Chapter Four (A.R)
A.N. Thank you all for reviewing me! ^-^' Actually, I didn't even expect ONE person to review my
story. Ohohoho........ -_-/// Okay, I read some of the reviews and noticed that some people
didn't really get what I changed to make it convenient for my story. Um, in the review Missy-chan
wrote, I realized the problem about the age and the Clow Cards. Sakura captured the cards when
she was ten. Now she's fifteen. Um... let's just say that Sakura finished capturing the cards
when she was ten. See, it's all really inconvenient for me cuz I didn't write the first two
chapters. I'll change some stuff in Chapter One and Two so you can all understand it better.
Well, on with the fourth chapter! Oh, and the Yukito zombie thing never happens in my fic!
Disclaimer: CCS and SM NOT mine. Don't push it.
Taiki brandished an old, dusty volume. "I found it!" he exclaimed happily. Yaten and
Seiji rushed over and grabbed the book at the same time. After having scowled at each other
some time, Yaten carefully opened it. They almost immediately found a spell for an enchanted
sleep... that would last for a thousand years. Yaten, Seiji and Taiki sweatdropped. "That
DEFINITELY won't do," Seiji said slowly. They turned the page.
"Aha! This is it!" Seiji yelled triumphantly. He read the title aloud, "A spell to make
a person fall into a deep sleep for several hours."
Taiki hesitated. He looked at Yaten and Seiji. "Are you sure we should do this? Isn't it
probably safer to bring Serena along with us?"
Yaten frowned at him. "Do you want Serena in danger?"
"No... but still..."
Seiji butted in. "Oh, come on! Let's just put the spell on her, wait till it takes
effect, and we'll leave to inspect the murder!"
Taiki sighed. "Fine."
Serena fiddled with her hair and looked dully at her homework. *I don't wanna do my
homework!* She whined to herself. *And plus, it's MATH!* Her stomach growled. Serena's eyes lit.
*I know! I'll go get something to eat!* She got up and headed out from her room. On her way to
the kitchen, she heard voices that sounded like it was coming from upstairs. Curious, she climbed
the stair that led to the attic, and peeked through a crack in the door. She saw Yaten, Taiki,
and Seiji clustered together looking at a dusty old volume. *I wonder what they're up to..."
she thought. Quietly, she listened to the conversation.
~~~
Taiki hesitated. He looked at Yaten and Seiji. "Are you sure we should do this? Isn't it
probably safer to bring Serena along with us?"
Yaten frowned at him. "Do you want Serena in danger?"
"No... but still..."
Seiji butted in. "Oh, come on! Let's just put the spell on her, wait till it takes
effect, and we'll leave to inspect the murder!"
Taiki sighed. "Fine."
~~~
Serena's eyes were wide. Who were they going to put a spell on? Sakura? *Or me?* she
wondered. She furrowed her delicate brows. But why would they put a spell on her? Well, then she
would put up a shield around her with the Imperium Silver crystal. Serena crept back to her room,
completely forgetting about her food. Slowly, she activated the crystal and put up a shield. *That
should do,* she decided. Glancing at her watch, she realised that it was already eight o'clock.
Seiji closed the book decidedly. "Okay, we activated the spell. We can go now."
They all trooped out of the attic. None of them realized that Serena, dressed in black,
was following them. Yaten, Taiki, and Seiji didn't realize either that Sakura was following
them too, using the Illusion and Silent cards. Illusion made it look as if she wasn't there, and
the Silent muffled the sounds of her movements. Further back, Diamond and his company looked at
the sight amusedly and followed as well.
They all arrived at the Lanoka Park thirty minutes later. Police cars were clustered
around the whole park, policemen standing guard everywhere.Seiji sighed exasperatedly and jumped
smoothly over the police cars, dozing policeman, and gates. Yaten and Taiki did the same, and
landed with catlike grace in the silent greenery of the park, in the shadows of the trees.
Serena simply used her Luna Pen to make her look like one of the policemen, and went
through the crowd. She transformed back after she passed the gates and melted behind a bunch of
tall trees.
Sakura summoned the Jump card, and leaped over the policemen and the gates, like the
Starlights, still invisible. The ghosts just strolled through everything.
Yaten quietly headed towards the place where the girl was said to have been killed,
everyone else in suite. Accidentally, Serena bumped into Seiji when she tripped over a root.
Seiji jumped and swirled around. By then, Serena had scrambled up, and her shield and
disguise had faded away. "SERENA!" Seiji hissed as quietly as he could, eyes wide. "How...
what?!" Yaten and Taiki joined him, and the three of them frowned lightly at Serena. Serena
blushed guiltily. Seiji sighed, and whispered, "Never mind. You'll tell us later." He shot a
wry look at his two other companions. "I guess you ended up coming with us anyways, so let's
just check this out together."
Diamond fumed at Seiji. "How DARE he talk to Serenity like that!!!" Emerald scowled in
Serena's direction, and hurried to coo at Diamond, trying to get his attention. Sapphire let out
a long suffering sigh, and sweatdropped. Rubeus contented himself by glaring at Emerald who was
starting to sicken him.
Meanwhile, Sakura was frowning, trying to figure something out. *How were Yaten, Taiki
and Seiji able to jump such heights? Hmm... I feel like I'm missing something important here...*
Unknown to all, a figure suck around in the shadows, observing them with ususual
interest.
