Hello everyone, I'm back!! Sorry about the delay, I had this chapter ready to go a while ago, but I had a little medical issue ~ stupid wisdom teeth ~. Well, I'm back on track now and ready to keep pumping out chapters!! This one should be quite interesting, as we're starting to get into the actual plot of the story!!

Oh, and have you guys been getting lazy or what? You know reviews motivate me, so please, please, please take the time to hit the little button at the bottom and leave me a comment! I promise it'll make me finish the next chapter faster, honestly!!

Well, after much ado, onto the fic!!

*

Trials Will Tare Us Apart

*

Chapter Three:

Enemy Unmasked

*

Syaoran was breathing heavily, his sword still outstretched, as he stared at a spot a few feet in front of him. Not seconds ago, the 'shadow' had stood there and now, nothing. He shook his head, scanning the perimeter to make sure it was actually gone and not hiding. While it's words seemed final enough, one never knew with beasts such as these…

His eyes roamed for quite a while before he was satisfied. With a sigh, he transformed his sword into its pendant form, draping the gem around his neck and sighing again. He turned all the way around to face Sakura and gave her an appraising look. Judging by the monster's words, it had come to her at least once in her dreams. Why hadn't she warned someone? She knew better than that, damn it, and such things were dangerous…

"So. What the hell was that?" He wondered a little too coldly, crossing his arms across his chest in a show of firm insistence. She would tell him what this was all about, no matter how long they had to stand here staring at each other.

Sakura looked more than a little shaken. Her face was twisted into a confused and horrified expression, much paler than normal, as she continually shook her head back and forth. Probably still denying everything that it said, he considered as he waited patiently for her reply.

"I don't know," she said finally, her tone forlorn.

Syaoran glared slightly but couldn't stand to fix her with the menacing look wanted to. "I have ears too, you know," he returned, going for annoyed instead of menacing. "I heard it tell you it visited you in your dreams. How often has that happened? Why didn't you tell anyone? And don't you dare lie to me, Sakura, don't you dare."

She shook her head, sinking into the chair behind her and fixing her eyes on a spot just above her shoulder. "Honestly, Syaoran, that was as much of a shock to me as it was to you. I… yes I had premonitions about it but it felt different…"

"And why didn't you tell someone about it?"

"Everyone worries so much about me as it is," she replied calmly, "I don't want them to worry anymore, especially over something so stupid."

A sharp breath left his mouth, the product of the tisk he'd been able to bit off. He loved Sakura and didn't want to make her feel bad, but if this shadow thing wasn't important then what was? "Hold still," he instructed quite suddenly.

She obeyed, freezing with her face tilted up towards his. Syaoran stooped, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead and catching her hand in his. He ran his thumb across the smooth skin in soothing circles, watching her face with an earnest expression. "Do you know why we worry, Sakura?"

"Because you care and only want what's best for me," she replied somewhat grudgingly.

"Because we love you," he correct fiercely. "Because we love you very much and don't want anything to happen to you. Me especially." That statement earned him a beaming smile and he pulled the girl gently to her feet. "I want to protect you, but in order to do that I need to know what's going on. Tell me everything you know about this shadow."

Sakura sighed, looking nearly exhausted despite her peaceful night of sleep, but agreed none the less. Her lips parted, preparing to reveal the dreams that had been haunting her, when the door opened again.

Many things happened at once.

The Card Mistress found herself placed carefully behind Syaoran as he called his sword and went into his fighting stance again. But not attack came. Sakura blinked once, then twice, then a third time just for clarification. The shadow being hadn't returned but an urgent Eriol burst into the room, followed by a panting and disheveled Tomoyo. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing enough to note that Eriol's staff was drawn and her best friend had her own battle device, the trusty camcorder, in hand and running.

They stood in complete silence, starring and blinking before Eriol's gaze trained on Syaoran. Noting his defensive stance and drawn weapon, he shook his head in dejection. The large staff disappeared into nothing and he broke the silence. "Damn, we missed it."

Syaoran pounced. His sword clattered to tile floor as he dropped it in favor of going after the blue haired boy with his bare hands. Luckily, Eriol had expected this and dodged easily to the side, sending his attacker hurtling into the living room.

