AN: Hey everyone! I'm back with, Chapter 13? Already? Oh... ok... well, it's up and I'm sorry that I took so long, I've been busy with school... I'm just not a math person. Sighs Anyway, I've started a new story - but eh, I don't think its the greatest, but in any case, the first chapter is up and the second chapter will be up too, hopefully, if people like it. So, enough of my babble, on with the story don't you think?

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, as much as I wish I did, as much money as I'd pay for it (although I have no $), it's just not mine... so STOP MAKING ME SAY IT! Thank you .

Always & Forever

To be Rescued - Only to be Caught Again

Sakura woke up with the sunlight pouring in through one of the battered windows. She opened her eyes and screamed. All around her were ghosts, there were so many of them and they were all surrounding her. She scrambled back against the wall, her eyes wide in fear as she looked at them. One of the ghosts laughed while another one cocked it's head and looked at her in confusion. She just sat there, paralyzed in fear.

There were so many of them, in different shakes and sizes, some seemed old while others seem young - if that were possible. One of the ghosts came out from the rest of them and it looked older than they did too. It came closer to Sakura and she tired to shrink back. Then the most amazing thing happened.

"It's ok, we're not going to hurt you," the ghost told. Sakura felt her eyes grow even wider and her mouth drop. "Yes, we can talk. No, we're not evil and we're not going to hurt you or kill you or anything like that." The ghost said. Sakura just watched in wonder at this ghost that was talking to her, telling her all of this. She leaned forward, the ghost seemed nice enough - he had a nice voice.

"Y-y-you're not going to kill me?" She asked in a shaky voice and the other ghosts laughed at her. Her eyes were still filled with doubt so the ghost turned around and beckoned to one of the other ones. Another ghost came out and Sakura could tell right away that this ghost was a girl.

"Hi," the girl ghost told Sakura. "I'm Diane."

"Hi," Sakura said, still unsure. Diane smiled at her and Sakura wondered if she was dreaming. Ghosts aren't supposed to talk or smile - they're supposed to be scary and give you nightmares.

"Don't worry, you're safe here," Diane continued. "We're just a bit excited. You see, we haven't had a visitor in such a long time." Diane had a sweet voice and if she were a real girl, Sakura would have to say she'd be around 15 or 16. "What's your name?" Diane asked her.

"Kinomoto Sakura."

"Sakura, that's a nice name," Diane complimented. "Did you know that it means 'cherry blossom'?" Sakura smiled and nodded then she winced. She looked down at her arm and found it all bloody and swollen; it hurt so very much. Diane noticed this. "You're hurt, why didn't you say something before?" Sakura shook her head.

"That's ok, I'm all right," She told them but Diane shook her head. The next thing Sakura knew, there were about three or four ghosts right up next to her.

"Relax, we're just going to help you," Diane told her. Sakura closed her eyes, hoping for the worst but nothing happened. "You can open your eyes," Diane told her and when she did she gasped. Around her arm was a nicely placed bandage.

"But - I didn't feel a thing!" Sakura said in awe and Diane grinned.

"We're ghosts, you don't feel us." She replied simply. Sakura got up and bowed to Diane and the rest of the ghosts.

"Thank you," she told them then looked outside and she frowned. Should I leave here? Or maybe I should stay and maybe Syaoran will find me. she thought.

"You're not leaving so soon, are you?" Diane's voice interrupted her thoughts. Sakura saw the sad look on Diane's face and the rest of the ghost's faces and she didn't have the heart to say that she saw.

"No, of course not," she said smiling to the bunch of ghosts in front of her (AN: ok, that sounds funny). It's better this way because now Syaoran will find me, she thought as a few more ghosts came up to her and started conversations with her. This isn't that bad, it could be a lot worst, Sakura thought. I just hope that the others are ok.

"Do you see her anywhere?" Syaoran yelled to Ceroberus.

"No, not yet," he yelled back. Suddenly he flew down and landed. Syaoran got off of him and just stared at him, bewildered.

"What are you doing?" He demanded. Ceroberus changed back into Kero.

"Listen gaki, you and I are both tired. We need rest, if we don't get rest we won't be able to find her," Kero told him. Syaoran sighed knowing that Kero was right. He grunted fine and both of them leaned against a tree and within minutes were fast asleep.

"I can't believe he just left us like that!" Meilin screamed in rage when Eriol told her what happened. He looked at the girl with weary eyes, he looked to Tomoyo for some help but she too, was angry.

"Meilin's right! How could he do that to us? We're a team, we're just as worried about Sakura as he is!" Tomoyo said, joining Meilin.

