Chapter 2

Sakura, panting heavily, slid open the door to classroom 5-2,  and plopped down into her seat, thoroughly fatigued from the run up several flights of stairs. Breathing heavily, she slouched deep in her chair. The door slid open again, and Sakura lolled her head sideways to find Kaho-sensei walking in, like always. As she turned and walked towards her desk, another much shorter figure was revealed standing behind her.

            "Li-kun!" She exclaimed into a classroom that was now abuzz with eager conversations. He caught her glance, and walked over to the desk behind her. "Hey, Kinomoto" He muttered uninterestedly, throwing himself into his chair, too.

            "I, um… heard you captured a Clow Card yesterday…"

            Li nodded, his usual serious, disciplined face set in stone. "I did."

            "Which one?"

            "The Arrow."

            Sakura nodded knowingly, although in truth, she didn't remember anything about the Arrow card. "Did the fight go OK."

            "Despite Meiling, you mean?"

            Sakura giggled. "C'mon Li, she did help, didn't she."

            "Actually," Li began, but stopped suddenly, his eyes lighting up. A second later, Sakura felt a pang, striking her soul with resonant intensity. "Do you sense it?"

            Li nodded, tense and ready for action. "I don't know where it's coming from, but its near here, all right."

            "Strange, though," Sakura surrendered herself to the influx of magical energy. "It feels… strange. Not really like a Clow card."

            "It does feel a little different," Li admitted, "but it's gotta be a Clow Card. How many other rogue magical forces are there?"

            Sakura stood up to leave, and then, with a sudden realization, turned to Li, a desperate look in her eye. "Class is about to start, we can't just leave."

            The concentrated look on his face told Sakura that he had thought of this long before she had. He raised his hand. "Kaho-sensei, may I please go to the washroom?"

            The redhead looked up from a book she was scribbling in, smiled, and nodded. "Hurry up, Li, class will be starting soon." With a brisk nod of acknowledgement, Li shot up out of his seat, almost knocking it over, and ran out the door. Sakura stood up also. "Um… I kinda have to go to the washroom too…"

            She raised one eyebrow, but in her mind, knew exactly what was going on. "You may go."

            Tomoyo looked around desperately, in dire need of an excuse to tape Sakura's battles. Meiling was also squirming in her seat, anxious to help Li. "Um…" she started.

            "You may go. You too, Tomoyo-chan."

            Smiling, and with a polite nod, both girls quietly got out of their seats, pushed them back in, and followed their friends through the halls of the school, leaving behind a class of very puzzled students.

            Li's feet pounded the sidewalk into submission with every step, sending resounding beats throughout the empty streets, the only way by which Sakura was able to follow him. Every fiber of his magical potential was focused on sensing the lingering traces of Clow Reed's magic, and tracking it down.

            "Li!" She called out in front of her, hoping she was aiming her cries in, at least, the general direction of her friend's retreating back. "Wait up!"

            Turning his head to the side to hear her, he skidded to a halt, and spun around, waiting several seconds before she became a visible figure. "What is it?" He inquired brusquely.

            She panted, gasping in mouthfuls of air desperately. "First of all," she grinned, "slow down." Half of this request came from her desire to be able to keep up, but it was also strongly driven by her ever-mounting despair at her dream.

            Li sneered.

            "And second of all, do you have your sword or Rashinban?"

            This time, Li shook his head. "No. They're back home." He looked at her desperately. "Tell me you have the key and the cards."

            Sakura shook her head mournfully. "No, I left them back home too."

            Li grimaced, trying to think of a way to retrieve their needed items. After a second, he angrily kicked the paved street. "Damn! Now we have to waste time going to get them. Who knows where the Clow Card will end up doing by the time we find it."

            Sakura gasped. "Oh, no! I just remembered. Touya's off of work today! He's home, I can't just show up there!"

            Li's next curse was swallowed up by a dim yell. "Sakura! Syaoran!" Both card captors spun around on their heels, seeing two girls running towards them. Sakura sighed and smiled. "It's Tomoyo and Meiling."

            Li, however, seemed a degree madder than before. He glared at the two girls as they halted in front of them. "What are you doing here? You should be in class!"

            At this unwelcome greeting, Meiling's countenance suddenly shifted. "Look, Li, we've gone over this before, I can take care of myself just fine!"

            Sakura nodded. "Li, let them tag along."