"What do you know, Hiiragizawa?" An enraged Chinese warrior demanded as he regained his footing and prepared to go for another round. "What the hell was that thing?"

Meanwhile, Sakura had stooped to gather his forgotten sword and was standing beside her friend. Tomoyo sparred her a concerned glance, keeping the camera lens trained on the feuding boys. "Sakura, are you alright? Did anything happened?"

Her expression looked mild enough, almost carefree, had there not be an underlying sense of urgency in her eyes. Mentally, Tomoyo kept focusing on Eriol's words to her as the rushed to her house:

If this is what I think it is, than we need to take special care where Sakura is concerned. She needs to remain as calm as possible, no extreme emotions. That means we need to be careful around her as well, so she doesn't feel our emotions and react to them. It's extremely important that she remain calm, Tomoyo. I cannot stress that enough…

So she forced herself to seem pleasant. That was why she'd brought along her camcorder. It was a symbol of older, simpler times and was guaranteed to lighten any mood.

The distraction worked, if only slightly, and the Sakura seemed to brighten a tiny bit. "Yes Tomoyo. But why do you have that again?"

"Why not?" she chirped back happily. "Finally, we've all been reunited! I couldn't think of a better time to start my next sega: Cardcaptor Sakura- The Adventure Continues!" Lame, Tomoyo. She berated herself as she searched her friends face and was pleased to hear Sakura giggle. But I guess what they say is true: simple minds, simple pleasures…She bit her tongue after that comment, realizing just have cruel it sounded. Sakura wasn't simple, anything but that, but the way she acted at times reminded her of a child…

Eriol was, again, facing down Syaoran. Calm as ever, he dismissed the other's question with a passive smile. "Calm down, my dear descendant." His tone sounded careless enough, but the look he shot him demanded obedience. "I've discovered some things that I think you both should know. So let's go to the living room and discuss this like adults, shall we?"

Syaoran grumbled begrudgingly but had no choice but to obey. In a small act of rebellion, he walked back to take his sword from Sakura instead of following the reincarnation into the other room. "Don't think you're off the hook," he told the girl beside her, tapping her nose gently. "I still want answers from you."

They settled in living room, Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo taking the couch while Eriol opted to stand before them. He twirled his miniaturized staff through his fingers in an almost nervous gesture. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke. "Something's afoot, as I think you all have guess, but before I tell you what I know I want to make absolutely certain of what I know." Syaoran's impatient growl was ignored. "Sakura, do you have the cards with you?"

She shook her head in denial. "No, but they're upstairs in my room. Do you need them?"

"I was hoping you could do a reading."

Nodding, she popped to her feet. "Sure, I'll go find them!"

Her soft footsteps led her out of the room and up the stairs two at a time. Eriol waited until he was sure she was out of hearing range before turning his gaze to Syaoran. "I need your word on something. Whatever I tell you, you cannot get upset."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" he demanded as an icy feeling enveloped his gut.

"It means you can't lose your temper, no matter what I tell you." The English magician's face hovered very close to his, all masks dropped. His usually emotionless expression became vivid, displaying all the fear, rage, and anxiety he was feeling. "I'm asking you this for Sakura's sake, so I'm sure you'll understand. Extreme emotions could aggravate her condition…"

Syaoran was anything but happy with these words games. "Condition? What kind of condition is this? Tell me straight out and stop playing these damn games…"

Eriol's hand clamped over his mouth. "I mean it, Li. If you can't handle it then you can't hear. The last thing I'll allow you to do is to put her in more danger than she's already in , understand?"

"I do." The implication that he would hurt Sakura or knowingly cause her pain was more than insulting, but he bit down his temper. "I will stay calm, you have my word Hiiragizawa. But what could possibly…"

He cut him off before he could finish asking his question. "When she comes back I'll explain it but I wanted to tell you this now."

"Because…?"

"Li, think for a minute." At this point, Eriol was beyond exasperation. "You know Sakura better than us all. Her emotions make her what she is. She doesn't know how to hide or ignore them. So what do you think it would do to her if we were to tell her she couldn't feel any extreme, negative emotions?"