Sakura jumped, then frowned. She sensed something strange nearby. It tingled her second
sight unpleasantly. Following her instincts, she approached the direction of where the sense came
from. When she saw what she had been looking for, she froze in horror. A creature unlike any she
had ever seen before lurked behind the tall trees. At that moment, she could not control a
scream coming from her throat. Her invisibility spell wavered and faded away when she lost her
guard.
Serena heard someone scream from behind a bunch of thick trees. Swiftly, Serena, Seiji,
Yaten and Taiki ran towards where the scream came from. As soon as they reached the hidden
clearing, they saw a horrible monster with long, bloodied yellow fangs attack a girl. The girl's
back was turned to them, so none of them could see who she was. In her right hand, she held a
pink staff topped with a golden star in a pink circle with tiny wings adorning it. In her left
hand were a bunch of ancient looking cards. The stranger, not realizing that she had an audience,
threw a card forward and cried out, "Shield Card! Form a bubble of protection around me to fend
off the attacks! Shield! Release and dispell!" A wind blew around her, and a pink bubble formed,
surrounding her. No matter how much the monster tried, it could not get it's claws to pierce the
magic.
Serena and the Starlights had watched all this, slack-jawed and in a daze. Serena was the
first to shake off her shock and yelled out her phrase to transform her into Sailor Moon. A
bright light surrounded her, and she stood in her accustomary pause. The monster finally saw her,
and lunged for Sailor Moon instead of attacking the stranger. The girl turned around, and gasped.
Serena stared at the girl's face for a second till realisation dawned on her. "SAKURA?!?!" she
shrieked unbecomingly. Sakura's eyes widened. The monster took advantage of Sailor Moon's
distraction and jumped to sink it's teeth into her throat. Sakura yelped and threw forward
another card frantically. "Windy Card! Form a chain to bind the uh...thing! Windy! Release and
dispell!!!" A translucent woman with wings appeared and bound the monster tight with sparkling,
swirling wind. The monster stuggled for a while, then gave up and bowed it's head in submission.
Serena was in a loss of words. Seiji, Yaten, and Taiki simply gawped. The ghosts had disappeared
some while ago, before the fight had begun.
Sakura stared at her own handiwork. She seriously didn't know what do do now. Windy was
waiting patiently, holding the ugly creature tight in it's makeshift chains. Sakura's mind raced.
She couldn't set it free, or it would harm other people. But she couldn't destroy it either,
because somewhere during the fight, she had glimpsed sorrow in it's eyes, the only nice thing
about it. It was almost as if it was attacking her because it was forced to. Suddenly, she heard
a girl's voice in her head. *Seal it... Make up a new phrase to capture it into a card...*
Sakura protested to the voice. *But it's not a Clow Card or a Sakura Card!* This time, the voice
became more insistent. *Seal it! Make up a phrase and seal it!* Sakura grumbled. *All right.* She
turned to Windy and the creature. "Um..... Become a new shape of contract! Sakura Card!" The
creature abruptly changed shape. From an ugly monster with fangs and claws, it turned into a
lovely unicorn. It's large, clear blue eyes turned on Sakura. It whinnied happily and turned into
a card which flew to Sakura's waiting hand.
(A.N. I know, I know, it's a lousy sealing phrase. But bear with it, cuz I can't think of
anything better for the moment.)
Yaten cleared his throat shakily. "It... it seems like this is going to be a long night,
full of explanations, huh?"
Sakura nodded sheepishly. She turned to look at Serena. For the first time, she realized
what Serena was wearing. A blue and white fuku with a red bow. In the middle of the bow was
pinned and intricate brooch. White gloves that stopped elbow high, and red boots that reached the
knees. It suddenly dawned on Sakura. "Sai.......Sailor Moon?!!!" she whispered, eyes a little
wild.
Serena shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "Yup, this is definitely gonna be a long
night..." she murmured to herself. Looking up, she said to everyone, "Um, I think we should head
home now. We made a lot of noise, and policemen are probably going to be all over here soon."
Seiko angrily threw his glass of wine against the wall, where it shattered into pieces.
"Damnit!" He whipped around to face the old man, who inched fearfully away from him. "Can't
you do ANYTHING right?!" he snarled. Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down.
"You are an incompetent, idiotic servant! I raised you two ranks higher, expecting you to be able
to get rid of the Card Mistress! You failed once, so I gave you another chance, and you failed
again AND lost us a rare Youma!" The man cowered under Seiko's dangerously glittering eyes. "For
that, I shall do myself a favor and rid myself of you!"
The old man screamed, "NO!!! I'll do ANYTHING! NO!!! PLEASE! NO!!!!!" It was too late.
Seiko snapped his fingers, and the man's body started to smoke, then burst into flames, and
disappeared.
Seiko sniffed disdainfully. He rang a bell. In a few seconds, a slave came to his door.
"Go fetch Akemi and Tadane."
"Yes, Master." The slave bowed and left. A few minutes later, the slave came back with
two girls. He bowed again and left. Seiko glanced coldly at Atemi and Tadane. "Well? Heiko failed
me, and I hope you won't. I have been waiting very long for you to put your plan into action, but
I still have no report that you two are working on it at all." He narrowed his eyes. "You'd
better have a good excuse for this inactivity."
Tadane gulped. "Uh... master, the p-plan will be put to action this m-month," she
promised, stuttering.
Seiko raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Really?"
Atemi nodded fiercely, "Yes! Maybe even this week!"
His dark purple eyes showed no hint of emotion. "Very well, then. But," his tone was
warning, "if you fail me, it'll be the end of you two."
