Chapter 6

Reason behind the Madness

She remembered why she didn't want her face in the paper. It was when Talida was six and spent two weeks at Clow's house. Yue wasn't as suspicious about her as before and Kiro was glad she returned after a year.

"You've grown since I last saw you Talida." Kiro said with a smile. "You're not as big as I thought you were anymore Kiro." She turned to Yue and looked curiously at him. "Nice to see you again Yue." Yue nodded and disappeared in to the house. "Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much."

Yue grew warmer towards Talida when the days rolled by. She proved to be a fighter and a good archer. She didn't back down when Yue tested her skills with some magic and proved to be a fast learner.

By the end of the first week she and Yue weren't exactly friends but were ok together. He taught her how to fight and Kiro played games with her. The only game Yue played with Talida was chess. She found it interesting and managed to beat Yue after a couple of games. "Hee, hee." She said quietly and Yue looked less then amused. "You must learn to take a win gracefully."

"Quit being such a spoil sport, at least I didn't jump up and cry 'ha I beat you' did I? I'm six remember, not sixteen."

"No you didn't and you are very young." They reset the board and were pretty even when it came to winning. But Talida began to grow bored and decided to call it a day with the chess board. She went to find Kiro so she could really have a game. Yue was alone and walked around the garden.

Later he heard Talida screaming. He ran quickly to the scene to see Kiro roaring and growling at Talida who pretended to be scared. Yue stopped behind Talida who back up and bumped in to him. She quickly hid behind him giggling like an average girl of her age. "Help! There's a lion!" Talida yelled and Yue was curious to see Kiro pretending to be wild. "Kiro?"

"I'm not Kiro; I'm a wild lion RRROOOAARR!" Yue crossed his arms and looked serious. "Please have some dignity you're a guardian." Kiro stopped acting wild and looked angry. "Don't be such a stick in the mud Yue. She's only a kid and when was the last time you actually had any fun? You're so miserable and not to mention boring." Yue raised his eyebrows. "Boring? Ok then Kiro I'll play your silly game." Talida looked curiously at Yue as he kneeled down in front of her. "There's only one way to deal with a lion."

"What's that?"

"We shoot him with arrows." Yue pretended to fire an arrow at Kiro who in turn pretended to dodge it. "Go on." Yue said looking down at Talida. "It's your turn." Talida shook her head and looked frightened. "But…I don't wanna hurt Kiro."

Yue was trying to teach her a lesson in life and she knew it. "We're only pretending but in real life that's not Kiro. It's either you or him so what's it gonna be?" Talida looked scared in to Yue's fierce eyes. "I don't want to kill anything or anybody Yue, there must be another way." Yue took her face in his hands and looked deep in to her eyes. "Sometimes it's the only way and is best to learn sooner than later." Talida nodded.

Yue lined her up and moved her arms as if she were holding a real bow. Kiro growled and looked like he was going to pounce. She was trembling but the moon guardian held her arms steady. Talida let the invisible arrow fly and Kiro pretended it hit him in the heart. He rolled over on to his back and looked like he was dead. "Kiro!"

Talida ran over to Kiro and climbed on to his stomach. "I didn't hurt you did I?" Kiro opened one eye. "No, why do you look so concerned this is a time to celebrate." He whispered. Yue came over and put Talida on one if his shoulders. "All hale Talida the lion killer." Talida didn't like the sound of this but decided to play along.

Later they decided to play hide and seek. Surprisingly even Yue thought it would be a good thing to do. He was thinking about Talida's hiding skills but never said that. Kiro was wondering why Yue wanted to do this but just thought he was still mad that he called Yue boring. Yue was to be the seeker and counted as the other two hid from him. Kiro hid behind a nearby bush whilst Talida went even deeper in to the garden. She found herself in a dark part of the garden and saw a stone arch way in a wall. 'Ah hah.' She thought as she hid behind the arch.

Yue had finished counting and easily found Kiro behind the bush. "You should keep an eye on your tail." Kiro looked down to see his tail was on the other side of the bush in clear view of where Yue was counting.

Talida however was proving to be quite a challenge. They searched the garden before a dreaded conclusion dawned on them. They looked over to the dark part of the garden which was strictly forbidden to enter. Not even Clow Reed himself went in there. "You don't think?" Yue and Kiro moved closer to see Talida's bracelet on the floor. "Did our master tell her not to go in there?"

"No, I don't think he did." Yue said with a frown on his face.

They followed the path deeper in to the darkness and heard a child's laugh. "Talida!" They called but she didn't come out. "She still thinks were playing hide and seek."