Ah, now things were becoming clear. "She'd worry about trying to hide them and probably end up making things worse."

"Exactly."

They heard footsteps coming down the stairs and fell quiet. Seconds later, Sakura appeared in the doorway with the Clow book clamped (ß no pun intended…) to her chest. The expression on her face was bashful, Syaoran observed with curiosity, and he watched her with a questioning gaze as she took her seat between him and Tomoyo.

"Remember how I told you I kept Touya… occupied last night with the sleep card?" She wondered, tracing the details of the Clow Book with her index figure. This was news to Tomoyo and Eriol, they looked towards each other and raised their eyebrows in silent speculation. "Well, it kind of slipped my mind and… he's still asleep." Tomoyo nearly choked on her giggles.

Syaoran seemed more than a little smug with that piece of information. "All the better for us, he can't come barging in and interrupting!" He allowed a smirk to cross his face before smiling genuinely. Eriol's revelation made him more than a little nervous, but he was determined to stick to his end of the bargain. His hand found its way around her waist and he held her close to him, looking very possessive.

Sakura gave him a smile, disarming in its innocence, and fought desperately against the anger rising inside him. "What would you like me to ask, Eriol?" she wondered.

"Oh, the normal," he returned. "I'd like to see what the cards have to say about your opposition."

"You mean the shadow?"

"Yes."

The change in her attitude was immediate. Her posture went stiff and her eyes dropped away from Eriol face, focusing instead on her lap so they couldn't see the fear there. Syaoran squeezed her shoulders, lightly massaging the flesh below in an attempt to provide some type of reassure. Her smile returned, looking a little forced, and she opened the latch of the Clow Book.

A gasp escaped her mouth at what she found inside.

"Wha… Kero-chan!!"

Sure enough, snuggled inside the book atop the pile of pink cards was the guardian. Kero seemed to be asleep, his paws crossed firmly across his chest and little tail curled around one leg, but the tell-tale snoring was no where to be heard. Sakura scooped him gently, cupping his limp form in her hands and bringing it even with her eyes. She could see his chest rising and falling, a very good sign, but no matter how hard she shook him he refused to wake. The strong and powerful aura that usually surrounded had dimmed dramatically, even for his reduced state. Her eyes were filled with worry as she looked first to Syaoran and then up to Eriol. "W…what's wrong with Kero?"

Beside her, Syaoran tightened his grip and leaned her form closer so he could get a better look at the little guardian. Nothing appeared to be wrong with him, but while that was good news it didn't help them solve this disturbing mystery.

"How could I not have noticed he was gone!" She demanded suddenly, crushing Kero's form to her chest. Tears glimmered in her eyes, catching the attention of everyone in the room. The same thought ran threw each of the three's head: She can't be exposed to extreme emotions… And if anything was extreme, having a guardian go into an unexplainable hibernation was…

For a second, their eyes meet and it was decided that Syaoran should take over. Huge surprise.

Pulling Sakura fully into his lap, he ran his hand gently through her hair and kissed the top of her head consolingly. "He's fine Sakura, just asleep. I'm sure Eriol knows what's wrong, there's no need to get upset, alright?"

"Okay." She agreed, sniffling slightly as she wiped the tears from her face. "I bet this has something to do with the shadow, ne?"

"Wait. Before the reading, let me tell you what I know." Eriol interrupted, his facing looking increasingly vexed by the minute. She nodded, more than a little curious about his change in attitude. He had been so insistent in the reading just a few seconds ago. How had finding Kero changed all that?

The English boy leaned against the dead mantle, watching his friends on the couch carefully. "I should start at the beginning, I think, but in order to do that I'm afraid I'll have to bring up some unpleasant memories." They new immediately he was referring to Ping and Sakura shuddered. Syaoran's arms found their way more tightly around her middle, pulling the girl closer to him. "Sakura, what happened with Ping was horrible, but I'm afraid it's not over yet. This sounds horrible but… I think we'll need his help."

