Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or CIA or NBA, but I do own WWF ... Just Kidding, I don't own a darn thing!

Chapter 3 Power?

By Shinyk

Sakura held her ear plastered to the wall of her suite mate's room. If he was in there he wasn't doing anything. How infuriating. She felt desperate though. Something wasn't right. Finally, when the suspense got so bad and she just couldn't stand it, she got up and ran to his room to see what was up. She didn't have to knock because the door was slightly ajar. When she walked in the door, on the ground lie Syaoran, laying outstretched to her room.

"Syaoran?" She questioned but he didn't respond. She walked over and saw bloodstains seeping out at different places in his back.

Her head spun and her body wouldn't support her weight anymore. She fell to her knees and screamed, full-bodied bloody nightmare screams.

She managed to calm herself enough to bend down over him and check his pulse. With two fingers placed gently on his neck she prayed. There was still a faint buzz of activity going on so she rolled him over. A cheek to his mouth revealed he wasn't breathing. She worked on him, giving him mouth to mouth. 'Why would Mandra do this? I thought she loved him...'

It didn't seem to be working. "Help me!" She screamed. "Someone help me."

Sakura trembled. Blood was running out his back and he isn't breathing on his own. 'I should call for help, but they won't get her quick enough. Think. My cards!'

Sakura ran to her room, and came back quickly with her cards and her necklace. She rolled Syaoran back onto his chest and ripped the material around each stab would. Then she recited the words mechanically, even after all these years.

She picked up a card and tossed it to the winds. "Time card." Time froze and Sakura knew she brought a little more time. What now?

Sakura searched and brought forth the hope card. She threw it in the air as well. "Hope, give me a way to help Syaoran."

Another card appeared in her hand. "The Heal"

Syaoran looked around and saw nothing but fuzzy-like shadows. He had heard weeping earlier in the midst of all that darkening silence that had surrounded him. He gathered all of his strength and rolled over to see Sakura panting and clutching at her heart and staff? 'What is she doing here? How did she know?... '

"Sakura?"

"Syaoran! Oh thank God you're alive!"

"You're here?" He asked feebly.

"Yes, and now so are you. Did Mandra really do this?"

Li closed his eyes. "Yeah."

"I saw her running down the hall rather suspiciously, and I noticed you did nothing, so I waited and waited and nothing happened. But I felt something off."

"And you didn't come after me until just now?"

"Hey, how was I supposed to know she tried to kill you!"

"I know, it's just weird she did this...I think it has something to do with you and the cards. You still have them right? Have you counted to make sure they are here and all fifty-two are accounted for?"

"Good grief, I don't know where you're getting all this strength from but Yes! They're here with me, and there are fifty-three now!"

Li stuttered amazed. "Fifty-three! You made another one?"

"The heal. But be careful, you've still lost a lot of blood."

Li sat up regardless. "Well, we have to find out what the hell is going on with Mandra!"

"I think you're wrong. If she knew about the cards and was trying to steal them, why would she come after you?"

"Because she could only get to you over my dead body."

Sakura flushed.

"The cards, of course too. How could she do this. Sorry, I just..." he trailed off softly.

"I know. You loved that stupid, I mean you love Mandra."

"Loved. I'm a pretty quick study Sakura. She tried to kill me." 'Maybe Sakura sensed her evilness and didn't say anything to me because I loved her. I'm not sure I would have listened to her anyways...regardless, this Mandra thing is over!"

Sakura shifted nervously at his intense gaze. 'What is he thinking? He looks like he does when he wants to kill me, only worse... Maybe he wants to kill Mandra. I can't let him do that! He might go to jail...'

"Sakura, Mandra wasn't acting alone. She doesn't have any magic. But I have sensed something off here recently. Something's coming. I didn't want to worry you before. That was pretty stupid of me."

Sakura nodded. "Stupid of me too, for not sensing anything."

At that time Tomoyo walked into their suite and yelled, "Sakura! Sakura, where the heck are you?" Donny, though earlier concerned, just dropped her off at the apartment complex.

"In here!" Sakura's voice came, curiously from Li's room. Tomoyo raised her eyebrows and proceeded in.

Although Donny had forgot about the incident, Tomoyo sure as heck hadn't and she was sure it was something unnatural, although why here and now, she really didn't know...And boy he was sure acting suspicious.

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Donny ran through the streets sensing Mandra closer, and closer, finally seeing her huddled on the ground, murder weapon still in hand. She was rocking back and forth starring at the bloody object.

"What is your problem you idiot?"...he was about to add more when he looked at her face. She had tears streaming down, and she was shuddering uncontrollably. "Mandra, why are you freaking out so much? It's just some stupid guy who could have harmed our potential future together..."

"I can't help it Donny! Do you want to know the truth? I lied when I said I killed someone. I haven't ever... I couldn't... Until now. Now I am a murderer! Someone is dead and never coming back because of me! Don't you get it!"

"Yeah, I know how you feel, the first time was rough for me too. But it'll get easier, I promise.

"Again? I can't do this again. I don't care about your promises either! I just want to go home!"

"Fine, you want the truth, I don't love you! I don't even like you! I just pretended so you would get Li out of the way! You know my 'pretend' crush? Well I love HER!"

'I can't believe it... He really likes that silly childish brat! How stupid can he be! Well, I'll just tell him I have a boyfriend on the side. Then how will he feel.'

"Don't even try it... You forget I can read your mind so soon? Silly girl, you're going home NOW!"