"H-hai, master."
Serena, Yaten, Taiki, Greg and Seiji settled down on the sofa and looked expectantly at
Sakura. After a moment of silence, Serena hesitantly asked, "May I see this new card?"
Sakura nodded and handed it to her.
Serena read aloud something inscribed on the card. "The Pierce. Hmm... weird name. So,
what do these cards do?" she asked Sakura.
Sakura sighed. "I suppose I'll explain everything now and get it over with.
"When I was ten, I had found a strange looking book called 'Clow' in my dad's library.
I opened it and accidentally released 52 cards. Then, I met Kero, who came from the book. He was
the guardian beast of these cards. I found out that these Clow Cards were dangerous forces, each
controlling either a minor or major element. I became a Card Captor and started to recapture these
elements into cards. After that, I met a guy named Li Syaoran and his cousin, Li Meilin. Syaoran
helped me capture some cards and got some of his own as well. Meilin didn't have any magical
abilities, but she fought with us anyways. Tomoyo, my best friend, didn't have magical powers
either, but she came along and taped the captures. When I caught the last card, I was around
eleven. Then I met Hiragiwaza (A.N. Is that how you spell Eriol's last name???) Eriol. At first
we all thought he was an enemy, but then we eventually found out that he was Clow Reed's
incarnation and that he was trying to help me turn the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. So I did,
and I finally had peace in my life... until I got into that car accident."
Serena and her companions were stunned. After a moment of recollecting, she asked, "But
who's Clow Reed?"
"Oh, he was the most powerful magician in the world. Clow Reed was the one who sealed
these elements into cards," Sakura explained. She frowned. "Okay, now I told you my story. But
Serena, YOU were Sailor Moon?!"
Serena grimaced. "Yeah, I know. How can the ditzy blonde be a famous hero? I never asked
to be Sailor Moon... well, I did, but I never knew that it would come true. I was fourteen at
that time. Luna, my cat, had discovered me. She came to me and told me that I was Sailor Moon. I
was completely shocked of the fact that a CAT was talking to me. Plus, she had a crescent moon
BALD SPOT!"
Sakura giggled.
"Anyways, I became a Sailor Scout, and one by one, Luna and me found the other Sailor
Scouts while fighting an evil force led by a woman called Queen Beryl. After we found all the
Scouts, we searched for the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, whom we were supposed to protect.
Around the final battle between me and Beryl, we found out that 'I' was the reincarnation of the
Moon Princess, Princess Serenity! Then we found out that Darien Shields was the reincarnation of
Prince Endymion, the Prince of Earth! Endymion was the lover of Serenity in the past." Serena
sweatdropped, "But... erm... at that time, I used to bump all the time into Darien, and we always
fought, Darien calling me a ditz and klutz, and me calling him a jerk and my archenemy. After we
found out that I was the Princess, and he the Prince, we realized that in fact, we were in love.
Right now, he's my boyfriend.
"Then a new enemy came from the future. The Dark Moon family. I fought Rubeus, Emerald,
and their Prince, Diamond."
Sakura's eyes widened. *DIAMOND?! RUBEUS, EMERALD?!" she shrieked mentally to herself,
shell shocked. *They were EVIL?!*
"Catsy and her three sisters fought us too, but they then asked me to turn them to the
good side. They're living very happily now. Sapphire, Diamond's brother, fought against us, but
at the end, turned to our side." Serena bent her head regretfully, "Unfortunately, he was wounded
by the Death Phantom, the one who had really been behind all this, and died. We found out that
all this was not really Diamond, Emerald or Rubeus' faults. The Death Phantom had manipulated
them. I destroyed Emerald and Rubeus, but Diamond, who was actually in love with me, and
protected me from the Death Phantom, and died. Oh! I forgot to tell you about Rini! Rini is my
future daughter." Serena's eyes softened. "I call her a spore a lot, but I actually care more
about her than I care about myself."
Sakura smiled gently. "I can tell by the way you talk about her that it's true."
"Yeah..." Serena murmured. "Now I'll tell you the rest of my story."
(A.N. ARGH! I can't write down ALL of Serena's story! It's WAY too long!!! Hmm, I guess
I'll skip it by writing down, "One hour later..." ^_^/// )
One hour later...
Sakura leaned back, sucking in a deep breath. "Woah...That's some story..."
Seiji's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Well, you have quite an extraordinary story
yourself," he remarked.
"So that's why I got that vision that there would be cards set loose in the world if you
died..." Greg mused.
Serena tilted her head. "Why didn't you say that you could stay at your friend Tomoyo's
house, or at Syaoran's, Meilin's, or Yukito's?"
Sakura sighed, "Tomoyo was on a trip with her mom, and Yukito was on an expedition.
And... Well, Syaoran is always so busy, I didn't want to bother him. Meilin lives with him, so
that rules out Meilin, too."
Taiki raised an eyebrow. "That guy lives ALONE with a girl his age? Isn't he a little
young for that?"
Sakura giggled, "He loves Meilin like a sister. And they're not alone. Wei, their butler,
lives with them." She sobered up. "But I sort of feel sorry for Meilin. She loves Syaoran the way
a girl loves a guy. But Syaoran will never see more to her than a sister, even if they're
engaged."
Seiji's eyes widened, "They're ENGAGED?! But they're only 15!!!"
"Their families arranged it when they were little. Syaoran is trying to cancel the
engagement, though." Sakura's face was clueless. "I wonder why he started trying to break it off
so hard since Eriol came..."