"Listen, both of you and listen carefully," Eriol told them and they both fell silent, "We all love her, true - but think of how Syaoran is taking this. He had to watch the whole battle between Sakura and that person, he watched her get hurt and run off into the night. He was helpless, he couldn't protect her and if it's one thing I know, one of the worst feelings you can get is knowing you can't do anything to help and protect the person you love most in the world." Tomoyo and Meilin looked down, suddenly feeling ashamed. They never thought about it like that. "Now come on, we've got to find him and Sakura. He and Ceroberus took off and I know they must have stopped at least once during the night to get some rest. We can't waste no time." With that, they left their camp and set off to find their friends.

Night had fallen and Sakura had returned to what was 'her room' now in the house. She lay down on the mattress and thought about what happened. She spent the entire day with the ghosts and found them to be really friendly and enjoyed their company, didn't feel too lonely. She found out that she was in the middle of Ghostle; most ghosts are normally really cruel - but she was lucky enough to find a place where the ghosts were kind. They gave her food and let her rest all day long, talked to her and kept her entertained.

Even though she had tons of fun, she couldn't get rid of that empty space in her heart. She had been away from her friends and already she felt like she hadn't seen them in years. especially Syaoran. Whenever she thought of him, her heart gave such a violent twist, she felt so incomplete without him. The ghosts noticed that she seemed a little distracted every now and asked her what was wrong. She told them how she ended up here, and her journey so far and what has happened. There was a lot of blushing done when she mentioned Syaoran and the ghosts, seeing her red face, asked more and more questions of her little wolf. She felt tears spring to her eyes. Oh Syaoran.please come soon.please. and she fell into a deep sleep.

Sakura was awakened in the night and tried to scream but she felt something inside her mouth. She looked around fearfully in the dark and could barely make out two or three figures walking around. She realized that her hands and legs were died up and they had tied some kind of cloth around her mouth so she couldn't scream. At first she thought it was the ghosts, but she heard voices and knew right away that it wasn't the ghosts - it was other people. One of the people seemed to notice she was awake and lit a match that brightened the whole room. Once again Sakura tried to scream but couldn't make a noise, but that didn't stop the tears from coming.

In front of here stood three tall men looking very ragged and ugly. They hadn't shaved, their clothes were torn, they were missing teeth and she couldn't tell if they had hair. She wondered if they were drunk, but that was the least of her problems. She looked at them fearfully as they approached her with scary grins on their faces.

"Hey guys, looks like sleeping beauty has finally gotten up," one of guys said indicating she was awake.

"I'd say it was about time," the second said.

"Now we can have our fun," the third guy said rubbing his hands together greedily. Sakura's eyes widened in fear and more tears fell down her face. She tried to scream again but nothing came out but a muffled sound as the three guys moved closer and closer.

Suddenly all of the ghosts in the whole house flew in front of Sakura trying to protect her. The three men stopped in their tracks and stared in disbelief; they exchanged looks of confusion then something happened that scared Sakura. The ghosts, that seemed so nice, their faces turned angry and they looked terrifyingly evil. They started attacking the men and one of the ghosts went inside one of the men and the man started acting really strange. While the other ghosts attacked them, Diane tried to untie Sakura but the knots were so tight she couldn't get her lose.

Suddenly the glass shattered and Sakura saw Syaoran and Ceroberus on the floor with broken pieces of glass on them. She tried to call out to them but her mouth was still gagged. Syaoran quickly got up and at no time he pulled out his sword; and Ceroberus rose and roared - making both the men and ghosts stop and stare. The men took one look at Syaoran and Ceroberus and ran screaming their heads off. The ghosts just stared there, but Syaoran turned and ran to Sakura, who was crying.

He pulled the gag off of her and untied her arms and legs and immediately she flung herself on him, crying. "Oh Syaoran! It was awful - just awful! They wanted - it was so horrible!" she bawled. He just held onto her, never wanting to let her go. She buried her head in his shoulder, and finally she stopped crying but she was shaking violently. She lifted her head to see a worried Ceroberus staring at her and all of her ghost friends staring at her as well. Syaoran shifted so that he could see their faces too and she gave her friends a wobbly smile.

"Thank you for your help," she whispered to them and the ghosts smiled at her. Ceroberus came towards her and stopped right in front of her.

"Sakura, are you ok?" he asked, his eyes full of concern. She nodded and hugged her guardian beast, burying her head in his mane.

