We're Moving!
Chapter Thirteen: Mixed Memories.
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"What!" Sakura screeched, seeing the wood cards' branches coiling away from Yue and coming back full force at her. She hasn't expected that. That Wood Card was hers, she had her name on it and she caught it! What did he do it? "What did you do to it?" She yelled, the branches grabbing hold of her arms and encircling her.
Yue said nothing, just stared at her blankly. This was supposed to be the next Clow Mistress? She was a mere child, and knew nothing about the Clow Cards. Had Ceroberos told her nothing? It seemed so. "This is the end." Yue said, raising his hand, his white sleeves trailing in an unseen wind, what seemed like ice pellets forming in his hand.
"The end? No, it can't be." Sakura yelled, trying to fight the branches of the Wood Card, to bring her wand on one side of her to the stack of cards in her other hand. She wouldn't die here! "I won't die here!" She yelled, struggling wildly to bring her two hands together.
Yue just smirked, looking at her futile attempts. A mere mortal wouldn't destroy him, a full-fledged guardian; he was at least ten times stronger then any mere mortal. "You will die here."
"NO!" Sakura shouted, as Yue let the icy pellets in his hand go, lunging straight for her.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
---
Syaoran stopped, a hand clutching his chest and he fell to his knees to the ground. Meiling, who was in the middle of screaming a string of curses at him, stopped short; forgetting her anger as she ran to his side. Placing a hand on his back and her other hand reaching out for his hand on his chest, she looked concerned for him instead of angry. "Syaoran? Talk to me!" She screeched, worry etched on her features.
Syaoran just shook his head, staring intently on the ground. "Get Eriol." He croaked out, wincing at something.
Meiling stood up slowly, taking her hands off him. "Go and get him? But what about you? You expect me to leave you here?"
Syaoran grinned up at her. "You were going to a moment ago, no?"
Meiling faltered, thrown off track for a moment. "I – Well, you weren't clutching your heart then! What's wrong? Tell me!"
"Sakura." Was all he said, before his elbow gave out, collapsing him to the ground.
"SYAORAN!" Meiling screeched, quickly running back to his side, unsure what to do as her hands hung limply above him. "What should I do? What should I do?" She muttered, her brain fogging up in her panic.
'Get Eriol', Syaoran's words rang out in her mind, jolting her back into her reality.
He left with Daidouji-chan didn't he? Quickly moving her hands, she shoved them into her pocket, her fingers coming in contact with a cold metal surface bringing it out from her pocket. Flipping the top of her cell phone, she quickly punched in Tomoyo's cell phone number, hoping it was still on and that she was still with Eriol. The phone rang for quite some time, Meiling pacing back in forth in the clearing, thinking that Tomoyo had her cell phone off, when it clicked in.
"Hello?" Tomoyo's voice sounded, wondering who was calling her.
"Tomoyo!" Meiling screeched, making Tomoyo hold the phone away from her ear because of Meiling's pitch. "Is Eriol still with you?" Meiling could hear a scuffling on the other side, as the phone was past between people.
"Meiling, what's wrong?" Eriol voice said, curiosity coming through in his tone.
"It's Syaoran! He – he fainted or something! He was clutching his heart and muttered Kinomoto's name before he collapsed! What happened to him!"
"So he felt it too…" Eriol trailed off, shaking his head. "Where are you?"
"We're still in the forests' clearing. And, felt what?" Meiling asked, but was met with a dead line. "He hung up!"
---
"Where am I?" Sakura asked, seeing light coming through her closed eyelids. Had she defeated Yue… or had he killed her and made her fade away? "Am I dead?" She asked out loud, reaching an arm out and rubbing her eyes.
"Geez Sakura! Wake up; we have a music test tomorrow. See, I told you Filla she fell asleep." A high voice chastised its companion.
"That's Sakura for you, always falling asleep when she shouldn't be. That's why she's always late for school, you know." The second voice, Filla replied.
Sakura's eyes snapped open, and she sprung up. "Filla? Sayaka? How did you get here! When?"