*She should have said 'for who', not why,* Serena thought.
Yaten stretched, yawning. "I think we should all go to bed, now," he suggested. "It's
past midnight."
Everyone agreed with him and retired to their rooms.
Atemi braided her long, red hair. "Dane, are you ready? We have to leave for Lanoka in
an hour."
"I just have to finish packing my books, and I'll be ready," replied her twin. When she
had packed the last, thick volume, Tadane turned back to Atemi, eyes suddenly serious. "You do
know that if we screw this one, not only will we be in risk of losing our lives, but we'll also
risk the death of Mother. She's getting sicker, and we need this money to get better doctors for
her."
Atemi sighed. "It just doesn't feel right! How many lives must we take to save one
person's life--" she was interrupted when Tadane slapped her face, eyes shining with unshed
tears.
"Don't you dare say that!!!" she hissed. "Maybe you don't care if Mother dies or not, but
'I' do!"
Tears welled up from Atemi's eyes. "I do care!!!" she yelled back, voice shaking, "Mother
is one of the most important people to me in the world! I'd do ANYTHING to keep her alive!!!"
Tadane had started to cry, too. "Then we CAN'T fail this mission!"
Atemi nodded. Tadane's face softened, and she hugged her sibling, "I'm sorry I slapped
you," she apologized sincerely. "I just couldn't stand it when you talked about Mother as if she
was just a person you didn't really care about."
"It's okay, Dane." Atemi said a little coldly. Tadane turned sad hazel eyes onto her
twin. *Atemi changed so much ever since we started working for Komodo Seiji... But, then again,
so did I... I wonder what will happen to us when we lose control...* She hugged Atemi tighter.
A woman in her late forties wearing a hospital gown looked tenderly at a picture frame
in her hand. You could tell by the palor of her face that she was very sick. Her once shining,
glossy red hair was now dull, and limp. Emerald eyes that must have once sparkled with life were
now tired and worn. A nurse knocked and stepped inside the small room. "Mrs. Tademi Satoshi?" the
nurse asked curtly. Tademi looked up and nodded wearily. "Yes?"
"I have the papers containing your test results from the last checkup," the nurse stated
coldly. "Would you like to see them?"
"Of course."
She handed them over to her. Tademi's green eyes swiftly ran over the neat, printed black
words, and widened slightly, then fell into a state of almost unatural calm. "I see..." she
murmured softly. Looking up at the nurse again, she asked her, "So... this means that there is no
hope, doesn't it?"
For a second, the nurse's hostile face dropped, and was replaced by a compassionate look.
But that was short lived. "I should think so."
"Could you please ask the doctor to call up a lawyer, please? I'd like to arrange some
things before I... pass on to a new life."
The nurse bowed, and left the room. Tademi sighed, and leaned back into the cushions. She
picked up the picture frame again. Two red-haired, hazel eyed twins were laughing while hugging
each other. Tademi gazed at the picture lovingly. *My darling girls... Please be careful when I'm
gone...*
Sakura woke up to the annoying ring of her alarm clock. She opened one eye and glanced at
the clock, squealed, and jerked out of bed. "I'm late!!!" she wailed as she hurriedly brushed her
teeth, washed her face, and dressed. Quickly, she braided her long hair, grabbed her bag, and
rushed out of her room. She only stopped to knock loudly at Serena's door, and yelled through it,
"Serena! We're gonna be late for school!!!" Almost immediately, she heard Serena zoom around in
her room, getting ready for school.
In a few seconds, she stepped out of her room to join Sakura. Together, they dashed in a
record speed towards their high school which was a few blocks away.
*I wish I had my rollerblades,* Sakura thought mournfully. The girls arrived at the
Physics class just before the first bell. Lucky for them, the Physics teacher was late today.
They still had time to chat a little before class started.
Serena settled down on a desk next to Sakura's and turned to talk to her. She shrieked
when a guy who looked astonishingly like Melvin (A.N. ^_^' I'm sorry! I just couldn't help
myself! *sweatdrop*) popped up out of nowhere. "YAAARRGGGHHHH!!!!" Serena yelped. The boy with
the weird glasses ignored her shriek, and proceeded to talk very quickly. Sakura's eyes were
wide, and she stared at the boy as if he had just grown horns. (A.N. Sakura doesn't know Melvin,
of course. She was just surprised when he popped up.)
"Hello!" he said overenthusiastic. "My name is Aashi! You don't know me, but I know you
quite well from gossip! Oh, have you heard about the two new exchange students? According to my
research on their background, it seems that their father had abandoned them when they were small,
and that their mother is very sick! I also heard that they were very pretty!" Suddenly, Aashi had
stars and hearts in his eyes, and faced Serena, "But I'm sure that they aren't half as beautiful
as you are, Tsukino Serena! Will you go out with me?!?!?!?!?!"
Sakura collapsed from her chair, a huge sweatdrop rolling down her face
Serena sweatdropped and chose to ignore the last comments. *ARGH! Why is it that all
nerds seem attracted to ME?! Can't they go moon over someone else!!!!!!!* she thought, annoyed.
But her attention had perked up at the mention of new exchange students. *Hmm, wonder who they
are...* Her thoughts were interrupted by the teacher, who had just arrived. Aashi rushed back to
his desk after having given a lovesick glance to Serena, who wanted to gag. The teacher made a
role call, then cleared his throat.
"Class, today we have two new exchange students. Tadane, Atemi Satoshi, please come in."
