Chapter 16

There was a question from a fan. She asked, if Meiaku and the evil Li are together, then why couldn't they leave Sakura and Li alone? The answer to that is they want them to feel as much pain as they felt in their lives. They want revenge and so they can't leave them alone so they can get away with everything they did to them. Plus, Meiaku still loves the real Li and she's not going to give up that easily. She's hoping that he will give up Sakura and love her. (As if!) Now that that is over, on to the story!

Sakura didn't take that long to get out of the creepy, pitch-black room. She was now walking down a dark corridor, looking for any sign of life. She heard grumbles and mumbles and even some grunting. She squinted to see through the darkness but did not achieve her goal. She walked more slowly and listened hard. There was some talking but she couldn't tell if the voice was human or mechanic. She couldn't make out the words either. She didn't hear any footsteps so she slowly continued closer. Finally she could make out a sentence.

"What do we do about her? Should we really just sit here and do nothing?" A voice said. At first Sakura thought they could see her so she stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't move a muscle. Another voice replied.

"How do you suppose we get out? Without her we can't go anywhere."

Sakura didn't move still. She was sure they were talking about her now. But was it a good thing or a bad thing. She decided to get a little closer to the voices she heard. She moved closer, trying hard not to make a sound.

"Well we can't just stay here and let her die! We have to get out!"

That voice sounded familiar to Sakura. She didn't want to say anything yet. It could be a trap.

"I know she could be in a lot of trouble right now, but she has that guy with her so she'll be fine. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, I'm sure of it."

"You mean that older brat?! How can you leave the fate of our master in the hands of that-"

"Kero? Yue?" Sakura asked in a tiny voice. Sakura wasn't sure if they heard her or not. Maybe it was a trap.

"Sakura?" One of the voices asked.

"Wait a second." She replied. She took her staff out and called on the light card. Kero and Yue were sitting in the middle of the floor staring in her direction. Kero seemed like he was the only one hurt.

"Kero! Yue! You're alright!" Sakura exclaimed. She ran up to them to give them hugs.

"No wait! Sakura don't!" Kero yelled.

Sakura was electrocuted and then thrown back against a wall.

"Ouch..." Yue said.

"Sakura are you alright?!" Kero asked.

"I knew it was a trap.... Ow...." She replied. She rubbed her head and stood up. "Anyone want to give me the 411 quickly, you know, before I sort of pass out?" She asked trying to make a joke.

"There is a force field around us. It keeps you from getting to us and we can't leave until you break the spell."

"Of course. Isn't it always like that?" She asked. She took out another card and chanted. The wood card appeared and tried to break open the force field. It didn't work.

"The cards won't work." Yue added.

"Oh." Sakura said. "Well what do I do if the cards won't work?!"

"You have to figure it out on your own." Kero said sadly.

"Um.. Okay!"

"Huh?" Yue said. He placed a hand to his ear.

"What's going on Yue?" Sakura asked.

"There are guards coming. You have to get out of here." He said.

"But, I've got to save you guys!" She retorted.

"But if you're caught then there will be no way for you to save us."

"But..."

"Just go Sakura. Tomoyo and Li need your help too." Kero said.

Sakura stared and then nodded. She ran down what was left of the corridor right as the guards were coming to check on Kero and Yue.

"Miss Daijoubi! Don't run from your destiny! Embrace it with all you have!" Meiaku yelled.

"Shut up!!!" A burst of wind slammed Meiaku into a wall. Luckily, she fell onto a bed under it.

"Tomoyo! Don't run! Take hold of that anger and use it to your advantage!" The evil Li instructed.

"I'm not running! I'm fine! Leave me alone!" She cried.

"It sure looks like your running to me!" Meiaku declared.

"I told you to shut up!!!" She slammed a piece of furniture that was flying around her into Meiaku. Meiaku fell to the ground and was buried under the furniture.

"She's right you know! It does seem like you're running!" Li tried.

"You don't know one thing about me!" She shot back.

"Don't I? I know that you loved Li and Sakura both very much! I know that you wanted Li for yourself but you just let Sakura have him because you were afraid! You didn't want to get in the way so you ran!" That got through to Tomoyo. She looked through the wind at Li.