            Li, still glaring daggers at all three of the girls, said, "Fine, but there's still the problem of getting our stuff. We can't just walk in and get them, her brother's home!"

            Meiling shrugged. "So, what's the problem, just call Kero and have him drop them out of the window."

            "What if Touya picks up?"

            Sakura sighed. "I see what you mean. This is going to be difficult."

            "I know," Tomoyo put in. "I'll pretend I left something in your room, and ask to go in and get them. He won't start asking me too many questions about why I'm there."

            "That works! And get Kero too!" Sakura said, excited that a solution had finally come along. She shot a glance at Li that clearly emanated triumph at having proved right in her postulation about Meilin and Tomoyo.  Li snapped his head in anger. "Fine. Let's just go, we don't have all day, that Clow card could be wreaking havoc as we speak."

            Sakura realized the truth in these words, so rather than arguing, she nodded. All four children broke into a run down the streets, passing familiar cherry trees, their boughs alight with many tiny, sparkling blossoms. Sakura, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand, did not have a chance to admire their crystalline beauty like she usually did, blading the way to school.

            Li turned to Sakura as they ran, and shouted across, to make himself heard. "Kinomoto-chan! My grip on the card is getting weaker. We must be heading away from it!"

            She felt deep inside herself and realized that Li's statement was true. The Clow Card's presence, or whatever the magical energy was, as Sakura still felt that its presence was somewhat different from a Clow Card, was indeed growing more distant with each step they took.

            "Look!" Meiling pointed to a house in the near distance. "That's yours, isn't it, Kinomoto?" She interrogated, almost as if it was some fault of Sakura's for living in that house.

            "It is," She acknowledged. "Ok, Tomoyo, we're going to go around back under my window. You go up there and throw my Clow Cards and Sealing Staff down."

            "What about Kero-chan?" She asked.

            Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Tomoyo-chan, throw him down, too."

            The girl giggled, and nodded, heading around her driveway to the front door. "Don't worry, guys, it'll all be taken care of in a moment."

            The light of the glaring TV screen reflected on Touya's face as his finger repeatedly struck the remote, switching channels at an alarming rate. He turned his head. Had that been a doorbell? Turning the volume down, he listened more carefully, recognizing the musical tinkle as the signal that someone was at the door. With a sigh, he put the remote down and got off the sofa. He walked over to the door, and opened it to reveal a small girl that barely reached his chest. His face registered surprise. "Um… Tomoyo-chan. What are you doing here? Isn't school in?" He took a step forward and looked around. Strange, he thought. She's usually surrounded by her bodyguards.

            "Oh," Tomoyo stammered, obviously caught off guard. "Um, well, I was going to school, but… I remembered I left my… book… at her house."

            Touya raised one eyebrow. "Oh. I see," he lied. "Well, what book did you forget, and where is it."

            Her eyes grew wide. She had never thought that Sakura's brother would be this much of an obstacle. "Um… I forget. I'll just go in her room and get it." He stifled a grin. "You forget? What period do you need it for?"

            Tomoyo blanched visibly, another sign Touya had towards knowing that she was up to something. "Um… period 2?"

            "And that would be…?"

            She shrugged. "I dunno. Can I just please go up to her room and get it?" Touya sighed. "Yeah. Go ahead. It's obvious you won't tell me what you're really after. Just… don't take any of Sakura's stuff."

            Tomoyo feigned offence. "Touya-san, dear Touya-san. How can you accuse me of such felonies." She took off into the house, skipping up the stairs. "Thanks!" She cried over her shoulder.

            "Eh," He threw himself back onto the sofa, and resumed his television watching.

            Tomoyo carefully opened the door to Sakura's room, and peeked in. On her desk, several Clow cards were spread out, and in the center of the ring, a small yellow animal admired them. He turned his head as she entered, and his concentrated features took on a look of excitement. "Hey, Tomoyo! How'd you get in here? Why'd you get in here?"

            She looked over her shoulder to see if the Guardian Beasts' loud greeting had alerted Sakura's brother, but no sign of activity came from downstairs. She pressed her finger onto her lips in a motion of silence towards Cerberus. "Ssshhhh," she hissed. "Sakura needs your help, she's underneath your window!"

            Kero-chan, puzzled, flew over to the window and looked out. "I see Sakura and the other two brats, but… what's going on."