There was a great WHOOSH! And right where Mandra was standing, there was an empty space. Donny was free of some baggage and he erased evidence all at the same time. Keeping her fifteen years younger all the time was tiresome as it was, seeing she possessed no magic. 'Well, now that I've got her off my back, I can go console Tomoyo, and find another way to off Sakura! Should be easy now."

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Tomoyo walked into Li's room. Syaoran was leaning on Sakura rather heavily and they were mumbling about cards.

'I wonder why they're together like that? Usually Sakura's too self-conscious around Li to even imagine letting him hang on her. Not that he ever would. Well at least since that day he told her he loved her, and she realized that she loved him too, then he said "Psych!", He's such a chicken. He can be an ahole sometimes! Oh well, better see what's up..'.

Li thought to himself. 'Tomoyo can be entirely too weird sometimes. It's like she's reading my soul. Mmmmm, Sakura smells good, like a cherry blossom. I must have lost a lot of blood.'

When he looked up at Sakura's face he felt a pang in his chest that seemed very familiar. Kind of like it used to be when he was around Mandra, around six months ago. Then things had started cooling off for him, but he just thought it was normal. Sakura was unattainable. The look on her face when he told her he loved here back in school told him she was going to reject him. So he played it off. Little did he know. 'Why am I thinking about Sakura this way, AGAIN! She is just a friend! Nothing more! And besides, I would never have a chance with her anyways... Loads of guys like her, and she probably has a few she likes back too...'Yeah, like You'. A voice in his head saidIt didn't seem like his voice. 'Where did that come from! Oh well, I guess I can only dream, I could never say something like this to her face. Not after our friend ship of so long...'

Sakura stared back at him. 'What is he thinking! He's looking at me like Tomoyo says I look at him. Maybe he's having a seizure. There's no way he would look at me for the same reason I look at him... Is there?...'

Look at those two! Sakura-Chan looking so cute and innocent, and Li-San, befuddled by the feelings I know he has and he knows he has for her... Maybe I should get some matchmaking going on up in here. She giggled to herself then rushed out the door to check out what was up with the two.

"Hi Tomoyo!" Sakura said brightly, as if she had just had a revelation. "I'll fill you in a minute. We need to take Li here to the doctor's office..."

"What the heck happened to you!" Tomoyo noticed the blood staining the floor all the way around the bed to the wall.

"A bit of an unloving moment between fiancés..." he said grinning. "And no, I'm not going to the doctor's office. I can imagine the questions. What's a matter? Nothing I've just been stabbed, but you can't tell that because my friend here healed me. I just need some pints of blood and I'll be fine."

Sakura looked at incredulously, helping him sit on his bed. "What do you mean? Syaoran, I'm not a doctor. What if you get infection or something?"

"I won't"

"But"

"Then I'll go. I just need some sleep and some time for my blood to regenerate. And I'm not leaving you alone."

Tomoyo noticed the look on Sakura's face and that he said 'fiancés'. "That witch! She stabbed you? Are you okay? I was a little concerned when I encountered that critter tonight. I just knew something was wrong!" she knew she was lying through her teeth but she doubted either of them did...

'She is such a liar!' Sakura thought to herself.

'She always was the worst liar in Japan, and now America..'. Li thought grinning, wondering what the point was.

"Well you guys get comfy, I don't want to intrude..." 'Oops, shouldn't have said that. Oh well they won't catch on...'

"What do you mean, intrude, Tomoyo?" asked Li.

"Oh, nothing, never mind..." she answered back.

Although she was dying to know what was going on she thought it best to leave those two alone and go study. Maybe she should call Donny back and thank him for helping even though he didn't come up, or go hunt down that skank Mandra and kill her... Choices, choices... She'd find something to do...

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The telephone rang madly. "Hello?"

"Hi Donny, it's me Tomoyo. Just calling to thank you for tonight."

Donny paused. She wasn't upset, she must not know yet. "It was nothing. I had a great time too, so..."

Something then jolted in Tomoyo's mind, "You said Mandra was you cousin, right?"

Rather mad at his slip earlier, he reluctantly replied, "Yeah,"

"Um, she's a little off balance, isn't she?"

"Not usually."

"Really? Have you seen her recently?"

"I saw her a little while ago. "

"Did she say anything about Li?"

Donny didn't answer.

"You know, one of my Japanese friends, from my suite."

"Oh yeah, Li... No she didn't say anything." Donny held his breathe. Did She know? Why was she not frantic? Maybe he was jumping to conclusions.

"Well, she stabbed him in the back! Literally..."

"Oh my God! Are you serious?" he said, not feigning shock. She did know.

"Yeah..." Tomoyo said uneasily, and rather suspiciously.

How to get around this? "She told me she needed some money for a bus ticket because she wanted to go visit our family..." Donny tried to read her mind to no avail. How was she blocking him? "I don't know what to say, really. I never pegged her as a murderer. I suppose she is off balance. When is the funeral and I'll come?" Donny waited for her to let her guard down. "He has to be dead. I know I told Mandra not to leave until she didn't feel a pul..." he felt a tingling in his mind.

"I thought you said you didn't even remember Li! You lying scum! You're in league with her, aren't you. You, you..." she couldn't think of anything else so she just trailed off menacingly. "And what could you possible want with the Sakura cards?"

"That's none of your business." 'Darn! I shouldn't have said that. Now Sakura knows I'm coming. Oh well, it will still be easy since Li is dead...'

'He thinks Li is dead! How do I know that? Guess I have some power after all! Yes, I always knew it... Well not really but, what the hey, I have magic, I have magic!...'