Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from "CardCaptor Sakura". They are all owned by the ladies of CLAMP who are much more talented than I. (smile) I also do not own anyone from "Sailor Moon". They are all owned by Takeuchi Naoko whose vision will live eternally. (smile) (Much to Elflina's dismay...) All other characters are my own. Feel free to steal them.
I do not hold chapters ransom for reviews, but I sure appreciate compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think.
Greetings to my five reviewers: Taeniaea, To-cold-to-Love, aserene, Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85, and Mangaka-chan. What, I don't have to fight the urge to give something away? Hahaha, you guys must be slipping. Either that, or I've answered enough questions you can take a wait and see attitude. grin Well, Mangaka-chan did have a couple, but one is answered below, and the other... I think it's answered later (patience). If not, I'm sure she will let me know about it, hahaha... Enjoy, minna! - Raya
Moonlit Sakura
Chapter 33 – The Journey to Crystal Tokyo, Part I
Dressed in the outfit from her dreams, Sakura sighed as she gazed around the group gathered at Tsukimine shrine. She frowned as she caught sight of Tomoyo. Her dark-haired friend was up in the old sakura tree calmly checking her camera, batteries, and filters.
"You can't keep her out of it, Monster," Touya said softly in her ear. As she turned to glare at him, he smiled nonchalantly and moved swiftly out of striking range.
"He's right, you know," Yukito said as he smiled gently at his boyfriend's antics. "She's been with you since the beginning. There's no way she'll let you leave her behind, not if there's a chance she can come along, especially since she now knows she can record the new spirits as well."
"I know," Sakura muttered unhappily.
"She'll be fine," Kero added seriously. "She's had years of practice at staying on the sidelines and out of harm's way."
"I know," Sakura muttered again looking more unhappy.
"We'll keep an eye on her," Shaoran said reassuringly.
"I know," Sakura replied softly as she looked at him, Kero, and Yukito. "I know she'll stay out of the way. I know we'll all keep an eye out for her as usual. But…"
"But this guy is powerful as well as evil," Tomoyo said with a serious look as she walked up to the group brushing off her Seijou High School uniform. Her serious violet eyes met Sakura's unhappy emerald ones. "And you worry about me. But, I'm coming. I can't possibly miss the chance to film this journey. It'll be like a romantic sci-fi adventure!" She concluded with an exaggerated sigh of pleasure and excitement. As her friends gave her looks of disbelief at her apparent ditziness, she smiled. 'And who knows, maybe I'll be useful. An extra set of trained eyes never hurts,' she thought to herself. "Besides, I love this dress on Sakura. I can't possibly miss a chance to record her in action in it!"
Sakura stared at her a moment, and then sighed again. "Okay, let's get started." She opened the Sakura Book and drew out the Air Card. She closed her eyes and concentrated on Windy. 'Are they ready?' she asked her communication spirit.
Windy stirred, and then moved to hover in front of Super Sailor Mercury.
"She's ready?" the Senshi of Wisdom asked with a raised eyebrow. At Windy's nod, she drew out her computer and opened the tracing program. Windy floated away as the remaining senshi surrounded their friend.
"So, we join power and hands in a circle with Mercury in the middle," Serenity said.
Super Sailor Mars nodded. "No teleporting this time, though. We just provide the power base for Mercury and Kinomoto-san. Mercury will show her the path, and Kinomoto-san will carry us as far as she can. Hopefully, there will be a point when we will be drawn back out of the Cards."
"Hopefully," Super Sailor Jupiter muttered. She didn't look too sure of the plan.
"There's always the Crystal," Luna said in a determinedly optimistic voice from her place around Serenity's shoulders. "If we don't just separate from the Cards, then we can try that." No-one looked reassured.
"Faith," King Endymion said bracingly. "It usually comes down to that, right? We put as much effort as we can into the fight, and have faith that somehow we will win." He smiled gently down at his wife who had perked up a little at his words. Around the group, their friends nodded. Uncertain looks faded into determined ones.
"Let's do it then," Super Sailor Venus said. On her shoulder, Artemis nodded. "Venus Power!"
"Jupiter Power!" "Neptune Power!" "Uranus Power!" "Saturn Power!" "Pluto Power!" "Mars Power!" "Golden Elysian Power!" "Silver Moon Power!"
"Mercury Power!" Super Sailor Mercury closed her eyes briefly to add her power to that of her friends. Around the gently glowing circle, the Card Spirits floated and watched curiously.
The Fresh Water Card floated gently up out of the Sakura Book and hovered in front of the group. Sakura nodded as she put the Air Card back into the Book. "Here we go," she said. Her heart raced with excitement as she gave her brother a significant look.