Her two friends' faces were instantly filled with confusion at what Sakura just said. "We got here with you two hours ago…" Sayaka trailed off, standing up from her position on the floor. She padded across the room to Sakura's position on the bed, placing a hand on her forehead. "You don't have a fever. Are you just faking it?"
"Probably needs another day to get ready for the music test, eh?" Filla laughed, leaning back on her palms. "But I could use a break too."
"Lazy!" Sayaka laughed. "But I could use one as well. What do you say Sakura?"
Sakura nodded dumbly, many questions forming in her mind. "I have a question though, when did you come to Hong Kong?"
"Hong Kong?" Filla laughed, casting a glance at Sayaka. "You had one wacko dream, Sakura! This is Readington."
"Would you like to talk about it Sakura?" Sayaka said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You may think you were in Hong Kong, what did you see in your dream? Were there any beings there, magical? You may have need some therapy, thinking you were in Hong Kong! It is in China!" Sayaka laughed.
Sakura's face flushed. Was it all a dream? Tomoyo… Eriol… Kero… that Yue guy and Syaoran. Syaoran… could you fall in love with a dream? Maybe she did need therapy… but it was just a dream, you can't love dreamed up people. "How long was I out for?"
Filla shrugged. "Probably no more then twenty minutes?"
"Twenty!" It felt like she had been in Hong Kong for longer then that, months! Maybe even years! She didn't know anymore. She shook her head. "I think you guys should go home, I'm really tired."
"Tired!" Sayaka screeched. "You just woke up!"
Sakura yawned to prove her point; no matter how fake it looked.
Filla nodded, standing up and putting her flute away. "Yeah, you need to recoup, no? Come on Sayaka, I live a block away, we'll practice there." Reaching out a hand, she grabbed the other girls' hand and dragged her out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Sakura sighed, flopping back onto the bed. What a dream… it felt so real.
---
"Meiling!" Eriol yelled, running across the yard, staff outstretched, Tomoyo not far behind him, her camera no where in sight.
"Eriol! Tomoyo!" Meiling shouted, waving a hand at them from her position on the ground, Syaoran's head in her lap. "What's wrong with him? What did you feel?" She hissed, glaring at him as Eriol and Tomoyo kneeled down on the other side of Syaoran.
"It's Sakura," Eriol sighed. "Somethi-"
"He mentioned her! Then he collapsed!" Meiling interrupted, eyes wide.
Eriol nodded her comment aside. "Sakura's aura has vanished."
"WHAT!" Meiling and Tomoyo gasped, looking at the blue haired boy.
"Has the cards returned to you, then?" Tomoyo asked, fear in her eyes.
Eriol shook his head, his face showing confusion. "That's the confusing part, her aura is gone but the cards remain in the past. If Sakura is gone… then the cards should be back here… that must mean, she's alive not in the past."
"Not in the past, is she home then?" Tomoyo asked.
Eriol shook his head again. "There is no presence of a Clow Mistress or the cards in any way, shape or form. They aren't here."
"So, let me get this straight," Meiling said, absently brushing her hand across Syaoran's hair. "Kinomoto isn't in the past or the present… where is she?"
"There's only one place," Eriol sighed, staring at the ground. "I hate to say it… but Yue's trapped her. She's in what would be an Alternative Universe… Yue trapped her in her memories of her past, and what would be if she didn't move her and found the cards. Everything to Sakura is no more then a dream."
Tomoyo's eye misted over. "We're just a dream to her?"
"What does that have to do with Syaoran!" Meiling muttered, looking up at Eriol.
"He confessed to Sakura… which must have created a Sakura Card which would bring the cards to her," Eriol nodded to Tomoyo here, who nodded in understanding. "It should have allowed her to defeat Yue as that should have caught him off guard. But, I'm guessing that Sakura must have felt something – like someone she couldn't see calling out to her – which his soul, in a way, was calling out to hers. She must have gotten distracted somehow… and Yue pounced on her, trapping her somehow."
"What can we do?"
"Nothing… we have to wait for Sakura to come to terms with what happened."
"So Syaoran will stay like this until then?"