Talida looked around her hiding place to see white flowers everywhere on vines all over the place. The strange thing about them was that not one of them we're open. Talida had a very strange feeling about this place. She turned to see a statue of a young woman with her eyes closed. The woman had a long flowing dress just like her hair. The statue looked both angry and sad at the same time. Talida could feel something bad coming off the statue and thought she had to find a new hiding place.

She was looking so intently at the statue that she didn't notice the vines behind her were moving. They moved slowly towards her and were heading for her arms and legs. By the time she realised what was happening they quickly wrapped around her arms and legs. She couldn't move and was rendered helpless. Talida looked up to see the statues eyes open and one of her arms swiped at her.

Kiro and Yue heard Talida screaming bloody murder. They ran to her aid and saw the statue scratch Talida's arm and they charged. They ripped the vines and pulled Talida back before the arch. Talida was being held close by Yue and her body shook as she cried. Talida turned her head slightly to see the statue go back in to its position. For a moment all three of them stood by the arch and breathed heavily in fear.

Then very slowly a flower bloomed on the arch beside Yue's head. It pointed towards him and released its magic pollen on the gentle breeze that blew towards him. Talida saw this and looked up to see the pollen go past Yue's face. He didn't realise what was going on and had breathed it in. He started to sniff and began to rub his nose in irritation. His eyes watered slightly and Talida knew what he was about to do. "Yue?" She asked and Kiro turned to see what was going on.

"…heh…heh…heh…ha-" Kiro quickly placed a paw on Yue's face. "Not here! Talida, pinch his nose until we get out of here." Yue stood up with Talida in his arms and they quickly went back to the right area of the garden. All the way back Talida kept Yue's nose pinched and he breathed through his mouth.

When they reached the garden Kiro told Talida to let go. She handed Yue a handkerchief before she did and he would have said thank you but was over come by the urge to sneeze. Talida and Kiro kept their distance as he felt relief when a few pretty violent sneezes left him. "Heh…heh…AASSHHOO! HHASSHHHOO! HHHAARRSSHHOO!" A white mist left Yue and went through the handkerchief disappearing in to the air.

He seemed to have finished so Kiro came closer. But Yue was having trouble. "Heh…heh…this is…heh…annoying." Kiro had a wicked smile on his face. "Got one stuck?" He teased Yue who found this anything but funny. "I'll have to go back and pick a flower for you." But Yue wouldn't hear of it. "No…heh…it's too…heh…dangerous."

Talida felt a painful sensation on her arm and looked to see it had been cut. Blood ran down her arm and turned her dress a darker colour. She checked to see if there were anymore injuries but couldn't find any. But when she placed her hands on her back she felt something was caught on her dress. "Huh?" She picked off a white flower and caught Kiro's attention. He came over and couldn't believe their luck. "It must have snapped off when the vines attacked you."

Kiro took the flower and handed it to Yue. "Here, smell this." He ordered. Yue didn't want to sneeze again but was desperate to get the trapped one out. So he held it to his nose and inhaled deeply. His eyes watered again and let loose some more violent sneezes. "HAASSHHHOOO! Heh…heh…HAASSHHOO! Heh…heh…heh…HAAARRRSSHHOOO!"

Kiro took the flower back in to the garden seeing Yue's sneezing fit expire. Yue sniffed and wiped his eyes with Talida's handkerchief. Talida felt guilty and looked very sad. "I'm sorry." She said with her bowed. Yue put his hand under her chin and raised her head. Tears were glistening in those tiny girl's eyes. "It's not your fault. You weren't told not to go in there or the danger that lies within."

Kiro came running back with a frightened look on his face. "The statue, it's gone!" Now Yue looked concerned. "But no white breath hit her."

Talida looked confused. "White breath?" Kiro explained. "You know the mist you saw leaving Yue's mouth?" Talida nodded. "Well, when a certain white flower blooms it makes him sneeze. But when the flower has magic pollen it produces white breath. The breath can cure petrification and other ailments. But why she rose when none it her current form is a mystery. She had limited power as a statue; I'd hate to think how destructive she could be now. No white breath seemed to hit her so how can she have risen?"

It was then that Yue noticed Talida's arm. "You forgot about the blood rule Kiro. Even as little as a drop of strong magic blood can raise Danieva."

"But where did she get any?" Yue pointed to Talida's arm. "Oh."

Talida looked back at the dark garden and felt something. Danieva was speaking to Talida in her mind. 'They can't protect you forever you know. One of these days I'll finish what I started and I'll be free.' The guardians noticed Talida looking very scared. "No!" She cried in the direction she was looking and put her hands on her ears. Kiro rubbed his head on her face and she stopped hearing Danieva. "As long as we're around you don't have to fear her." Talida hugged Kiro and he held her close. Her body shook and cried for what seemed like hours. "You shouldn't cry so much, you'll make yourself ill" Kiro said and Talida started to calm down.