            Tomoyo flew over to Sakura's desk and began gathering the cards. "They sense a Clow card."

            He turned his head, now even more confused. "Clow Card? ….I don't sense anything." However, Tomoyo gave it little thought, and merely shrugged. "They did say it was growing fainter as they came towards here. Maybe it's disappeared altogether. I don't know, I don't have any magical powers." She gathered all the cards into one big pile and slipped it into the only pocket that her school uniform allowed for. She walked over to the window, opened it, and stuck her head out.

            "Hey, Daidouji!" Meiling called up from below. "What took you?"

            "Sakura's brother took some convincing. I've got the cards, but I don't know where the key is."

            "It's on the third drawer from the left, where the Clow Book is!" Sakura called up, trying to make her voice just loud enough to be heard by Tomoyo, but not by Touya. She went to Sakura's desk and opened the drawer that she'd indicated. Shuffling papers,  and the Clow Book, she soon found her prize, a small key with a knob resembling a bird's head on its end. Grabbing it, she also looked around for a random book, which she could claim, had been her purpose all along. Shutting the drawer, she headed for the door. "Kero-chan," she said. "Go out the window, we're going to need your help."

            He nodded, and flew slowly out of the open portal, into the cool morning breeze. "All right," he acknowledged Tomoyo. "But I still don't sense any Clow Card."

            She gently closed the door behind her and waked down the stairs, clutching the book, Alice in Wonderland, she noticed as she entered the living room where Touya was once again watching TV, to her breast.

            He turned his head ever so slightly to gaze towards her. "Find what you needed?"

            Tomoyo nodded. "I did, thank you very much." Sakura's brother shrugged and turned his attention back to television, as she went out the door and snuck around to the back of the house, where everyone was still gathered.

            Sakura turned her head as her friend walked around the corner. She smiled. "Great job, Tomoyo! Have you got the cards and key?"

            "Of course," she responded in mock offence. Producing the items, she handed them to Sakura.

            "All right," Li said, breaking the mood. "What about my ceremonial sword and Rashinban?"

            "Oh, yeah. I forgot," Sakura muttered. "Well, I guess we could use the Fly Card to take us to your house."

            "But, Sakura," Tomoyo interjected. "there isn't enough room for all of us."

            Li shrugged. "It's about time you two got back to class," he indicated Meilin and Tomoyo. "There's nothing you can do to help. You're just getting in the way. You've gotten Sakura her staff and cards. You can't fight, you're only endangering yourselves."

            Meiling's stunned face betrayed her feelings. "Syaoran!" She shrieked. "I thought we'd gone over this! I'm not a baby! I can handle myself!"

            His expression relaxed to one of exasperated humor. "Look, Meiling. What we really need for you to do right now is get back to school. Kaho-sensei is going to want to know where we are. Washroom breaks don't take an hour."

            "But, what'll we tell her?" Tomoyo asked. Li turned around to face her. "That we're sick. We felt really badly so we asked to go home, and the principal let us."

            Meiling raised an eyebrow. "I don't think it's going to work. Who'd believe a story like that?"

            "Just go. She needs some explanation." Tomoyo turned to Sakura, as if asking permission. The cardcaptor merely smiled. "You can go, Tomoyo. Li's right, we need an excuse for why we're cutting school. I'm sorry, but you won't be able to tape me. Not this time."

            It was enough for Sakura's friend to be told once, and she smiled, walking out onto the street in the direction of Tomoeda School, Meiling running after. Sakura did a quick glance around the yard to make sure nobody was watching, and lifted up the Clow Key that Tomoyo had brought her. She let go of the small object, and it magically stayed in place, not falling to the ground like it should. Sakura spread her arms out wide, the key still motionless.

"O Key that hides the power of the dark, by covenant reveal thy true form to me!" The small object grew, the head enlarging to the size of the girl's fist, while the end elongated to about Sakura's height.

"This, Sakura commands! RELEASE!" She yelled as the key completed its transformation, grabbing a card, emblazoned on one side with an illustration of a giant glowing bird.

            "Stand back!" she said quietly, throwing the long card into the air in front of her, still wary of her brother inside the house. She brought  her sealing staff down onto the card in midair. "FLY!"