"I am now, Ceroberus," she said quietly, "I am now." She noticed that even while she hugged Ceroberus that Syaoran was still holding on to her waist. She moved back and looked at Syaoran, tears filling her eyes again. Syaoran said nothing, but he held her closely again and she just clung onto him. They didn't notice that Ceroberus turned back into Kero and that the ghosts left the room giving the two people a chance to talk alone.

"Sakura?" Syaoran asked when she hadn't said anything for a while. He looked down at her to find her sleeping peacefully on him, her eyelashes still wet with tears. He brushed a few strands of her auburn hair that fell in front of her face and he gently kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, my cherry blossom. I promise I won't let anything happen to you ever again." He spent the rest of the night leaning against the wall with Sakura sleeping on him.

Sakura awoke the next morning to find two arms around her; and that she had her arms around someone else. She knew who it was; she could smell the autumn scent and feel his soft aura. She looked up and found him sleeping and she had to smile at how adorable he looked, the way his messy brown hair fell over his eyes - he looked so kawaii. She closed her eyes and let her head rest on his chest again and closed her eyes, she was still tired and definitely could use some more sleep but never did get around to getting some more because.

"Are you up?" Diane asked Sakura and almost startled her. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Sakura put a finger to her lips and pointed at Syaoran indicating to be quiet.

"No need, I'm up," Syaoran mumbled opening his eyes partway. "How are you feeling?" He asked her and she smiled.

"I'm ok," she replied, then Syaoran turned Diane. "Oh, this is Diane. Diane this is - ."

"Syaoran," Diane said smiling. Syaoran's eyebrows went up. "Sakura has told us a lot about you, Li Syaoran. You are loved very much." Diane said bluntly and Sakura felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks, but Syaoran just smiled. They all heard a groan and Kero came flying in.

"Food." he whispered out. "I.need.food. Very.important. Must. have. food." His stomach growled causing them to laugh. Diane went up to him.

"Follow me and you shall get your food," she told him and Kero followed her without hesitation leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone together.

"Syaoran, I -," she started but he cut her off.

"Sakura listen," he told her and she fell quiet. "Watching you fight that other guy, it was one of the most scariest things in my whole entire life. When you flew out the window, he went after you and I hoped and prayed that you were ok. I thought I would never find you.that I had lost you." He paused and Sakura, who had been looking down the whole time looked up and gasped. Tears formed in his eyes and he refused to look at her. "I'm never going to leave you again, I promise Sakura. Never," he told her and slowly a single tear slid down his face.

Sakura felt her heart break and instead of him holding her, she was now holding him with his face buried in her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Syaoran." She whispered to him as he held her tightly. "I'm never going to leave you either." He looked up, his face streaked with tears. She wiped them away and smiled at him, and he gave her a very small smile, but it made her happy nonetheless.

"There are more people coming!" Diane came rushing back into the room but paused when she saw Syaoran and Sakura. They both blushed and Diane slowly backed out of the room. "Sorry!" she said and disappeared. Syaoran laughed nervously and got up, and helped Sakura up. But to his surprise, she pulled him and kissed him before he could do anything. They pulled apart and looked at each other, and then they heard a voice yelling at Kero and sighed. The others had arrived; they walked out of the room towards the voice.

"How dare you leave us like that! Do you have any idea how worried we were about you and Syaoran?" Meilin screeched at the top of her lungs at Kero, who looked like he was in pain. The other ghosts hid behind the other walls and doors, afraid of the girl with black pigtails. She opened her mouth to say something then she saw Sakura and Syaoran walk out of the room and she ran and hugged Sakura.

Taken back by the surprise, Sakura hugged back uncertainly. Meilin started talking about how scared she was and how much she missed her, then she got off of Sakura and scowled at Syaoran. Then after a moment of glaring, she hugged him too, cursing him for leaving without them. Next came Tomoyo who didn't let go of her friend until Eriol pulled her off and held her; poor Tomoyo was in tears.

"I'm sorry, you guys," Sakura said, her voice full of sincerity, "I really didn't mean to scare you." They all brushed it off, but Syaoran stuck close to her side. Sakura noticed that she didn't see any of the other ghosts and realized that they still must be afraid of Meilin. "You can come out now, these are my other friends." One by one they appeared and Tomoyo squeaked in delight.

"Look how kawaii they are!" she exclaimed to Eriol, who just shook his head knowing that he loved her childlike excitement. Diane appeared again beside Sakura and they looked at her.

"Would you all like to eat and rest from your long journey?" Diane asked, getting quizzical looks from her friends directed at Sakura. She giggled nervously.