"Tomoyo! Don't you see?! YOU CAN'T RUN ANYMORE!!!"

Tomoyo snapped back into reality. Memories were flashing before her eyes. How she was going to give Li chocolates but Sakura made it to him first. How she was going to ask him to help her with a cooking project and Li asked Sakura. How she wanted to be partners in gym class but he already ran off with Sakura. Without her knowing, tears ran down her cheeks. Everything flying around her stopped in its place and fell to the floor. She curled up in a little ball and cried. The evil Li approached her and held her in his arms. Letting her cry out her sorrows, everything that was bottled up. When she was finally done, Meiaku had finally got up from under the furniture. She looked very injured but no one seemed to care, not even herself.

"I want to see him. I miss him. I need him."

"Will you join us then, Miss Daijoubi?" Meiaku asked.

Tomoyo looked from her happy place to the annoying girl standing over her. She grimaced. She gave her an evil laugh.

"Me? I will not join you. Who said anything about you? I simply want to join Li in getting what I deserve."

"What?!" Meiaku shrieked.

"You heard me. I wish not to join with you, only with Li."

"You can't do that! You can't!"

"Oh, can't I?" She said with a snicker. The evil Li stood up and faced Meiaku.

"Li, surely you will not let her do this! You said you needed me! If you don't have me, then what are you going to do?!" Li's eyes didn't show any emotion. "Ha ha. You didn't think about that did you? You need me, so I stay." She ordered.

"Actually, I did think about it and we don't need you anymore." He lifted his hand to her face.

"She's not stronger than me!"

"That only proves that we would be better without you. You don't even have proper training to see who has more power or not."

"What are you saying?!" She said nervously.

Li lifted his index finger to her nose and said, "I'm saying 'goodbye'."

A blast of light came out of his finger and straight into Meiaku's head. When the light died down, Meiaku fell to the floor, a hole replaced her face. Tomoyo stood up and smiled down at the dead corpse.

"She was really starting to bug me." She said.

"Yeah me too." He agreed with her.

"And this room? Why so frilly and pink? I say if you're going to go dark, go all out!" Tomoyo swept her arms across each other and over her head. The room changed to a dark cold chamber with chains and torture tables. "Now that's more like it." She was admiring her work.

"But that outfit does not go with the room." Li pointed out.

"Your right." Tomoyo moved her hands from the top of her shoulders, across her stomach and down her thighs. She grew into her older body and her hair was long and flowing in the back. It swept the floor for two yards. She was taller and had more of a figure. A new outfit appeared on her. It was an all black dress that had a low back and two pieces of fabric to barely cover her breasts. It wrapped around her stomach and then stuck to her body like honey. She had black high heels on that had straps in the front and the back. Her toes hung out of the high heels. All her nails had grown as well and a dark red was painted on them perfectly. It matched her dark red lipstick. Her earrings jingled. They were skull earrings connected to raven claws. When the transformation was over, she flipped her hair and ran her nails through her hair. She smiled a wicked smile.

"Now that feels a whole lot better. Its great to be out of that pathetically, small body."

"And this body fits you so much better." He complimented.

"Thank you. Of course it would though." She smiled and motioned her finger in a way that told him to come closer. He did as told. She placed one of her hands on his cheek and smiled. "Thank you for bringing me to my senses." She kissed him lightly on the other cheek.

"It was my pleasure." He replied.

"Now that I am in power, there will be no one that can stop me. Although, I do think we should get rid of the smaller Meilin, don't you agree?" She asked rhetorically. "After all, if she gets too close to Li then what fun will I have?" She made her point.

"Of course, but maybe we should just send her back to her planet, she can't possibly come back here on her own."

"Hmm... Fine. We won't kill her. Li probably wouldn't cooperate if we killed her anyway." Tomoyo flipped her hair again. "Go send her back then." She turned from him. "But bring to me Li, alive."

"As you wish your highness."

"Please, call me Toaku." She smiled back at him.

"Will do." He disappeared from the room.

"Heh heh heh. Sakura, you and Li will both pay for what you did to me. How I was always the third wheel. You will pay Sakura. For stealing his heart, I will just have to steal yours... Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"

TO BE CONTINUED