            Sakura grabbed the card as it floated to the ground. Putting it in her pocket, she turned to her staff, now rapidly growing large wings out of its back. With a final pull, they stretched out, ready for use. Sakura hoisted on leg over, and sat down on it. She turned to Li, who was looking very nervous. "What are you waiting for?" she asked, annoyed. "Get on!"

            Li shuffled over to where Sakura was waiting. Nervous, he stiffly lifted one leg over the long staff as he had seen her do, and sat on, still uncomfortable.

            Sakura's feet pushed them off the ground in a wild rush. The two children were soaring above the houses in a matter of seconds, Kero-chan rushing to keep up with the Fly card, an acceleration that proved too much for Li. He screamed, his nausea, nervousness, and general cynicism pouring out. "Omae!" he shouted. "I think I'm going to fall!"

            "Grab on, then!" Sakura said, enjoying both the exhilarating sensation of flight, and that of Li's misery.

            "Grab on to what?"

            "To me!" She shouted over the roaring wind. Sakura herself was clutching onto the end of her staff with the practiced dignity of an expert flyer.

            Li's face went white with unease. He awkwardly put his hands on Sakura's hips, but not making enough contact to offer any grip. She was bent over the staff, scanning the ground for her friends' house. "Li! Do you know where your house is from up here?"

            His distracted mind was brought back to the real world. He searched the patchwork of roofs below him, realizing just how similar they all looked. "I have no idea! I've only been living in Tomoeda for a few months!" He tried to excuse himself.

            "Wait!" Sakura shrieked, her face brightening. "Don't you live three blocks north of the Library?"

            Li searched his memory. "Yeah!" He realized. "That's right!" With a sudden lurch, the staff went into a nosedive, heading towards a roof that seemed more and more familiar with each passing meter. "That's my house!" He said, too softly for Sakura to hear. "You found it!" He yelled.

            The flying staff went even with the ground, coming to a neat landing on Li's driveway. Relieved, Li removed his hands and got off, delighted with the feeling of firm ground under his feet again. The wings stayed in place. "Go inside!" Sakura commanded. "Get your stuff and hurry, I can barely sense that Clow Card anymore!"

            Kero spoke for the first time since leaving the house. "I still don't sense anything at all. Are you sure about this, guys?"

            Li snorted. "I always said that you were losing your touch, stuffed animal."

 A flash crossed the Guardian Beast's face. "I'm going to let that one go. Just get in the house and grab your stuff." Shooting one last dirty look at Cerberus, Li ran into the house, leaving Sakura and Kero-chan alone in the front.

            "See?" Kero said, a smug look on his face. "He's as alive and obnoxious as ever!" This drew a giggle from her, but it did nothing to soothe her ever-mounting feeling of doom. "Speaking of which, are you sure you feel nothing? Absolutely nothing?"

            He closed his eyes, opening his little heart to the magical energies that abounded everywhere, but still could not sense the particular ki that appertained to Clow Reed's unique brand of magic. He shook his head. "Nope. Maybe that Li kid's right, maybe I am losing my magical powers."

            "All the more reason for me to hurry up and capture the Cards so you'll have your full range of magic back."

            Their conversation was interrupted by a yell of "Ja mata ne!" as Li slammed the door behind him and ran down his driveway, with sword, Rashinban, and ceremonial robes all equipped.

            "Li!" Sakura blinked. "You had time to change?" He turned away, as if embarrassed. "It's my duty to wear these Li-family robes whenever I make a capture. It's tradition."

            "Oh," Sakura nodded understandingly. "Well, you're going to have to use your Rashinban if we want to find that card. It's too distant for me to sense its direction."

            Syaoran opened up a fold in his robes and took out a small board, a glowing gem in its center, and Chinese characters spread across it, each one representing the magical elements. He closed his eyes as he descended into the familiar depths of concentration he attained each time the Rashinban powers were required. However, the familiar realization of knowledge that hit him when the board detected Clow Reed's magic. Nor did the beam of light shoot out of its center towards the source of the magic. In fact, nothing happened. He opened his eyes, confused. "What's wrong, Li?" Sakura stood, expectant.

            Syaoran simply shook his head and tried again, with no results. He stood dumbstruck, the Rashinban hanging limply in his hand. "It's not working…" he said softly, amazed.

            "What's not working?" Sakura asked, alarmed. She could see by the shocked look on his face that, for some reason, his Rashinban had failed him.

            "I don't know what's wrong with it," Li muttered.