There was fire in Syaoran's eyes. Those amber orbs were glowing and shimmering with all the anger he felt. Let that bastard near his precious Sakura again, never. Ask him for help… that was unreasonable. If he ever set eyes on him again, he'd pound him into the ground before anyone could say differently. They need Ping's help… not in this life-time…

A gentle touch on his arm brought him from his angry rantings. It was Tomoyo, giving him a warning glare before looking pointedly at the girl in his arms. Eriol was fixing him with a similar look, one that threatened to throw him out of this discussion, and the Chinese boy was forced to comply. For Sakura. No extreme emotions or something bad could happen… Do it for Sakura…

When he was sure Syaoran was under control, Eriol continued. "Usually the worst thing, physically, a person in your… position would have to worry about would be pregnancy. However, you're a very powerful sorceress, and he had power as well, so together you created…"

"So it's true then!" Sakura interrupted, looking much paler than before. "The shadow, I really did make is…" she looked like she could cry at any moment.

"Is that what it told you?" he wondered softly, looking sympathetic. "That's true, technically, but you didn't do it on purpose and its creation wasn't something you could have controlled. Tell me, how did you feel after that?"

"W...what?"

"After Ping… you were frightened, probably, and angry. I bet you wanted to get him back for everything he did to you. It's nothing to be ashamed about, anyone in your position would feel those things…" She did look ashamed, her face partially buried in Syaoran's shirt. It was obvious that she had been thinking those things and knowing that ever-sweet Sakura had an evil side too was more than a little frightening. "That's where this shadow thing came from. Emotions, from both you and Ping, combined with both your magical powers formed this shadow thing.

The room was silent after that revelation, but Sakura was nodding. It all made sense now; it seemed Eriol was right on track, as usual. Her premonitions came to mind, how the shadow's aura seem to radiate those negatives emotions he'd just described, only amplified by leaps and bounds. Sharing that bit of information seemed to be a good idea. "I had a dream about this," she starred, "the shadow, I mean. It's came to me before and every time… I could feel it's evil and it did feel like me. But it need me, my help, to do something horrible…"

"This little shadow thing came to us just before you two arrived," Syaoran said. "It didn't seem frightening or evil or any of those things. If anything, it reminded me of a child."

Eriol nodded in consideration. "Yes, at this point I think it would resemble a child. That's how it develops, feeding off rouge emotions until it's reached the point Sakura saw in her dream."

Rouge emotions… That's why he wanted us to be careful…

"That's everything I know," he finished with a sigh.

Syaoran glared at him, careful to keep his voice as calm as possible. "That doesn't freaking help us. How are we supposed to stop this?"

"I was hoping the cards could give us a hint…"

Sakura spoke up for the first time in a while. "So… I should try the reading?"

Eriol nodded solemnly as she handed Kero's limp form to Tomoyo and got out her cards in perpetration of the reading. It had been some time since she'd last done this, but the process was ingrained in her mind. Shuffling the cards, she split them into four stacks with her left hand, returning them in random order with the same hand. She then arranged them in the proper patter, three lined up in the middle with an addition six scattered around. All priming complete, dropped to her knees before the coffee table.

She settled herself between Syaoran's knees and closed her eyes, comforted by the feeling of his sturdy arms encircling her shoulders. Holding a hand over the formation of cards, she began to chant:

"Cards made by Clow, answer my question. Show me the form of…"

Sakura didn't get a chance to finish her question as the words died in her throat as her scream flooded the room. A flash of dark light accompanied the horrible sound, flooding the room with heat and pain. Somehow, a wind rose in the cozy living room, whipping things around mercilessly and only fanning the dark flames. The Card Mistress cried out again, in pain and anger. Starring blindly into the dark flames, she saw something accented there; black on black in the shape of a small child…

**********************************************************************

"So you thought you'd be sneaky, huh?"

Meiling flinched away from the kick aimed at her stomach, dropping to the ground in a roll despite the pain it caused her other injuries. She succeeded in dodging her cousin's blow and popped back up, balancing in a crouch on the balls of her heals in preparation for the next attack.

She hadn't realized anyone was listening in on her phone conversation, but she should have known better than to disclose such privileged information over such an unreliable source. Still, she usually heard when the monitor kicked in, or at least when someone was approaching her bedroom door. This time she'd been caught completely unprepared, ignorant to Ping's presence until his hand came screaming towards her face.