A.N. R+R please!!!
A.N. Thank you all for reviewing me! ^-^' Actually, I didn't even expect ONE person to review my
story. Ohohoho........ -_-/// Okay, I read some of the reviews and noticed that some people
didn't really get what I changed to make it convenient for my story. Um, in the review Missy-chan
wrote, I realized the problem about the age and the Clow Cards. Sakura captured the cards when
she was ten. Now she's fifteen. Um... let's just say that Sakura finished capturing the cards
when she was ten. See, it's all really inconvenient for me cuz I didn't write the first two
chapters. I'll change some stuff in Chapter One and Two so you can all understand it better.
Well, on with the fourth chapter! Oh, and the Yukito zombie thing never happens in my fic!
Disclaimer: CCS and SM NOT mine. Don't push it.
Taiki brandished an old, dusty volume. "I found it!" he exclaimed happily. Yaten and
Seiji rushed over and grabbed the book at the same time. After having scowled at each other
some time, Yaten carefully opened it. They almost immediately found a spell for an enchanted
sleep... that would last for a thousand years. Yaten, Seiji and Taiki sweatdropped. "That
DEFINITELY won't do," Seiji said slowly. They turned the page.
"Aha! This is it!" Seiji yelled triumphantly. He read the title aloud, "A spell to make
a person fall into a deep sleep for several hours."
Taiki hesitated. He looked at Yaten and Seiji. "Are you sure we should do this? Isn't it
probably safer to bring Serena along with us?"
Yaten frowned at him. "Do you want Serena in danger?"
"No... but still..."
Seiji butted in. "Oh, come on! Let's just put the spell on her, wait till it takes
effect, and we'll leave to inspect the murder!"
Taiki sighed. "Fine."
Serena fiddled with her hair and looked dully at her homework. *I don't wanna do my
homework!* She whined to herself. *And plus, it's MATH!* Her stomach growled. Serena's eyes lit.
*I know! I'll go get something to eat!* She got up and headed out from her room. On her way to
the kitchen, she heard voices that sounded like it was coming from upstairs. Curious, she climbed
the stair that led to the attic, and peeked through a crack in the door. She saw Yaten, Taiki,
and Seiji clustered together looking at a dusty old volume. *I wonder what they're up to..."
she thought. Quietly, she listened to the conversation.
~~~
Taiki hesitated. He looked at Yaten and Seiji. "Are you sure we should do this? Isn't it
probably safer to bring Serena along with us?"
Yaten frowned at him. "Do you want Serena in danger?"
"No... but still..."
Seiji butted in. "Oh, come on! Let's just put the spell on her, wait till it takes
effect, and we'll leave to inspect the murder!"
Taiki sighed. "Fine."
~~~
Serena's eyes were wide. Who were they going to put a spell on? Sakura? *Or me?* she
wondered. She furrowed her delicate brows. But why would they put a spell on her? Well, then she
would put up a shield around her with the Imperium Silver crystal. Serena crept back to her room,
completely forgetting about her food. Slowly, she activated the crystal and put up a shield. *That
should do,* she decided. Glancing at her watch, she realised that it was already eight o'clock.
Seiji closed the book decidedly. "Okay, we activated the spell. We can go now."
They all trooped out of the attic. None of them realized that Serena, dressed in black,
was following them. Yaten, Taiki, and Seiji didn't realize either that Sakura was following
them too, using the Illusion and Silent cards. Illusion made it look as if she wasn't there, and
the Silent muffled the sounds of her movements. Further back, Diamond and his company looked at
the sight amusedly and followed as well.
They all arrived at the Lanoka Park thirty minutes later. Police cars were clustered
around the whole park, policemen standing guard everywhere.Seiji sighed exasperatedly and jumped
smoothly over the police cars, dozing policeman, and gates. Yaten and Taiki did the same, and
landed with catlike grace in the silent greenery of the park, in the shadows of the trees.
Serena simply used her Luna Pen to make her look like one of the policemen, and went
through the crowd. She transformed back after she passed the gates and melted behind a bunch of
tall trees.
Sakura summoned the Jump card, and leaped over the policemen and the gates, like the
Starlights, still invisible. The ghosts just strolled through everything.
Yaten quietly headed towards the place where the girl was said to have been killed,
everyone else in suite. Accidentally, Serena bumped into Seiji when she tripped over a root.
Seiji jumped and swirled around. By then, Serena had scrambled up, and her shield and
disguise had faded away. "SERENA!" Seiji hissed as quietly as he could, eyes wide. "How...
what?!" Yaten and Taiki joined him, and the three of them frowned lightly at Serena. Serena
blushed guiltily. Seiji sighed, and whispered, "Never mind. You'll tell us later." He shot a
wry look at his two other companions. "I guess you ended up coming with us anyways, so let's
just check this out together."
Diamond fumed at Seiji. "How DARE he talk to Serenity like that!!!" Emerald scowled in
Serena's direction, and hurried to coo at Diamond, trying to get his attention. Sapphire let out
a long suffering sigh, and sweatdropped. Rubeus contented himself by glaring at Emerald who was
starting to sicken him.
Meanwhile, Sakura was frowning, trying to figure something out. *How were Yaten, Taiki
and Seiji able to jump such heights? Hmm... I feel like I'm missing something important here...*
Unknown to all, a figure suck around in the shadows, observing them with ususual
interest.