            "Maybe we're just too far away for it to work," Sakura suggested kindly, trying to offer a solution.

            Li nodded absently. "Yeah, I think that's it," he said in a tone that clearly indicated that he did not.

            "Well then," Kero-chan said. "The only thing we can do is fly around until we can find it!" Sakura nodded in agreement.

Li's insides quivered at the thought of having to brave another flight, and he was still confused as to his malfunctioning Rashinban. He nodded, nevertheless, and boarded without comment. Once again they were soaring through the air, Li in the same uncomfortable position, hands gripping Sakura's hips as a last resort against falling. He forced himself to forget his current plight, and to concentrate on the task of finding the Clow Card. Surrendering himself to the world of unseen spirits, he realized that they were drawing closer to it.

            "Sakura knows what she's doing," he told himself bitterly. "Like she always has…" Suddenly, the staff went up into a wide arc, and came down spinning. Li could here Sakura screaming, but only once their course had returned to something resembling smoothness, did Li realize that her screams were not those of terror, but of sheer, unbridled exhilaration. His shocked face betrayed his features. "Are you crazy?"

            She turned her head to the side. "Wasn't that fun?" A voice from the side startled Li all over again. "Lighten up, kid!" He looked towards the source of the voice to see Cerberus flying alongside them.

            "You can fly this high, and… this fast?"

            "You'd be surprised as to what I can do," Kero admonished the terrified flyer. Li's attention was drawn elsewhere, however. He was tense, no longer worried about his predicament. And by the sudden tensing of Sakura's hips, which he realized with a start that he was still clutching onto, he guessed she felt it too.

            "It's coming!" She said. Li nodded.

            "What's coming?" Kero said, spinning around desperately looking for whatever the two children sensed. "I DON'T SENSE ANYTHING!" He cried, exasperated. His tormented cries were lost upon the pair, as they sensed their target drawing closer.

            A sudden realization hit Sakura. "It's…It's aiming for us!" Li squinted in the direction of the magical force, trying to catch any glimpse of their attacker. His eye caught something, and in a matter of seconds, he could see a small red dart flying towards them.

            "DOWN!" He yelled, pushing on Sakura's back hard enough to send the Clow staff into a nosedive, narrowly avoiding the dart, which was now where they had been a few seconds before. The dart rotated in midair and shot off after Kero-chan.

            "That thing's magically driven!" Li exclaimed.

            "Is that bad?" Sakura asked, concerned for her friend, who was busy flying and exclaiming just how better off he'd be if he could return to his true form.

            "That means the thing can seek out whatever its master wants it to find. Or whatever it wants to find." Li explained, fighting down an ever-increasing fear. "Poor Kero…" was all Sakura could say as the Guardian Beast strafed to the left, narrowly avoiding the attacker. "We have to attract its attention and get it down onto the ground, so we can fight!"

            Sakura, eager to help Kero-chan, immediately started going towards the small red dart, a sudden movement that caught Li off by guard, unbalancing him for a few seconds before his hands found their familiar place on Sakura's hips. She drove the staff in between the attacker and its prey, but that did nothing to stop the former's relentless assault, and only a quick pull saved them from being struck themselves.

            "This isn't working!" Sakura pointed out needlessly.

            "Just grab Kero and head for ground level." Li was prepared for the sudden jerk this time, and he was unphased as the staff flew in towards Kero. Sakura's outstretched hand plucked Cerberus from the skies and clutched him to her breast. Suddenly, the staff was heading straight down, leaving Li's stomach behind. Sakura leveled out at the last minute, and much to his relief, they were once again on solid ground. However, they did not have long to enjoy the sensation.

            "It's coming towards us again!" Sakura shrieked, pointing towards a barely visible point in the sky that was slowly growing larger.

            "Do something! Stop it!" Li shouted. For the first time that day, Sakura finally considered using a Clow Card against it. "Of course!" she said, enlightened. "I'll send it off course!"

            She dug around inside her breast pocket, and brought out a card. Throwing it up in the air, she called "Windy! Go and blow the dart off course!" The sealing staff, which no longer had wings, came down headfirst onto the card. White tendrils of magical energy snaked outwards from the focal point the card provided. They materialized into a familiar shape, that of a magical spirit in the form of a woman. Windy smiled at them briefly before setting out to do its mission. It sailed upwards, towards their attacker, and wrapped it in a wreath of violent, unabating wind. However, the dart seemed unconcerned with this new obstacle, and merely pierced the wind, going through it. Windy smiled a sad smile, apologizing for failing in its quest, before once again returning to the wisps of magic it had come from, flying down faster than the dart, to materialize once again as a card in front of Sakura.