He gave her a put upon look in return, and then quirked a smile at her. "Come home safe, Monster," he said as he turned to walk away. "I don't want to have to be the one to tell Dad what you did," he added over his shoulder. His slowly returning psychic senses detected the priest as he came out of the shrine to investigate the unusual energy surge. 'Time to do my part,' he thought as he walked off to provide a distraction.
The remaining friends gathered into a circle and began to join hands. Tomoyo took one last look at her backup camera, stuck up in a tree to record this event, and prayed that the filters, autofocus, and dimmers were working properly. She settled her two head cameras and head's up clips a little more firmly in place, and held her right wrist out for Shaoran to grasp. The remote control for the front-view camera was held tightly in her right hand. With a smile, she reached out with her left hand, which held the remote for the back-view camera and let Yue grasp her left wrist.
Cerberus wrapped a wing around Sakura, while Yue gripped her shoulder with his left hand. This left her hands free to hold the Book and manage the Cards. Cerberus and Shaoran exchanged antagonistic glares that were mere shadows of their former strength. Then, Cerberus allowed Shaoran to put his right hand on his left shoulder blade.
Sakura drew another Card out of the book and took a deep breath. "Through! Take us along the path we chose to follow. Open the door between the planes!" She tossed the Card into the air in front of her, and then powered it up with her Star Wand. A bright, shimmering pink light appeared around them. It flared brightly for a second, and then disappeared with the group. Gently, a few sakura petals drifted to the ground.
When they could see again, they felt as if they were floating. A multicolored pastel mist surrounded them. Tomoyo smiled in delight and craned her neck around to try and catch everything on video.
Suddenly, a rainbow colored light flashed all around them, and a woman with blue hair appeared in the middle of the circle. Tomoyo blinked in surprise, and then looked around once more. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the spirits who had floated above Sakura's Cards just two nights before and the Card Spirits floating in two separate rings around them. Her eyes widened as she realized that they no longer looked pale and ethereal. Instead, they were bright, solid, and real.
"Kinomoto-san," Super Sailor Venus said in surprise. "But how?…"
"We've been brought to the same plane," Super Sailor Mercury said. Her voice, also, was full of surprise.
"Are we free?" Super Sailor Jupiter asked with eager excitement. Her green eyes brightened with hope. They dimmed again as Super Sailor Mars and Super Sailor Mercury shook their heads.
"No, not quite," Super Sailor Mars said with a frown.
"The link is more tenuous, but it's still there," Super Sailor Mercury agreed.
Super Sailor Uranus grimaced, while Super Sailor Neptune gave her a look of sympathy. The Senshi of Rebellion hated being bound to anything against her will, and had been quietly fretting ever since she had heard Sakura's story.
Super Sailor Saturn squeezed her "father"'s hand, and gave her a small reassuring smile. "Soon," she said softly. Super Sailor Uranus merely nodded to show that she had heard.
"Perhaps some introductions?" King Endymion suggested in an effort to distract the senshi from their disappointment. Sakura quickly agreed and introduced her small group. Serenity returned the favor for her protectors.
Before they could proceed, however, the Book in Sakura's arms flared incandescently and the world around them shook madly. The group of travelers screamed in fear and fought desperately to hold on to one another. As the world settled once more, several gasps of shock and dismay came from the circle of senshi.
"Pallas," Super Sailor Neptune said her eyes widening.
"Juno!" Super Sailor Jupiter cried simultaneously as she stared at the unconscious senshi floating in front of her.
"Vesta?" Super Sailor Mars said at the same time, her heart sinking.
"Ceres…" Super Sailor Venus whispered, her voice blending with the others. She tightened her grip on Serenity's left hand and quickly turned to gauge her friend's reaction. Serenity was very pale as she stared at the four unconscious senshi floating between her circle and Sakura's.
"Sakura!" Cerberus bellowed. "Sakura, hang on! Fight it!"
Super Sailor Mercury spun quickly and caught Sakura's left side as Yue tightened his grip on her right shoulder. "Sakura-san!" she called anxiously. "Sakura-san? What's the matter? Sakura-san wake up!"
"I… I'm all right," Sakura mumbled softly as she tried to raise her head and stand on her own again.
"It's the power surge," Cerberus answered Super Sailor Mercury as he stared anxiously at his Mistress. "Sometimes she loses consciousness when the Cards merge."
"She can't do that now!" Super Sailor Mercury said anxiously. "Fight it off, Sakura-san! If we come out of transit now, there's no telling where we'll be or what that dimension will be like. You have to hold on!"
"You have to hold on," Super Sailor Venus echoed gently as she squeezed her queen's hand. "She's all right. She has to be. If we falter now, it will take even longer to get to her. Hold on, Usagi-chan." Serenity turned to look at her with extremely anxious blue eyes. "We'll make it in time. Just, don't let this distract you," Super Sailor Venus continued trying to use her voice to steady and reassure her friend.