At that moment Clow Reed showed up and her memory was interrupted. She could hear Sakura and her friends passing the playground.

'If only Yue could remember. Danieva is powerful but needs the rest of my blood to become strong again. If my picture gets in to the paper then she'll find me and I won't be able to stop her. I'm not ready for that yet. If she finds me so soon she'll drain me. If that happens then the entire world will be in jeopardy. I can't let that happen! I won't let that happen!'

Talida got on her board and performed some tricks in the playground to clear her mind. She jumped between the swing chains and over the stairs. Talida grinded down the side of the slide and ollied over the seats. Sakura and her friends stopped to watch. She could feel them watching her and she stopped to look at them.

She felt a new set of eyes and turned round to see the skater gang looking at her oddly. Grinder was coming towards her and she tensed up. "Don't you touch her!" Julian yelled. "Yeah! Leave her alone!" Tori yelled at Grinder too.

But Grinder didn't look threatening this time. He just walked up to Talida and held out a balled fist. 'He wants me to spud him…oh very well, I'm tired of fighting anyway.' Talida held out a balled fist and tapped his. She'd rather punch his face in but this seemed like an offer of peace. "You're alright with us, come to the park any time. We heard about your other talents Hawk or is it Blizzard?"

It's both depending on the element." Grinder looked positively shocked. "Ice Queen too?"

"Ice Girl and princess were already taken." Grinder now looked impressed. "Do you make up these names?" Talida shook her head. "No, the people who live there made them up."

"Well I've got one for you." Talida sighed. "Oh no, not another one."

"You seem to like jumping a lot, so how does Ollie sound?" Talida thought about this. "Well I prefer the ramps but I haven't got much of a problem with the name."

"Ollie it is, see you at weekend." Grinder turned to Sakura and chums. "You friends are welcome too." Talida looked over to the others and back again. "Yeah, sure." Talida watched him go back to his gang and skate out of the park. When Talida turned she saw Sakura was standing right behind her. "Do you mean that?"

"Mean what?" Talida asked with a tired look on her face. "That we're your friends." Talida thought about this. "It's either that or the annoying people that keep hanging around me. No, I think friends fit the bill perfectly." Sakura smiled and Talida smiled back.

She came up to them and she was welcomed. They walked home together and Julian was talking to Yue in her mind. "So?"

"There's definitely something about her." Yue was trying hard to think about where he had seen her before, but the memory just didn't seem to come. "It's funny how you can't remember, you never forget anything." Yue nodded and thought it strange too. But there was nothing he or Julian could do about it.

When it came to splitting up Tori had to ask her something. "Alidat, why did you tear up your picture?" Talida stopped and glared at him. "Look Tori, you lot may be my friends now but my business is my own." Talida went home leaving the others to think about what she said. "I wonder what she meant by that?"

"Do you think she's like us Julian?"

"I don't know Sakura. I can sense something familiar about her, but when I try to remember the feeling goes away."

That night Talida went out for a flight and just flew over the clouds looking down on the world. She loved to fly and soared over the clouds. Talida thought nothing could be better and dived in and out of the clouds getting absolutely soaked. When she came out again she saw Yue, Kiro and Sakura looking for something. Talida really hoped it wouldn't be her. They looked down and found what they were looking for. Talida waited until they had flown down before flying to the spot they looked down from. She looked down but couldn't see what they were going after.

Yue looked up and caught Sakura's attention. Talida knew she'd been spotted and flew away above the clouds. "Do you think she'll join us?"

"I don't know Sakura; she isn't our enemy but doesn't want anything to do with us. So whether she'll join us or not is a question I can't answer." Sakura looked thoughtful and nodded.

Talida was flying home fast. 'I hope my identities still safe.' She thought desperately looking behind her every now and again. They were too busy to follow her anyway.

When the weekend arrived Talida went to the skate park. Grinder and the rest of the gang acted like friends towards her instead of enemies. She didn't know why but thought it was better than the way they used to act towards her. The other skaters greeted her with the same amount of respect they had always had for her.

She was on the ramp when her friends arrived. She landed a few tricks before coming over to them. Sakura and Tori had arrived first before Julian and Madison arrived. Sakura stuck to her blades and Tori used a BMX. Madison also practiced with blades but Julian chose to use a board.

Talida couldn't help but smile when she saw Julian fall off it. She hid her smile behind her hair so no one saw it. The reason why she smiled was because she saw Yue falling off the board instead of Julian. She found it absolutely hilarious but had to remember it was Julian not Yue. 'Not so dignified now.' When she swallowed her smile she helped Julian to find his balance.