Sakura jumped, then frowned. She sensed something strange nearby. It tingled her second
sight unpleasantly. Following her instincts, she approached the direction of where the sense came
from. When she saw what she had been looking for, she froze in horror. A creature unlike any she
had ever seen before lurked behind the tall trees. At that moment, she could not control a
scream coming from her throat. Her invisibility spell wavered and faded away when she lost her
guard.
Serena heard someone scream from behind a bunch of thick trees. Swiftly, Serena, Seiji,
Yaten and Taiki ran towards where the scream came from. As soon as they reached the hidden
clearing, they saw a horrible monster with long, bloodied yellow fangs attack a girl. The girl's
back was turned to them, so none of them could see who she was. In her right hand, she held a
pink staff topped with a golden star in a pink circle with tiny wings adorning it. In her left
hand were a bunch of ancient looking cards. The stranger, not realizing that she had an audience,
threw a card forward and cried out, "Shield Card! Form a bubble of protection around me to fend
off the attacks! Shield! Release and dispell!" A wind blew around her, and a pink bubble formed,
surrounding her. No matter how much the monster tried, it could not get it's claws to pierce the
magic.
Serena and the Starlights had watched all this, slack-jawed and in a daze. Serena was the
first to shake off her shock and yelled out her phrase to transform her into Sailor Moon. A
bright light surrounded her, and she stood in her accustomary pause. The monster finally saw her,
and lunged for Sailor Moon instead of attacking the stranger. The girl turned around, and gasped.
Serena stared at the girl's face for a second till realisation dawned on her. "SAKURA?!?!" she
shrieked unbecomingly. Sakura's eyes widened. The monster took advantage of Sailor Moon's
distraction and jumped to sink it's teeth into her throat. Sakura yelped and threw forward
another card frantically. "Windy Card! Form a chain to bind the uh...thing! Windy! Release and
dispell!!!" A translucent woman with wings appeared and bound the monster tight with sparkling,
swirling wind. The monster stuggled for a while, then gave up and bowed it's head in submission.
Serena was in a loss of words. Seiji, Yaten, and Taiki simply gawped. The ghosts had disappeared
some while ago, before the fight had begun.
Sakura stared at her own handiwork. She seriously didn't know what do do now. Windy was
waiting patiently, holding the ugly creature tight in it's makeshift chains. Sakura's mind raced.
She couldn't set it free, or it would harm other people. But she couldn't destroy it either,
because somewhere during the fight, she had glimpsed sorrow in it's eyes, the only nice thing
about it. It was almost as if it was attacking her because it was forced to. Suddenly, she heard
a girl's voice in her head. *Seal it... Make up a new phrase to capture it into a card...*
Sakura protested to the voice. *But it's not a Clow Card or a Sakura Card!* This time, the voice
became more insistent. *Seal it! Make up a phrase and seal it!* Sakura grumbled. *All right.* She
turned to Windy and the creature. "Um..... Become a new shape of contract! Sakura Card!" The
creature abruptly changed shape. From an ugly monster with fangs and claws, it turned into a
lovely unicorn. It's large, clear blue eyes turned on Sakura. It whinnied happily and turned into
a card which flew to Sakura's waiting hand.
(A.N. I know, I know, it's a lousy sealing phrase. But bear with it, cuz I can't think of
anything better for the moment.)
Yaten cleared his throat shakily. "It... it seems like this is going to be a long night,
full of explanations, huh?"
Sakura nodded sheepishly. She turned to look at Serena. For the first time, she realized
what Serena was wearing. A blue and white fuku with a red bow. In the middle of the bow was
pinned and intricate brooch. White gloves that stopped elbow high, and red boots that reached the
knees. It suddenly dawned on Sakura. "Sai.......Sailor Moon?!!!" she whispered, eyes a little
wild.
Serena shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "Yup, this is definitely gonna be a long
night..." she murmured to herself. Looking up, she said to everyone, "Um, I think we should head
home now. We made a lot of noise, and policemen are probably going to be all over here soon."
Seiko angrily threw his glass of wine against the wall, where it shattered into pieces.
"Damnit!" He whipped around to face the old man, who inched fearfully away from him. "Can't
you do ANYTHING right?!" he snarled. Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down.
"You are an incompetent, idiotic servant! I raised you two ranks higher, expecting you to be able
to get rid of the Card Mistress! You failed once, so I gave you another chance, and you failed
again AND lost us a rare Youma!" The man cowered under Seiko's dangerously glittering eyes. "For
that, I shall do myself a favor and rid myself of you!"
The old man screamed, "NO!!! I'll do ANYTHING! NO!!! PLEASE! NO!!!!!" It was too late.
Seiko snapped his fingers, and the man's body started to smoke, then burst into flames, and
disappeared.
Seiko sniffed disdainfully. He rang a bell. In a few seconds, a slave came to his door.
"Go fetch Akemi and Tadane."
"Yes, Master." The slave bowed and left. A few minutes later, the slave came back with
two girls. He bowed again and left. Seiko glanced coldly at Atemi and Tadane. "Well? Heiko failed
me, and I hope you won't. I have been waiting very long for you to put your plan into action, but
I still have no report that you two are working on it at all." He narrowed his eyes. "You'd
better have a good excuse for this inactivity."
Tadane gulped. "Uh... master, the p-plan will be put to action this m-month," she
promised, stuttering.
Seiko raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Really?"
Atemi nodded fiercely, "Yes! Maybe even this week!"
His dark purple eyes showed no hint of emotion. "Very well, then. But," his tone was
warning, "if you fail me, it'll be the end of you two."
