Hey!

A/N: Thanks to all of you reviewers. I've got a lot of reviews for chapter 19 and many of them were real reviews with actual content, which, as you should know by now, are worth a thousand times more to me. Thanks once again.

About the bat-time, bat-channel, I'm glad to know other people understand it. I always wondered if the original version had that classic in it too or if it was something exclusive to the Brazilian dubbed version. (Which was so poorly dubbed that it became funny.) For those of you who didn't get the joke, it was a reference to the old (Really old) Batman live action series. You know. The one that's always being parodied, like in Eminen's video clip. Where Batman and Robin fight the bad guys with a 'hip' soundtrack and every time someone does anything a large "POW" or "SOC" shows up on the screen accompanied by some big band climax sound effects. They invented that. And the classic opening sequence: "Nananananananananananananana BATMAN!!!!" If you still don't know what I'm talking about then sorry for wasting your time.

I know you want to go to the story soon, so I'll try to be brief now.

Brief Disclaimer: CLAMP owns CCS.

The plot briefly thickens: After facing her fears and capturing her first card by herself, Sakura was attacked by a new card along with Syaoran. The card just touched them and ran away. Syaoran and Sakura had their bodies switched by the card. Syaoran fainted when he found out and is still fainted. Sakura was just recovering from the shock when Mei Ling surprised them claiming that she'd just come from Hong Kong with Yelan and that they were late for a fancy dinner. Meanwhile, Tomoyo's mother finally managed to find her daughter whom she'd been looking for all afternoon.

"Character Talking"

Character Thinking

(Me Talking)

All the life on the planet is based on a magical energy called 'Mana'. The Sun and the Moon provide this mana to every corner of the planet. Those who learn to manipulate the mana are called magicians. A long time ago, Clow Reed mastered the use of both Sun and Moon mana and created his masterpiece in the use of these types of magic, the Clow Cards. Half of them used the mana from the sun and half from the Moon. Now, after accidentally setting those cards on the loose, Kinomoto Sakura must help Li Syaoran, a descendant of Clow, and Kerberos, the guardian of the cards, to capture the cards which, not having Clow to provide them with mana anymore, are going on a rampage after the magical energy they need to live.

Card Captor Sakura

Chapter 8: Sakura and Syaoran - Act III

Part 2: The Surprises Never Stop

Mei Ling's eyes widened when she saw Syaoran coming out of the building, still wearing the same casual clothing. "What are you doing?!" She shouted. "Why haven't you changed? We're late!"

Sakura didn't answer. She and Wei had agreed that he would do all the talking. The man claimed that it wasn't just anyone who could handle an angry Mei Ling. "Mei Ling-sama, I tried to tell you back then, but you wouldn't listen."

"What?!" The girl questioned, putting her hands on her hips. Not even Syaoran had the guts to take such an offensive tone when talking to Wei. "This better be important. Are you going after a card or something right now? Cause otherwise it can't possibly be more important than this."

And then, a soft voice came from inside the car. Soft, but not held back. It was a voice with a strong presence, but a more subtle presence than Mei Ling's. "Mei Ling, I'm surprised you haven't noticed."

Sakura observed as the limousine's door opened to reveal a tall woman, with long, dark, silky hair. She wore traditional Chinese robes, and her face was at the same time enticing and intimidating. As she walked out of the car, her mere presence rendered everybody else around silent. This is Li-kun's mother? Sakura asked herself. She's beautiful.

The women opened up a smile and started walking towards Sakura. "I see Mei Ling has gotten you in quite an uncomfortable situation. I'm really sorry, if I had known of this problem earlier I wouldn't have sent her up by herself."

Sakura's mouth was hanging open. Not because Yelan had apparently noticed the Change's effects, but because she was just a breathtaking sight. Not only because of her beauty, but her aura, her smell, her voice. It seemed as if she was a truly flawless person. Yet, her smile was as humble as it could get. "Hoe? You mean..."

The woman giggled. "Of course I noticed. What kind of mother would I be if I couldn't recognize my own son?"

Sakura blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

The woman put hand on Sakura's forehead. "Don't worry. There's nothing to be sorry about." She closed her eyes and Sakura could feel the woman studying her. "You're a girl aren't you?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes." She answered meekly.

"I'm Li Yelan, Syaoran's mother, you've already met Mei Ling, his cousin." Mei Ling was just staring at the two while trying to figure out what Syaoran was talking about. "And you are..."

"I'm Kinomoto Sakura."

Yelan took her off of Sakura's head. "I thought so. You're the one who let the cards on the loose aren't you?"

Sakura blushed again. "Y-yes..."

Yelan giggled again. "I've heard from Syaoran that you're quite talented. I'd like to see it with my own eyes someday."

"Hoe? Li-kun told you about me?" Sakura asked.

Mei Ling, who had been looking from Sakura to Yelan in complete confusion, got tired of the strange conversation. "Just what is going on here?" She yelled, stomping the floor. "I have a feeling I'm being left out of something here."