            "Too late!" Syaoran shouted, jumping on top of Sakura, pinning her to the ground. He waited for a second before opening his eyes. He was staring down onto Sakura's face, which looked an equal mix of fright and shock.

            "Li!" She whispered. "…Arigatou."

            His face flushed, and he rolled off of her, and got up, looking at the spot where they'd been standing. A small, glowing red dart was quivering, implanted into the cement. Sakura got up as well, peering intently at the bolt.

            "This is it!" she said, astonished.

            Kero, who had finally managed to descend down to their level, flew to her shoulder. "Thanks for waiting," he said, upon deaf ears. "Hey, what's that?" The dart caught his notice.

            "That's the Clow Card we've been sensing," Sakura told him. Surprise registered on Cerberus' face. "What?" He said, puzzled. "No, that can't be… there's no card like that. And I still don't sense anything, even though it's right in front of me."

            Silence fell as all three looked down at the object. Suddenly, it started glowing brighter. As the Windy card had done, it dissolved into vines of magical energy, amounting to much more than the tiny dart would have allowed. The rogue tendrils gathered together and started forming a shape. Li grabbed Sakura's hand and started running in the opposite direction, because the girl herself was caught in a daze, not believing what was happening. Like a Clow Card, the dart apparently had a visible form. However, while the Clow Cards resembled kind, if rebellious, spirits, pulsing with positive energy. This abomination looked like a daemon straight out of the festering pits. Red fire adorned the magical beast, and energy of pure malice and horror streamed off of it, sending chills into the souls of the two children.

            Sakura was trembling madly, a sudden barrage of sweat clinging to her forehead. "No…" she muttered. "That's… not right!" Li felt the same way, but he tried his hardest to appear strong, unphased. For Sakura. Cerberus, for his part, seemed not to notice anything. "Man, that thing's ugly!" He said, completely unaffected by the horrors plaguing the cardcaptors. He turned towards Sakura. "Well, what are you waiting for? Capture that card!"

            Li answered for her. "I don't know if we can. I'm starting to doubt that thing's even a Clow Card at all!" Kero pondered this. "Yeah, that would make sense. Since Clow Reed created me, I might only be able to sense his magic. If I can't sense this… it must not be his at all!"

            Sakura looked up, still trembling. "It wouldn't hurt to try sealing it anyway."

            Li looked at her, on all fours. "Do you think you can fight?" Sakura nodded uneasily. "Yeah. But I'm sensing something so… so wrong. It's making me sick. That thing over there shouldn't exist."

            Li gawked at her. He had never seen this side of her. He had treasured her because of her acceptance and love of everyone and everything. Never had he heard her say bad about anything, much less question their right to exist. Tears streamed down Sakura's cheeks, moistening the ground beneath her. "It hurts, Li." She moaned. "That thing's so evil it hurts."

            Although Li could definitely feel malevolence pouring out of the creature, it wasn't to that point, and he had a feeling that for some reason, this was affecting  her a lot more than him or Kero-chan. He drew his sword from the scabbard hanging at its waist, and pointed it straight at the demon beast. "I'm going to seal you!" He exclaimed. "And rid the world of your abomination!" 'And get Sakura back,' he added to himself mentally. "I don't know what you are, or who created you, but you're mine!"

            Li's speech seemed to either frighten or amuse the spirit, as it emitted what could be interpreted as a laugh, had it not been ear splittingly loud and painful. The cry sent Sakura off the deep end, and she lapsed into fits of screaming and crying, mixing into a routine that wrenched Li's heart. The beast, meanwhile, had started circling around his prey, the three figures huddled in a circle, two in pain and one in confusion.

            Syaoran forced himself to ignore her for a while, an objective that was quite familiar to him, but one to which success was not. He shut out his heart to her pitiful cries, and instead turned his attention towards the beast, who was licking his chops. Syaoran, hoping for the element of surprise, charged it without warning, both hands supporting his blade in a forward thrust. It jumped to the side, out of the way, and batted Li aside with his tail. It was wreathed in flames, and as such, sent pain throughout his body. Sakura struggled to her feet, wishing to aid her friend. Still stuttering, she weakly pulled out a card from her pouch. "I'm going to fight fire with Fire!" She threw the card into the air. "Firey!"

