched itself out of the ground right next to Touya's throne.
Touya jumped. "What's that for?"
"Float Card! Lift our friendly prince to the top of this pole!"
Touya was lifted by the seat of his pants and hung up on the pole. "AHH!! WEDGIE!" he wailed.
"Now, let's try this again." Syaoran said. "I ask permission to marry Sakura Kinomoto."
"Anything!" Touya sobbed. "Just stop the pain and humiliation!"
"Wonderful!" Sakura said. She grabbed Syaoran's hand and the two started to leave.
"Wait!" Touya said. "Let me down! And I still get all the other stuff, right?"
"Haha!" Sakura said. "That's funny!"
"You would have if we hadn't had to resort to plan B." Syaoran said.
The group left and went back to Syaoran's castle.
Two months later, the preparations were ready. Instead of a triple ceremony, it was a quadruple ceremony. Takashi and Chiharu discovered that they were in love with each other when Chiharu had gotten fed up with Takashi and his stories, hit him on the head too hard, and thought she killed him.
Tomoyo was in her element. The four couples reluctantly handed the celebration planning over to her, much to her glee. She decided to have the ceremony in Sherwood forest during the fall, when all the trees were ablaze with red, orange, yellow, and brown.
"I'm so nervous!" Sakura said as Tomoyo helped her into her dress. Naoko, Chiharu, Rika, and Meling were watching. They were in a large tent equipped with three mirrors, scissors, ribbons, etc, and enough pins to make a homicidal maniac die and think he/she went to heaven, or hell, whichever was nicer to them.
The dress was white with a full skirt. It was shoulder less, with full length sleeves that tapered down to a point over her middle finger. The dress fabric had freshwater pearls woven into it. At her neck she wore a diamond pendant. Naoko was holding her veil, which was full length.
Naoko handed Tomoyo the veil. "I don't mean to be pushy, but we've been here for four hours. CAN WE PLEASE GO?!?"
"Yeah!" Meling piped up. "They must think we're dead by now!"
"NO!" Tomoyo looked slightly deranged. "I have to put on the finishing touches!" She made Sakura sit down and pulled Chiharu up. She was wearing a fill length dress with an umpire waist. It was orangish-red. The waist was composed of a burnt-orange cord. The top was embroidered with full length sleeves. Tomoyo poked at her already perfect hair, which was arranged in curls that cascaded over her shoulders.
"Alright." Tomoyo said and scanned the other girls. Meling was wearing a light blue underdress with sleeves that reached to her fingertips and a darker blue, sleeveless overdress. The neck and the bottom of the overdress were lined with a white fur. (Faux fur!! *sniffles* don't be cruel to animals!! -Naoko and Sakura) A gold cord looped several times around her waist, and she wore a dark blue fabric wreath wrapped in a gold cord on her head. Her long black hair was down. Naoko was wearing a light green skirt with a green overdress the same color, but slightly shorter, over it. The bottom of the dress was composed of pointed scallops with a hunter green cord running over it. The sleeves flared out and were much longer than her arms, and also edges with scallops and green cord. At her waist, she wore a dark green girdle with a pale purple stone at the center. She had a slightly darker green cape with a broach made out of the same amethyst stone. Her hair was arranged in an elegant French twist.
"I still don't see why I have to dress up," Rika said grumpily.
"You and I are the Special-Maids-Of-All-Honors!" Tomoyo told her. "Now, I need to make your hair perfect!"
Rika stood up, muttering ominously. She was wearing a dress with an umpire waist. Below the waist, the dress was a dark pink satin with a light, white, gauzy material over it. The top and sleeves, which reached to the elbow, were the same pink satin. Below the elbow the sleeves were made out of the white gauze. They reached to her fingertips and flared out. Pink ribbons were tied to her elbows. Her hair was halfway up with ribbons keeping it in place. Tomoyo brushed her already shining hair.
"Alright then," Tomoyo said, sounding distracted. "I think we can go." She glanced in the mirror. She was wearing a red dress with a slit that opened up in the front. Underneath you could see a black underskirt. The sleeves also tapered down to her middle finger, and were richly embroidered with black beads. Her hair was in a simple braid down her back with red and black ribbons woven in. She walked over to a vase and grabbed a bouquet of cherry blossoms. "Here Sakura," she said and handed them to the bride.
Sakura made an exclamation of delight.
Rika walked over and opened the door of their makeshift room. They could see a red velvet rug leading from it up to the altar, where Yelan, who had decided to conduct the ceremony, was standing. Rika gave Sakura a small smile, grabbed a bouquet of flowers that matched her dress, and stepped out with Tomoyo, who also had a bouquet of flowers that matched her dress.
Sakura drew a shaking breath. "Well, here I go!" She stepped out of the tent.
WERE FINALLY FINISHED!! YAAAAAAAAAY!!
-Sakura
Yeah! . Describing those dresses was a pain in the a$$!!
-Naoko
Yep yep. Lucky for me you did them.
-Sakura
¬.¬ yeah.. Lucky. Sorry if something didn't make sense back there.. I was running out of synonyms, etc.
-Naoko
Hey, if you guys would like us to make a sequel, please leave a message after the beep!
-Sakura
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!
-Naoko
*rolls eyes* oi, Naoko, oi..
-Sakura
^.^
-Naoko