Yelan let herself loose her cool for a second, looking a bit embarassed. "Oh, I'm sorry Mei Ling. I forgot about that. You still haven't noticed have you?"

Mei Ling's eye was twitching. "Noticed what?"

"This person here isn't really Syaoran. It's the Kinomoto Sakura Syaoran wrote about in his letters, the future mistress of the cards."

Mei Ling looked at Sakura and raised an eyebrow. She didn't seem as shocked as Sakura expected her to be. But Yelan and Wei knew that Mei Ling was still processing the information so she could actually believe it. "I think I don't quite understand." She said, wondering if she hadn't misheard something.

"It was a Clow Card that switched their bodies." Wei continued for Yelan. "The Change card, to be more precise."

Mei Ling's mouth hung open. She stood in a state of shock for a couple of seconds and then shifted her gaze to Sakura menacingly. She walked towards her so that their faces were just an inch apart and started examining her expression. The way Sakura's lips trembled from nervousness, the pace of her breathing, the way she moved her eyebrows to express how uncomfortable she was, even the way she blinked. Now that Mei Ling paid attention to those details it had become quite obvious that Yelan was telling the truth. Finally, Mei Ling stepped away and pointed her finger at Sakura. Her gaze was as cold as ice and tortured Sakura with the clear message of: 'How dare you?' "You're not my Syaoran!" She fiercely declared.

Sakura sweat dropped. "That's what we've been trying to tell you all along."

Yelan put a hand on Mei Ling's shoulder. "It really is a sad thing that we had to meet under such circumstances" She started. "I think it's most appropriate that Mei Ling and I go to our appointment and let you two find a solution to your problem, isn't it?"

Mei Ling gnashed her teeth. "No! I demand to know where Syaoran is first."

"He's the girl sleeping on the couch up in the apartment" Wei said. "He's been asleep ever since they switched their bodies."

Mei Ling kept her gaze at Sakura. "Fine, then I'll stay here until he wakes up."

Yelan shook her head. "I'm sorry Mei Ling, but it's very important that you come with me."

Mei Ling turned her head so she was facing Yelan. Sakura breathed relieved from being finally free from that deadly stare. "But why?!"

"If I'm not mistaken, I said you could come with me only on one condition." Yelan answered patiently.

"But I won't help him get the card! I just want to..." She was interrupted.

Tomoyo, who was now running towards the group, had a large smile on her face and was waving her hand in the air. "Yelan-san!" She called cheerfully. "It's been so long!"

Everybody, except Yelan, became instantly confused.

Yelan's eyes widened when she spotted Tomoyo. For the second time she lost her cool, but this time she really lost it. "Tomoyo-chan! What are you doing here?"

"I'm with Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo answered while pointing to Sakura and coming to a halt near them. "She's uh..." Tomoyo stopped midway through her sentence, not sure if Yelan and Mei Ling knew about the Change already. Maybe I shouldn't have pointed to Sakura-chan.

Everybody else was either shocked or confused. Mei Ling was the first to say something. "You know each other?"

Yelan nodded. "Of course. Though I never expected you to already know Sakura." She said, referring to Tomoyo. Picking up on Tomoyo's hesitance, she quickly completed her sentence. "Or about the Clow Cards. I guess this world still holds its surprises."

Tomoyo giggled, apparently she hadn't told them anything they didn't know already. "It sure does." She said.

"Mei Ling, this is Daidouji Tomoyo, the daughter of Sonomi-san." Yelan said, putting her hand on Tomoyo's back.

Mei Ling eyed Tomoyo suspiciously. "Nice to meet you..." She said, not really meaning it.

Tomoyo smiled at her. "My pleasure."

Looking at everybody's faces, Sakura could tell she was the only one with her mouth still hanging open. "Huh... Tomoyo-chan... What's going on?" She tried asking her friend. Something was definitely wrong.

Tomoyo looked at Sakura in the eye with a lot of energy. "Isn't this amazing Sakura-chan? I've known Yelan-san for a long time, but I didn't have any idea she was Li-kun's mother."

"B-but how?" Sakura inquired.

Yelan stepped in. "I think we all have a lot of stories to tell." She said. "But due to the circumstances, we don't have so much time. I have a dinner I must attend and you have a card to find."

"B-but..."

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do." Yelan said. "I promised a friend I'd go to dinner and I always keep my promises. I'm sure we'll have a lot of time to talk later. Shall we Tomoyo-chan?" Once again Yelan amazed everybody. This time with her capacity to be extremely incisive, yet absolutely reasonable and polite.

"Hoe! You're going too Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked.

Tomoyo nodded. "The dinner is at my house. They're going to stay with us while they're in Japan." She said, grinning. Sakura was left stupefied.