"What about the time limit on her being in the past?"
"One at a time," Eriol said, holding his hands up in defense. "Unfortunately, yes. Syaoran will stay like this until Sakura returns. His feelings were his downfall, his soul sought out hers, which caught her off guard. Because of that, Yue trapped her away in another reality – one that isn't ours or even our past. The time limit would most likely be put on hold until she returned to this reality in some sense. The time limit will kick in when she returns… and that will be when Syaoran will wake up."
"Stupid Kinomoto! I told you guys that this would ruin everything!" Meiling muttered, absently going back to brushing Syaoran's hair out of his face. "Syaoran… come back… Kinomoto… we're actually counting on you…"
---
Syaoran stopped, a hand clutching his chest and he fell to his knees to the ground
Meiling faltered, thrown off track for a moment. "I – Well, you weren't clutching your heart then! What's wrong? Tell me!"
"SYAORAN!" Meiling screeched.
Sakuras' eyes snapped open. What was that? She could hear voices, they sounded panicky and upset. She heard the name Syaoran… it sounded like Meiling… she sounded afraid. But… what could scare her? She was a solid character in her dream, nothing scared that girl. Pondering what that meant, she made her way to her window, throwing it open and looking at the Readington scenery as the sun set sending shadows in every direction. Sighing, she laid her head on her arms, looking out at what was going on. What was going on though? Everything looked farther away from her… like it was distant memory.
"So he felt it too…" Eriol trailed off, shaking his head. "Where are you?"
Eriol nodded her comment aside. "Sakura's aura has vanished."
"My aura's vanished?" Sakura pondered to herself. "I don't understand." She watched the sunset, and the street lights coming on, lighting up the street as she watched people stroll down the street.
"So, let me get this straight," Meiling said, absently brushing her hand across Syaoran's hair. "Kinomoto isn't in the past or the present… where is she?"
Tomoyo's eye misted over. "We're just a dream to her?"
"A dream…" Sakura said, bringing her head up from her arms on her windowsill. She looked up at the sky, hoping for an answer. "I'm not in the past or the present…. Where am I?" All these thoughts chased each other around in her head, each one not making sense as she got herself more and more confused as the comments flew by over her head.
"Syaoran… come back… Kinomoto… we're actually counting on you…"
Sakura cast a glance around her surroundings; everything looked farther away from her, like her perspective had just gotten destroyed.
"This isn't my reality!" Sakura said, as her pink staff appeared in her hand, her pockets got a little heavier and her surroundings were sucked away, leaving her in a black void. Sakura smiled, it wasn't a dream… she was being tricked. She could feel someone waiting, watching her.
"YUE!"
The void vanished, returning her to where she was meant to be, the past, a light enveloping her. It felt warm and part of her. Opening her eyes, she saw the warm yellow glow of the Clow Symbol. She felt the Woody's grip on her slacken, until it completely vanished, Sakura landing on the ground below, staff outstretched in front of her. Yue looked surprised, while Sakura looked triumphant.
"How did you escape? You weren't supposed to be able to!"
Sakura shook her head. "This ends here!" She flipped quickly through the cards taking advantage of the shocked Yue, and found what she was looking for. "WINDY!" She shouted, thrusting her staff at the card.
Yue smirked; foolish girl was doing the same thing again! The Windy was realized from the card, and came full force at him. He rose a hand to stop the attack and send it back at the brunette. The Windy kept coming, showing no sign of stopping.
"WHAT!" He shouted, as the Windy rushed past him, encircling him, trapping him.
Sakura grinned from her position, staff clasped in her hands behind her back. "I did it, Mr. Yue. I managed to hit you and use one of your own cards against you."
Yue grumbled, as the Windy vanished from around him and returned to the card. "You did, I'll give you that girl."
Sakura grinned, looking up at the ceiling. "I get to go home now."
Yue shook his head. "You have to be where you were when you were brought here, the same location."
"WHAT!" Sakura said, wheeling around on her heel. "No one told me that."
Yue shrugged, indifferent. "You better get moving, you have ten minutes."