            The aggressive fire spirit charged the other. Unlike Windy before it, Firey was not prone to gentleness or pity. It launched a fireball at the enemy, which was absorbed easily. Kero flew to Sakura's side. "That's not going to work! Firey's just feeding that thing's power! You've got to use another card! You were on the right track with using an Elemental card, but Firey's not the one!"

"I've already tried Windy," Sakura thought. "Firey's not doing anything. So the only thing left is… Watery!" She summoned the second elemental, which seemed to have a higher degree of success. It crashed into the beast, seeming to do some damage as it howled in pain, froth lining its mouth.

Li got up, recovered from the tail whack. He opened a fold in his robe and took out a flimsy-looking card with several Chinese characters emblazoned on it. He threw it up in the air and met it with his sword. "Element Lightning! Strike!" Bolts of electricity crackled through the air, striking the enemy. It flinched, but was not significantly harmed. The only visible effect Li's card seemed to have on it was to anger the spirit even more. It rotated until it was facing him, his eyed narrowed, focusing on its prey. It pounced, jumping onto the helpless boy, pinning him to the ground.

Sakura gasped. "Kero-chan! I've got to get that thing off of Li-kun!"

            The beast bent its head down, opened its jaws, and bit Syaoran's shoulder. The boy screamed in pain and terror, his eyes wide, registering agony. The spirit, however, seeming to gain energy from the attack, grew larger, stronger, and a tad more vicious. The beast lifted a paw, ready to bat Syaoran's head off. It

            "Silent!" Sakura called, summoning the Clow Card's powers. Li's terrified screaming set off the spell, teleporting him across the street, out of the demon's grasp. Sakura had been ready, not willing to give it a chance to attack again.

            "Fight! Sword!" She used the two cards simultaneously. A thin, razor sharp sword materialized in her hand. As well, she was granted expert martial skills to be able to make full use of her weapon. 'Only one step left in this killer combo!'

            "Power!" She used yet another card, endowing her with strength to match. She held the sword out at arms length as she had seen Li do. The beast turned his head slightly to catch her eye, and Sakura could feel her muscles failing her. But memories of Li, and the recent torture inflicted upon him, drove her will. However, her enemy seemed to have only a passing interest in her increased skills, and instead, turned back towards Li, who was leaning against a wall, bleeding profusely. Sakura was not discouraged, and decided to charge the beast madly, sword held out ready to fend off any surprise attack. It made no move as Sakura slashed its hind leg, all she could reach, with the Sword. It howled in surprise, and turned around, forgetting its prey. Sakura trembled, but kept her weapon in front of her. The beast leaped as it had done before, seeming to forget the fact that his adversary was holding  a very sharp object. Sakura held the sword straight up as it came down on top of her, implanting itself onto her weapon.

            "Now, Sakura!" Kero called. "Throw him, now!"

            With the beast still impaled, and aided by her magical strength, she swung her sword towards a wall, sending the beast flying and crashing. It slumped down, defeated.

            She held up her staff behind her back, about to perform a ritual she was very familiar with. "Return to as you once were!" She stopped herself in mid-incantation. Normally she would finish with the name of the card, or simply with 'Clow Card!' However, she had no idea what card this was, and she was pretty sure it wasn't a Clow Card at all. "Card!" She shouted out simply, hoping it would be enough.

            It was. The beast let out a howl, but nonetheless, he disappeared, a small piece of paper floated down in its place. As soon as it became evident that the threat was over, Sakura broke into a run and went to Li's side. Kero, meanwhile, flew over to the side of the alley, and started examining Sakura's new card. She supported his head with her hand. He was lying in a pool of blood, all of which had come out of the wound in his shoulder, staining his green robes an unattractive brown. "Are you OK?" She asked, worried. She knew how humiliating this must be for her friend, who never liked to be shown as having any weakness. Syaoran's face, contorted in pain, did not betray that feeling. "I'm fine." He managed to say.

            "We've got to get you to a hospital!" He could hear Sakura's voice fading away, as if he was growing distant. He dimly remembered being hoisted onto the Clow Staff, and flying away…