By the end of the day Talida admitted it was better to have friends than none at all. She even laughed a few times and had changed her attitude today.

A few nights later Talida went flying again. She felt happy and free just watching the world below. She felt a joy that only flying could bring and soared even higher above the clouds. She looked around and dived in to a cloud.

Then suddenly she was caught in a dark material and the top was closed. She appeared to be in a type of sack and couldn't get out. She could hear the same manic laughs like the shadow on the roof top. But there seemed to be more this time. "We got you little falcon. Now we'll take you back to our mistress! Yahahahaha!" The voice was high pitched and sounded crazy.

She could feel the bag being moved and heard nothing until ten minutes later. The shadows laughter turned it to screams and the one that carried her dropped the bag. Talida felt herself falling straight down towards the earth.

Then she felt the bag had been grabbed and the top had been undone. Talida was free and zoomed out of the bag at terrific speed. There was no word that could describe her anger right now. She raised her staff and Clow's sign surrounded her. The shadows saw this and started to flee but were too slow. A pulse of light filled the night above the clouds. The shadows were instantly destroyed and the light disappeared.

Talida had used a lot of energy and felt a bit drained. Sakura and the others stared at her and she looked back. Talida bowed to say thanks and flew unsteadily back down to earth. "Are you alright?" Talida nodded at first but then she suddenly passed out.

Yue was there on hand to catch her like he caught the bag. He carried her in his arms back to Julian's house. Talida opened her eyes on the way there but couldn't move. Her limbs felt heavy and she was exhausted at the amount of power she used. "Will she be alright?" She heard Sakura ask Yue with deep concern in her voice. "You remember what happened when you first converted a Clow card to your symbol?" Sakura nodded. "She'll be fine by tomorrow then?" Yue nodded. Talida watched the world go by beneath her before slipping back to the darkness.

They put her on Julian's bed and waited for her to wake. Sakura and Madison had to go home whilst Kiro stayed and guarded the door. The girls came back in the morning but there was no change in Talida's condition. Yue had turned back in to Julian and he watched her all night. He was even tempted to remove her mask but Yue told him otherwise. "Those that don't want to be known should have the choice to stay that way."

She was down for the count all day and it lasted till the afternoon when the sky began to grow dark. "Do you think she'll ever wake up? It didn't take me this long to wake up."

Kiro looked thoughtfully at Sakura. "You channel your energy through the cards. Her power comes from inside herself. This means she uses more energy than you do Sakura; that is probably why she passed out. She used a great amount of energy to get rid of all those shadows at the same time." Sakura looked sort of sad and knew what Kiro said was right. She used the cards but the stranger had only her own strength to use.

Julian went in to his room later to see if Talida had woken. She was still there and hadn't moved, she breathed as if she was in a peaceful sleep. 'Who are you?' He thought leaving something to eat and drink if she woke up alone. He took one last look at her before going back in to the kitchen.

"No change?" Kiro asked Julian who shook his head. Then he glowed and turned back in to Yue making them jump. "You really should have a warning bell or something to tell us when you're gonna do that!" Sakura said with a hand on her heart. Yue frowned at these words and got back to the matter at hand.

Talida on the other hand woke to find herself in Julian's room. She felt groggy and didn't know what was wrong with her. She heard what the others said a while ago and knew it made sense. But she had used more power than that without blacking out so to her it was a complete mystery. 'What's going on?' Talida spotted the tray of food and drink. She wasn't hungry but very thirsty.

Yue was going to check up on Talida when he could hear movement on the other side of the door. He looked through the keyhole to see Talida drinking long and deep. Then she took a pen and paper leaving a little note. He watched her open the window and fly out of it. Yue entered the room and picked up the note. 'Thanks for everything. I don't know whether you trust me or not but I know your trustworthy. I owe you two favours after tonight so I'll be keeping an eye on you lot, you can be sure of that.'

Yue went back to the others and showed them the note. "This is nice but creepy." Madison said looking at the note strangely. They all agreed with her and thought it to be a very strange note. "I wonder if we'll ever find out who she is."

"I gave up thinking about that a long time ago." Sakura said looking tired at the mere thought of it. "She'll tell us in due time, and that's something we have a lot of." Yue said looking at the note in his hand.

Just like she said Talida kept a close eye on them with or without magic. Some nights they would spot Talida flying over a cloud only to disappear again. She was very good at doing that and it didn't bother them. Sometimes one of them would try to follow her home. But Talida's senses were on high alert and she kept loosing them like she did the skater gang.