"But, I beat you, and – the Clow Book! Give it to me!" She yelled, unsure what else to say. Yue shrugged again, tossing her the Clow Book. Sakura grinned. "This makes me the Clow Mistress, no?" Yue nodded, glancing at the grinning brunette. He didn't like that tone. "Then, get us out of here! You can you use your magic, can't you? Can you go through walls?"
"Can't you?" He asked in return.
"…no." Sakura said at length.
"If you're the Clow Mistress… I guess I have to listen to you." Yue said, getting up and brushing dust off his robes, before roughly grabbing her arm.
"You mean it, seriously?"
Yue didn't reply to her, just flapped his wings in reply, heading up.
---
"This is horrible, waiting like this!" Meiling yelled, punching her fist into the ground. "I HATE waiting!"
Tomoyo sighed. "We know Meiling! You've said that at least five times already!"
"Well… it's true! You're just as anxious about Kinomoto aren't you?" Meiling countered.
Tomoyo nodded. "Of course, but I don't say it every five seconds like some people do."
"What? Tomoyo you might not say it, but it's written all over your face."
Tomoyo shrugged, not really caring. "It's no big deal; at least I'm not saying it repeatedly."
Meiling shrugged too, biting back a comment when Eriol held his hand up. "He's coming too."
"WHAT!" Meiling screeched, forgetting her fight moments ago with Tomoyo, and turning towards Syaoran. "SYAORAN! Can you hear me?"
"Yes," A groggy voice replied. "You can stop screaming in my ear now."
"You're alive!" Meiling yelled, not hearing Syaoran's last statement and threw her arms around him. "Don't you do that ever again!"
Syaoran sighed, patting Meiling's arm awkwardly. "I didn't plan for that too happen… you know?"
Eriol cut Meiling off before she could say anything else. "Did you find anything about Sakura when you were out?"
Syaoran shook his head, no. "It was just darkness; she's not in this world is she?" Eriol shook his head in response. "She lost didn't she?"
"We don't know for sure… the Cards haven't returned."
"The Cards went to Sakura? How? When?" Syaoran asked, confused. What had he missed?
"She managed to get them, she thought of something. Eriol said Sakura managed to create her own Clow Card… Hope or another name similar… and she managed to call the cards to her!" Tomoyo said, grinning from ear to ear.
"That's good!" Syaoran beamed, sitting up from his position next to Meiling. "But… what about the Time Limit she has with the Return Card?"
"Since you woke up that means that she broke through Yue's trap and she's battling him again. I think if Sakura can outwit Yue, she will definitely be returning here to Hong Kong in the next ten minutes." Eriol explained, standing up and brushing dirt off his pants.
"I see. Wait, I woke up because Sakura got out of some trap by Yue?"
Eriol nodded. "When you… ah… confessed your love for Sakura, your soul sought out hers, which when it found her it got her off track and confused her, leaving an opening for Yue. He must have struck then; trapping her away and knocking you unconscious."
Syaoran nodded, standing up, Meiling following him. "Where are you going?" She asked, watching him make his way towards the path leading out of the clearing and the forest.
"Well, if Sakura's on her way back here, we should at least go back to the spot where she'll reappear, no?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.
Eriol nodded, standing up.
"I think that's a great idea! I have my video camera to tape her arrival and get all the details on what happened in the past!" Tomoyo beamed, stars in her eyes.
Meiling sighed. "You try to hard Tomoyo to tape all this stuff." She mused, shaking her head. "But, I'm in as well!"
Catching up with Syaoran, the four made their way out of the forests' clearing and the forest all together as they made their way back into town, heading in the Kinomoto residence.
"Hey what's that?" Tomoyo asked; stopping and pointing up at the sky. In the darkening sky there was a lighter streak of blue making its way rapidly down towards the city of Hong Kong. "It's going to hit the city!" Unlike Tomoyo, the other three didn't seem as fazed as she was as they looked calmly up at it. "Er… aren't you guys worried?" She asked, looking at the three.
"It's Sakura." Syaoran simply said, moving his feet faster.