That was why she had such a collection of bruises; at least fifteen of them colored her body. Usually Ping was lucky to land a single blow where she was concerned. Today… she smiled wryly, either he was getting better, or she was out of it. In which case she deserved every punch that connected.

"I don't care what you do to me," she hissed at him, wiping the blood leaking from her bent jaw, "they know now and they're ready for you."

He laughed. That damn, pompous bastard actually had the nerve to laugh! "You actually thought you were putting one by me, didn't you darling?"

"I did and you know it." She shot back arrogantly.

The laughter continued, echoing around her bedroom with a maniacal ring. "No, you played right into my hand," Ping shot back. "I'm glad they know. Let them think they're ready and let the little Card Mistress quiver in fear. Because no matter what, when I leave Japan that girl will be with me and that damned traitor will be made to pay for what he's done."

Alright, now it was starting to bother her. So Meiling did the only thing she could think of doing; she laughed right back at him. "Like Syaoran would let you within shouting distance of her!"

Ping smirked. The laugher stopped, although the sound waves still reverberated around the still room. His expression was incredibly smug. "Who won't let me?"

"Sya…" And she froze. Her hand flew to her mouth, covering it as if trying to pull her previous words back inside. The words, or name precisely, that she'd just uttered was one of those forbidden words. Saying his name, even in private, was enough to get her throw from the Li family. Never mind that she'd just shouted it in the face of the clan leader.

And he was fully aware of the weight of her words.

"My, my, aren't we in a spot?" He chuckled. "That little slip of the tongue could cost you dearly. After all, how could you protect Yelan and her daughters if you are no longer a member of this family? Such a pity, really it is. Now if only your clan leader were kind and understanding… Wait, I am your clan leader. And it is my duty to punish you properly…"

Meiling felt the knife cut through her skin before she saw it. The blade was sharply, deadly sharp, and it produce a deep gash in her left forearm before she was able to blink. What happened next was even more of a shock; Ping sunk his fingers into the cut, pressing his fingernails against the ripped skin brute force.

Then, there was pain. It hurt so badly, like her arm was being ripped from her body. A detached part of her mind noted that he was chanting something, a rhyme similar to the one Syaoran used to transform his pendant. Her corrupt cousin called on the powers of the elements, requesting their aid in binding… Wait, binding?

She felt all the blood drain from her face when she realized just what he was doing to her. Binding charms were ancient magic, ancient and near impossible to break once set. Still, knowing the consequences, she could do nothing to fight against it.

Finally, Ping uttered the last word of his spell and removed his fingers from her wound, smirking profoundly. The digits were coated richly in blood and he raised his hand, running them down her cheek. She cringed at the feeling and smell, wanting to pull away but finding it impossible.

"Now, you really are mine." He told her, letting his hand linger below her chin. "I think a test is in order. Kiss me."

No way in hell. Her mind growled out, and for an instant nothing happened. Could be possible that he'd messed up on the spell and that she wasn't actually bound to do his bidding? Meiling's hopes rose to incredible heights before being drug straight back to earth.

A burning sensation raced up her spin, so intense that she wished to die just so it would leave her. She'd so anything to make it go away, anything…

Then kiss master.

The voice wasn't hers. It was without gender or age, sounding like a fierce hiss admits her pain-torn body. Everything seemed so simple, for a moment. There was pain and there was no pain. If only she preformed that simple action, the pain would stop. It was worth it, wasn't it?

Her lips pressed against his, gifting Meiling with the most sickening feeling she'd every experience. Ping was laughing as he threaded a hand around her waist, pulling her closer and kissing her with bruising force. When her eyes widened in terror it only seemed to increase his amusement.

"Good, it worked," he commented when he released her, leaving the girl gasping for breath and utterly sick. "Oh, and there was something I wanted to show you…"

From his shirt pocket he pulled an envelope. Inside were plane tickets, two of them, to Japan. One, naturally, belonged to Ping, but the other…

The other was hers.

"We leave in two hours. Pack some things." With a final laugh, he stooped in to press a hard kiss to her mouth before leaving her bedroom triumphantly.