"H-hai, master."
Serena, Yaten, Taiki, Greg and Seiji settled down on the sofa and looked expectantly at
Sakura. After a moment of silence, Serena hesitantly asked, "May I see this new card?"
Sakura nodded and handed it to her.
Serena read aloud something inscribed on the card. "The Pierce. Hmm... weird name. So,
what do these cards do?" she asked Sakura.
Sakura sighed. "I suppose I'll explain everything now and get it over with.
"When I was ten, I had found a strange looking book called 'Clow' in my dad's library.
I opened it and accidentally released 52 cards. Then, I met Kero, who came from the book. He was
the guardian beast of these cards. I found out that these Clow Cards were dangerous forces, each
controlling either a minor or major element. I became a Card Captor and started to recapture these
elements into cards. After that, I met a guy named Li Syaoran and his cousin, Li Meilin. Syaoran
helped me capture some cards and got some of his own as well. Meilin didn't have any magical
abilities, but she fought with us anyways. Tomoyo, my best friend, didn't have magical powers
either, but she came along and taped the captures. When I caught the last card, I was around
eleven. Then I met Hiragiwaza (A.N. Is that how you spell Eriol's last name???) Eriol. At first
we all thought he was an enemy, but then we eventually found out that he was Clow Reed's
incarnation and that he was trying to help me turn the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. So I did,
and I finally had peace in my life... until I got into that car accident."
Serena and her companions were stunned. After a moment of recollecting, she asked, "But
who's Clow Reed?"
"Oh, he was the most powerful magician in the world. Clow Reed was the one who sealed
these elements into cards," Sakura explained. She frowned. "Okay, now I told you my story. But
Serena, YOU were Sailor Moon?!"
Serena grimaced. "Yeah, I know. How can the ditzy blonde be a famous hero? I never asked
to be Sailor Moon... well, I did, but I never knew that it would come true. I was fourteen at
that time. Luna, my cat, had discovered me. She came to me and told me that I was Sailor Moon. I
was completely shocked of the fact that a CAT was talking to me. Plus, she had a crescent moon
BALD SPOT!"
Sakura giggled.
"Anyways, I became a Sailor Scout, and one by one, Luna and me found the other Sailor
Scouts while fighting an evil force led by a woman called Queen Beryl. After we found all the
Scouts, we searched for the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, whom we were supposed to protect.
Around the final battle between me and Beryl, we found out that 'I' was the reincarnation of the
Moon Princess, Princess Serenity! Then we found out that Darien Shields was the reincarnation of
Prince Endymion, the Prince of Earth! Endymion was the lover of Serenity in the past." Serena
sweatdropped, "But... erm... at that time, I used to bump all the time into Darien, and we always
fought, Darien calling me a ditz and klutz, and me calling him a jerk and my archenemy. After we
found out that I was the Princess, and he the Prince, we realized that in fact, we were in love.
Right now, he's my boyfriend.
"Then a new enemy came from the future. The Dark Moon family. I fought Rubeus, Emerald,
and their Prince, Diamond."
Sakura's eyes widened. *DIAMOND?! RUBEUS, EMERALD?!" she shrieked mentally to herself,
shell shocked. *They were EVIL?!*
"Catsy and her three sisters fought us too, but they then asked me to turn them to the
good side. They're living very happily now. Sapphire, Diamond's brother, fought against us, but
at the end, turned to our side." Serena bent her head regretfully, "Unfortunately, he was wounded
by the Death Phantom, the one who had really been behind all this, and died. We found out that
all this was not really Diamond, Emerald or Rubeus' faults. The Death Phantom had manipulated
them. I destroyed Emerald and Rubeus, but Diamond, who was actually in love with me, and
protected me from the Death Phantom, and died. Oh! I forgot to tell you about Rini! Rini is my
future daughter." Serena's eyes softened. "I call her a spore a lot, but I actually care more
about her than I care about myself."
Sakura smiled gently. "I can tell by the way you talk about her that it's true."
"Yeah..." Serena murmured. "Now I'll tell you the rest of my story."
(A.N. ARGH! I can't write down ALL of Serena's story! It's WAY too long!!! Hmm, I guess
I'll skip it by writing down, "One hour later..." ^_^/// )
One hour later...
Sakura leaned back, sucking in a deep breath. "Woah...That's some story..."
Seiji's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Well, you have quite an extraordinary story
yourself," he remarked.
"So that's why I got that vision that there would be cards set loose in the world if you
died..." Greg mused.
Serena tilted her head. "Why didn't you say that you could stay at your friend Tomoyo's
house, or at Syaoran's, Meilin's, or Yukito's?"
Sakura sighed, "Tomoyo was on a trip with her mom, and Yukito was on an expedition.
And... Well, Syaoran is always so busy, I didn't want to bother him. Meilin lives with him, so
that rules out Meilin, too."
Taiki raised an eyebrow. "That guy lives ALONE with a girl his age? Isn't he a little
young for that?"
Sakura giggled, "He loves Meilin like a sister. And they're not alone. Wei, their butler,
lives with them." She sobered up. "But I sort of feel sorry for Meilin. She loves Syaoran the way
a girl loves a guy. But Syaoran will never see more to her than a sister, even if they're
engaged."
Seiji's eyes widened, "They're ENGAGED?! But they're only 15!!!"
"Their families arranged it when they were little. Syaoran is trying to cancel the
engagement, though." Sakura's face was clueless. "I wonder why he started trying to break it off
so hard since Eriol came..."