"It is? How?" Tomoyo asked, surprised but sped up to keep up with the others.
"She's returning, she managed to beat Yue." Eriol replied, as the blue streak diminished into the bright city lights of Hong Kong. "She is now truly the Card Mistress."
"That's awesome!" Tomoyo grinned, wishing she had her camera out moments ago to tape the blue streak of Sakura's return.
"If you asked me, Syaoran should have been the Clow Master! It runs in his veins!" Meiling hollered back at them, smiling.
"Right, right Meiling." Tomoyo replied for the heck of it, smiling as well.
---
"I'm home!" Sakura cheered, throwing her staff down and pumping her fist into the air. She was so happy to be back at her house, in her own time, and her right universe. Looking around everything looked the same; all in the right place like nothing had changed at all while she was gone. How much time had past anyways? Sakura pivoted on her foot, looking at everything, and then she saw Yue standing behind her. "So… what should I do with you? Could you turn back into Yukito?"
Yue said nothing, but his wings came out and surrounded him. In a bright light, the wings vanished and in Yue's place Yukito now stood.
"Oh hey Sakura… what're we doing in the basement?" He asked, looking confusedly at her.
Sakura blinked, just as confused. Didn't he remember five seconds ago? "Er… you don't remember?" He shook his head. "Well, we, uh, we're down here looking for Touya. As you see, he's not here, so let's go back upstairs."
Yukito nodded, following Sakura up the basement stairs and into their living room. "I wonder where Syaoran and the others are?" She mused, looking around and seeing that they weren't anywhere in her house. As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Sakura pivoted on her foot to look at the closed door before turning back to Yukito. "You can sit there and wait for Touya if you want. I'll get the door."
Yukito nodded, moving to sit down on the couch while Sakura walked out of the room for the door. Putting her hand on the doorknob, she pulled the door open. Her first thought was that it would be telemarketers at her door, but was surprised when four people looked back at her, all grinning.
"Hey Sakura, welcome back." Syaoran said, being the one closest to the door.
Sakura grinned brightly. "Arigatou Syaoran!" She said, blushing slightly.
Meiling and Tomoyo noticed this, casting a look at one another, knowingly. "I heard you're the Clow Mistress now." Eriol said, breaking the silence.
Sakura nodded. "Yes I am," Here, she quickly turned to face Syaoran, her eyes alight and she grabbed his hand. "Arigatou Syaoran, you helped me out of my void… you were in trouble, I could feel it here." Sakura said softly, taking her hands away from his and placing it where her heart should be.
Syaoran blushed, unsure what to say. Meiling grinned, and Tomoyo took out her video camera. Eriol smiled at the antics of the four teens in front of him. "Did you really?" Syaoran said at length.
Sakura nodded, her blush growing. "And you know what Syaoran?" He shook his head. "I feel the same way!" She grinned, leaning forward and clasping her arms around his torso.
Syaoran blushed more at the close contact with Sakura. "That's great.'" He mumbled, his arms going around her frame as well, dragging her closer to him.
Tomoyo grinned wildly at this, zooming in her camera more, when Meiling smacked her on her shoulder, making her camera jerk down to film Tomoyo and some of Eriols' shoes. "Leave them alone, this is there moment!"
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A/N: So how was the ending? I like the way that it turned out. Regarding the whole Syaoran falling unconscious idea that wasn't what I originally had in mind, but it turned out pretty good in the whole effect of the story. For that idea, it's because of the music I was listening to at the time: Listen to your Heart (C) DHT, Ghost of You (C) My Chemical Romance and All That I Got (C) The Used. It turned out good for being an impromptu idea!
So this is the end of "We're Moving!" I might write an Epilogue to it… but currently I have no ideas what it would contain… so until then, this is the end. To answer people's questions: Will there be a sequel to this? Honestly, I have no idea. I have to work on a lot of stories that I have partly started (man… it's a long list --) but we'll see what time brings. If anyone has possible sequel ideas, don't be afraid to shout at me! LOL.
Thanks for reading it! Even after that way loonng hiatus I went on! You all rock!
01/24/06