***********************************************************************

Just as quickly as it had began, the flames and wind died down, leaving four very confused teens behind. Sakura found herself face down on the floor away, her body being pressed into the carpet by Syaoran's weight on her back. No doubt her warrior had tackled her to the ground when that whole mess started in an effort to shield her from the attack. For the most part it had worked, but her hand was throbbing in pain.

Eriol turned out to be just as chivalrous as Syaoran, jumping to cover the raven-haired girl with his body and magic when the attack broke out. Only once he was sure things had died down did he move from his undignified position half sprawled across her and remove his magic shield. "Tomoyo, were you hurt?" She opened her eyes, examining her body and shaking her head in surprise when she came up with nothing. "Good. Li, Sakura, are you two alright?"

They untangled themselves from the floor, Syaoran pulling her into a sitting position and taking his time checking her for burns or bruises. "I think we're fine," he replied in relief, latching onto Sakura's right hand…

…only to have her give a painful yelp.

The careful part was immediately under scrutiny, much to Sakura's dislike, but she bit her lip and permitted the prodding. Her hand, the one that had been resting above the Clow Cards, was quite severely burned. Already, the reddened skin was beginning to form angry red blisters. That was, where the skin hadn't been singed to a brown crisp.

Syaoran starred at her injury in shock, wondering how in the world it could have been hurt so badly when everyone else was fine. He gestured for Eriol and Tomoyo to come look and they did, the second kneeling to wrap a comforting arm around her friend's shoulder. A frown was on Clow's reincarnated face as he examined the hand, carefully running his own just above the skin.

He jerked it back when assaulted by a powerful presence. "Dark magic," he muttered to himself. But in a way it reminded me of Sakura… mixed with something else. Could it be…

"Tomoyo, do you know where to find a bandage and some ice?" Eriol wondered, massaging his own fist with concern. The girl nodded and got to her feet, squeezing her friend's shoulder reassuringly. "Magic or no, we need to take care of this injury."

She disappeared into the kitchen and Syaoran placed a soothing kiss on the Card Mistress' cheek. Sakura hadn't said or word or made a single movement during this entire ordeal, no tears had gathered in her eye. Yet she accepted his affections, leaning back into his embrace with a slight shudder.

"What would cause this?" he demanded of no one in particular, cradling her hand with exaggerated care. "None of us were hurt by that blast…"

Eriol was silent, looking back on the situation as he considered what could have happened. Sakura had arranged the cards in the correct manner, leaning back against Syaoran as she placed a hand over the formation and… Her hand, it had been over the formation of cards!!! Looking back, he realized that this attack had come from their general direction. Sneaking a glance over his shoulders, the charred table confirmed his suspicions.

But there was still that dark magic he'd felt hovering over her injury. Hmm… maybe the cards hadn't caused the explosion, maybe it had been a reaction to the cards. Could something have been trying to prevent the reading? That must be it.

"The cards, I think, have something to do with it. But I think the explosion happened because someone was trying to interfere with the reading."

"But what could possibly…". But it was crystal clear, the shadow.

Tomoyo was back with her supply of first-aid supplies. She took her friends hand from Syaoran and began smoothing the salve over it. "Does this hurt, Sakura?"

No one expected her to answer, but she did. Her voice was soft, almost drowsy, as if she were just waking up from a long nap. "It stings a little, but that's it…" She sighed, closing her eyes before they snapped open again and focused on Eriol. "Wait, my cards. What happened?"

It took him a few seconds to realize that she wanted the little papers in her possession. He humored her, of course, and walked a few steps to scoop the nine cards from the table. As he returned to where they were all kneeling, he checked, out of curiosity, to see which cards would have appeared in the reading. But he received a huge shock.

On the other side of the cards, where the coordinating name and picture of the spirit should have been, was nothing. The cards, all nine of them, were blank.

-end chpt.3-

AN: Another Cliffie, I know. So sorry about that, but if it hadn't stopped there it would have gone on forever (and you're probably asking yourself why that's bad?). Anyway, if you found that confusing feel free to e-mail me with your questions; pikogio@yahoo.com . And if you'd like me to send you and e-mail when this fic has been updated, drop me a line via e-mail or leave your address in a review. Well, I believe that's all!!! Till Next Time~