"We're not falling out of transit now," Super Sailor Uranus said abruptly, responding to Super Sailor Mercury's plea. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, ignoring the unconscious form of Sailor Pallas in front of her. A yellow glow flared into the space around her.
Super Sailor Neptune blinked at her partner in surprise, and then turned to focus on her own energy. An indigo light flared into existence around her. Quickly, the other senshi followed suit, freely giving their energy to keep them in place until their leaders could recover. Yue, Cerberus, and Shaoran joined them as well.
Serenity was the first to recover from her shock, fear, and anxiety. She took a deep breath and added her pink-tinged white power to the circle.
Slowly, Sakura raised her head and took a deep breath. She fumbled with her Book a minute, and then pulled out four new Cards. "Flower covers Illusion, Dash has hidden Storm, Rain obscures Maze, and Create has merged with Shadow," she said a little shakily.
"Forget about that for now," Cerberus said irritably. "Are you all right? Should we go back?"
"Hallucination, Distraction, Optical Illusion, Daydream…," she responded concentrating for another moment before focusing on her golden guardian. "Yes, I'm okay. No, we're not going back."
Shaoran glared at her from across the circle. "Yes we are. I've seen how wiped out you get when four Cards merge. There's no way I'm letting you proceed after eight merge."
"I'm fine, really," Sakura insisted. "For some reason it wasn't as bad this time. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all."
Shaoran and Cerberus shook their heads adamantly. "For once, I agree with the Kid. We go back," Cerberus said in a stern tone.
Super Sailor Mercury looked at Sakura and Cerberus uncertainly as they continued to argue, and then released Sakura and lifted her computer for a scan. "Her energy levels seem a little low, but not significantly so," she said, interrupting Shaoran as he joined the argument. "I don't have any data from the previous merges, of course, but I believe she has enough energy to continue." She stiffened her back and raised her head as Cerberus growled and glared at her with his hot gold eyes. "It's up to Kinomoto-san, of course," she added as she stared back at him.
"Sakura, please," Sakura said absently as she lifted a hand to Cerberus' shoulder and looked across the circle to Shaoran. "I'm fine," she added forcefully. "I don't know why, but it's not as bad this time."
"You have a lot more energy supporting you," Yue said suddenly. "Cerberus, Li, the senshi… Even Daidouji-san is giving you what she can."
Tomoyo blinked in surprise at this revelation. 'It's working?' she asked herself as she continued to send supporting thoughts to her friend. 'I'm glad.'
"Our friends, on the other hand, are completely drained," Super Sailor Mars interrupted with a worried tone. She glanced to her left to see Serenity's reaction to that statement. The queen merely gave Sailor Ceres a concerned look which made Super Sailor Mars sigh softly in relief.
Super Sailor Mercury looked over her shoulder at her in surprise, and focused her computer on the four unconscious senshi. "Not completely," she said in puzzlement. "In fact, they are powering up fairly rapidly. They should wake up soon…" She studied the readout on her computer for another moment, and then continued. "They are absorbing the power of your circle. That explains it."
"They instinctively recognized our power," Super Sailor Pluto said reflectively, "and then tapped into it to restore themselves." She smiled with gentle pride for the younger girls.
"That's a nice little trick," Super Sailor Uranus said as she looked at Sailor Pallas. "We'll have to find out how they did it. That could be pretty useful."
"Only if we're not in the middle of a fight," Super Sailor Neptune said in a cautious voice. "If you sap energy off of someone who needs it that might end up getting them hurt."
"True…," Super Sailor Jupiter said reflectively. "But it would still be useful to know how to do it."
"Not so loud," Sailor Pallas whimpered softly, raising her hands to her head. Suddenly, she jerked up to a vertical position. "Lady-chan!"
Sailor Vesta, Sailor Ceres, and Sailor Juno twitched, and then jerked upright as well. "Moon!" Sailor Ceres called, looking around desperately. When she saw Serenity, she stopped and stared. "Lady-chan? No… Neo-Queen Serenity-sama?"
"Lady-chan!" Sailor Vesta cried as she, too, looked around frantically. Her eyes widened as she saw Cerberus, Yue, and the senshi that surrounded them.
"Look out!" Sailor Juno yelled, as she spun to look behind her. "Lady-ch…" Her voice trailed off as she stared at Super Sailor Jupiter, Super Sailor Venus, and Super Sailor Neptune. "What?" she queried sounding confused.
"Neo-Queen Serenity-sama?" Sailor Ceres asked again. "Everyone?" she added as she looked around the circle. She closed her eyes with a sigh. "Oh no. Lady-chan's going to be so mad at us…"