"I told them about our journey," she explained and they all nodded in comprehension. They all headed outside where the ghosts had prepared a picnic for them and they all relaxed for the moment, not knowing the next time they would get to relax again.

"Thank you for all your help," Sakura told Diane and the rest of the ghosts. They were leaving to continue on with their trip; the others had already said their good-byes and were up ahead, but Syaoran remained with Sakura as she said her farewell. Diane brushed off the thanks. "No, I don't think I could have survived without you guys. You helped bandage my wound, made sure I didn't starve. You helped save me from those hideous men. Thank you so very much, I appreciate it." She told them and tears came to her eyes. She felt Syaoran squeeze her hand and she felt better.

"Thank you for staying, we enjoyed your company a great deal," Diane told her then turned to Syaoran. "You better take care of her." Syaoran nodded - he would make sure of that. "Well, if you're ever nearby, please come and visit. You are always welcomed here, you and your friends." Sakura smiled and waved good-bye to all the ghosts knowing that she would miss them terribly. She looked at the road that unraveled before them and sighed, they would have a long way to go.

"Come on," she told her friends and they started down the road together.

"That's it?" Sakura asked as she stared up at the dark gloomy castle in front of her. She swallowed hard, she was totally getting bad vibes off of the castle. Their plan was already set - of course they didn't want Meilin and Tomoyo to be part of it but they insisted. She turned back to everyone, "ready?" she asked and they nodded. Before going in, Eriol grabbed Tomoyo, dipped her and kissed her receiving smooching sounds from Meilin and Kero (Wow, first Kero and Syaoran working together, now Kero and Meilin getting along together? Wow). They all hugged one another, reassuring that everyone was going to be ok and they'll be able to celebrate afterwards. After wishing each other good luck, they split up and went their ways.

Tomoyo walked up to the guards and they raised an eyebrow at her. At first they looked like they were going to blast her with some sort of magic, but after she smiled at them, they looked her over and out of nowhere Eriol and Ceroberus came up and knocked them unconscious. Tomoyo turned to Eriol.

"I thought you were going to wait -," she started.

"I didn't like the way they were looking at you," he replied coolly and she smiled as she went ahead of them incase more guards came.

Meilin, Syaoran and Sakura sneaked up behind one of the walls and jumped on the other side. A few guards heard the noise and went to go see what it was, but in result ended up on the ground with the three friends wearing their clothes. They walked casually into the castle; once inside they looked around trying to find if there was any room that was specially designed with extra spells on it. Syaoran sensed it first and he motioned to Sakura and Meilin that there was a lot of magic being used a little further down the hall and they continued to walk until another guard stepped out in front of them, blocking their paths.

"Excuse me, but no one is allowed here," he said, his voice deep. Sakura looked him over and knew that he was very strong and that it probably would take the two of them to get rid of him, maybe even the three of them. Sakura then realized something, it seemed as though she had heard this man's voice before - but that was impossible. How could she have?

"Sorry," Syaoran muttered.

"What? Speak up!" the man yelled and then Syaoran kicked out at the man without hesitation. Both he and Meilin faced off with the guy while Sakura worked on breaking the magic spells. Each time she broke one, her energy was drained, slowing her down. Sakura took a quick glance at how the others were doing and her eyes widened when she saw the man was holding Meilin and Syaoran in each one of his hands.

"Wood card!" she yelled, holding out her staff. The wood card showed it's real form and stood in mid air in front of Sakura. "Create a cage around that man!" she commanded it and after a quick nod, it began to do so. Syaoran and Meilin fell to the ground and Sakura went to see if they were all right, not worrying about the man, who was cursing and yelling. "Are you -," she started - but she never finished the sentence. Before she knew it, blackness surrounded her.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, meeting darkness. She waited a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness; her arms were tied up on either side of her - like she was a prisoner. She looked to her left and right and thankful, she didn't see any one of her friends next to her. She heard someone coming she closed her eyes and the footsteps got louder and stopped and she knew that the person was right in front of her.

"Hello Agnes," she said, her eyes still closed. She heard him laugh and she opened her eyes and found him looking at her with interest.

AN: Well, there's chapter13. I'm moving at a fast pace here, I think this story has gone on for far too long, what do you think? So... did you think it'd be Agnes? Or is it really Agnes? I don't know what I'm trying to say, but I do want to know what you think... thank you everyone who's reviewed so much towards this story. It really does make such a big difference, I love you! And it does encourage me to keep posting up new chapters, so thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU! And, if it isn't too much to ask please review this chapter, I like constructive criticism. Thank you again... See ya!