*She should have said 'for who', not why,* Serena thought.
Yaten stretched, yawning. "I think we should all go to bed, now," he suggested. "It's
past midnight."
Everyone agreed with him and retired to their rooms.
Atemi braided her long, red hair. "Dane, are you ready? We have to leave for Lanoka in
an hour."
"I just have to finish packing my books, and I'll be ready," replied her twin. When she
had packed the last, thick volume, Tadane turned back to Atemi, eyes suddenly serious. "You do
know that if we screw this one, not only will we be in risk of losing our lives, but we'll also
risk the death of Mother. She's getting sicker, and we need this money to get better doctors for
her."
Atemi sighed. "It just doesn't feel right! How many lives must we take to save one
person's life--" she was interrupted when Tadane slapped her face, eyes shining with unshed
tears.
"Don't you dare say that!!!" she hissed. "Maybe you don't care if Mother dies or not, but
'I' do!"
Tears welled up from Atemi's eyes. "I do care!!!" she yelled back, voice shaking, "Mother
is one of the most important people to me in the world! I'd do ANYTHING to keep her alive!!!"
Tadane had started to cry, too. "Then we CAN'T fail this mission!"
Atemi nodded. Tadane's face softened, and she hugged her sibling, "I'm sorry I slapped
you," she apologized sincerely. "I just couldn't stand it when you talked about Mother as if she
was just a person you didn't really care about."
"It's okay, Dane." Atemi said a little coldly. Tadane turned sad hazel eyes onto her
twin. *Atemi changed so much ever since we started working for Komodo Seiji... But, then again,
so did I... I wonder what will happen to us when we lose control...* She hugged Atemi tighter.
A woman in her late forties wearing a hospital gown looked tenderly at a picture frame
in her hand. You could tell by the palor of her face that she was very sick. Her once shining,
glossy red hair was now dull, and limp. Emerald eyes that must have once sparkled with life were
now tired and worn. A nurse knocked and stepped inside the small room. "Mrs. Tademi Satoshi?" the
nurse asked curtly. Tademi looked up and nodded wearily. "Yes?"
"I have the papers containing your test results from the last checkup," the nurse stated
coldly. "Would you like to see them?"
"Of course."
She handed them over to her. Tademi's green eyes swiftly ran over the neat, printed black
words, and widened slightly, then fell into a state of almost unatural calm. "I see..." she
murmured softly. Looking up at the nurse again, she asked her, "So... this means that there is no
hope, doesn't it?"
For a second, the nurse's hostile face dropped, and was replaced by a compassionate look.
But that was short lived. "I should think so."
"Could you please ask the doctor to call up a lawyer, please? I'd like to arrange some
things before I... pass on to a new life."
The nurse bowed, and left the room. Tademi sighed, and leaned back into the cushions. She
picked up the picture frame again. Two red-haired, hazel eyed twins were laughing while hugging
each other. Tademi gazed at the picture lovingly. *My darling girls... Please be careful when I'm
gone...*
Sakura woke up to the annoying ring of her alarm clock. She opened one eye and glanced at
the clock, squealed, and jerked out of bed. "I'm late!!!" she wailed as she hurriedly brushed her
teeth, washed her face, and dressed. Quickly, she braided her long hair, grabbed her bag, and
rushed out of her room. She only stopped to knock loudly at Serena's door, and yelled through it,
"Serena! We're gonna be late for school!!!" Almost immediately, she heard Serena zoom around in
her room, getting ready for school.
In a few seconds, she stepped out of her room to join Sakura. Together, they dashed in a
record speed towards their high school which was a few blocks away.
*I wish I had my rollerblades,* Sakura thought mournfully. The girls arrived at the
Physics class just before the first bell. Lucky for them, the Physics teacher was late today.
They still had time to chat a little before class started.
Serena settled down on a desk next to Sakura's and turned to talk to her. She shrieked
when a guy who looked astonishingly like Melvin (A.N. ^_^' I'm sorry! I just couldn't help
myself! *sweatdrop*) popped up out of nowhere. "YAAARRGGGHHHH!!!!" Serena yelped. The boy with
the weird glasses ignored her shriek, and proceeded to talk very quickly. Sakura's eyes were
wide, and she stared at the boy as if he had just grown horns. (A.N. Sakura doesn't know Melvin,
of course. She was just surprised when he popped up.)
"Hello!" he said overenthusiastic. "My name is Aashi! You don't know me, but I know you
quite well from gossip! Oh, have you heard about the two new exchange students? According to my
research on their background, it seems that their father had abandoned them when they were small,
and that their mother is very sick! I also heard that they were very pretty!" Suddenly, Aashi had
stars and hearts in his eyes, and faced Serena, "But I'm sure that they aren't half as beautiful
as you are, Tsukino Serena! Will you go out with me?!?!?!?!?!"
Sakura collapsed from her chair, a huge sweatdrop rolling down her face
Serena sweatdropped and chose to ignore the last comments. *ARGH! Why is it that all
nerds seem attracted to ME?! Can't they go moon over someone else!!!!!!!* she thought, annoyed.
But her attention had perked up at the mention of new exchange students. *Hmm, wonder who they
are...* Her thoughts were interrupted by the teacher, who had just arrived. Aashi rushed back to
his desk after having given a lovesick glance to Serena, who wanted to gag. The teacher made a
role call, then cleared his throat.
"Class, today we have two new exchange students. Tadane, Atemi Satoshi, please come in."
A.N. R+R please!!!