"Let's get going then." Yelan announced. "Tomoyo-chan, Mei Ling, get in the car." The girls did as they were told, though Mei Ling was reluctant and gave Sakura one last suspicious glance. "Wei-san, you're coming with us too."

Wei nodded. "Of course, Yelan-sama." He turned to Sakura. "Please take good care of Syaoran-sama." He said before following the two girls.

Yelan waited for everybody to get in the car before leaning towards Sakura and whispering in her ear. "Tell Syaoran that I know how hard this situation between you two is for him and I'm proud of him for facing it and for taking decisions on his own. Tell him that I encourage all of his efforts to end this problem too."

Sakura nodded, it was a pretty normal message considering their position. She had no idea that Yelan wasn't at all talking about their bodies being switched, but about the spell.

Sakura's mind was lost in the numerous events that had happened in the past hour. Her meeting with Syaoran's mother had probably been the strangest of all. As she waved her hand to the speeding car, she started to ponder about that strange person. Yelan had reacted so naturally to the situation that even the spunky girl didn't have the energy to do much. Her mere presence defined what everybody around her would do. Not only that, but she was a friend of Tomoyo's mother, which only made her more mysterious.

Sakura turned back to the building, not seeing any other option but doing as Yelan had told her. Her mind was still dizzy at the amazing succession of surprises she was having that day. It was all happening too fast, but somehow she expected everything to settle down and explain itself in the end. With that belief she was able to focus on her priority: getting her body back. She had to be home as soon as possible after all. Her mother was probably starting to get worried.

"Alright, I'll get back to the apartment and talk to Kero-chan." She told herself, tough, for obvious reasons, it sounded like it wasn't her saying those words. And so she headed back to the elevator.

Mei Ling was fuming with anger. She had just let the girl by whom Syaoran was literally bewitched not only alone with him, but inside his body. And to make things worst, her aunt was the one who had told her to do so, meaning she had no chance of refusing.

The conversation that ensued between Yelan and Tomoyo inside the limousine only helped in getting her angrier.

"Yelan-san, isn't there anything we can do for Sakura-chan? I feel bad for leaving her alone like that." Tomoyo said, looking trough the window of the car with worried eyes.

"Tomoyo-chan, don't you trust your friend?" Yelan asked the girl.

Tomoyo nodded. "Of course! But she trusts me too. I feel bad having to leave her by herself." The girl protested.

Yelan smiled warmly. "That's truly beautiful. I'm sure you two care deeply for each other." She said. "However, in a relationship between friends, one must always search for what's best for the other. I can only ask you to trust my word now, but I assure you, the best thing for Sakura is to do this without us."

"But why?" Tomoyo insisted.

Yelan didn't hesitate to answer, but her expression told Tomoyo that she couldn't answer the question easily. Still, she clearly said exactly what she meant to say. "That's a bit complicated, I'm afraid. But trust me, she'll be fine."

Tomoyo couldn't help but agree. For someone like Yelan to say that with such conviction it had to be true. "Alright. After all, once Li-kun wakes up she won't be by herself anymore. If Li-kun is there then there's nothing to worry about."

"I'm glad to hear my son inspires such confidence." Yelan said, smiling proudly.

Tomoyo grinned. "Of course he does. He's so strong. Sakura-chan really looks up to him." She said, Mei Ling felt a vein pop in her head. "Not only that, they really care for each other. Even though Li-kun won't admit it, he gets desperate whenever Sakura-chan is in danger. He's always concerned about her when they're fighting a Clow Card. There was this one time..."

"Shut up!" Mei Ling shouted abruptly. "You've got no idea what you're talking about! Can't you see that because of this girl Syaoran is going trough a lot of pain?"

Tomoyo was surprised by that outburst. She didn't know how to react. Yelan didn't show any reaction, but Wei decided to intervene. "Mei Ling-sama, please calm down. What Daidouji-san meant is..."

Mei Ling interrupted him. "I know what she means. But she's wrong. She doesn't know anything." She cried, pointing her indiscrete finger at Tomoyo.

Tomoyo sighed. She had picked up in the past few minutes that Syaoran meant something special for Mei Ling, so it was understandable that she'd get jealous. "Mei Ling-sama, I'm just telling you what I've seen." She stated. "Besides, you oviously know Li-kun better than I do. He's the kind of person who protects the ones he cares about, isn't he?"

Mei Ling snorted. "I know that! But... It's all wrong. Syaoran doesn't care for that girl. It's all fake."

Tomoyo frowned. The girl was starting to be rude. Jealousy aside. "It wasn't fake. I've witnessed Sakura-chan and Li-kun becoming friends and it was all very real."

This time Mei Ling lowered her tone of voice. "I wish it had been. Even if it meant..." She trailed off and then sniffed. "At least this way he wouldn't have to go through this damned spell."

Tomoyo raised an eyebrow. "Spell?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

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A/N: There you go. It's short, but it's still a chapter. I know that things aren't happening so fast in the story lately, but that's the whole point of this four chaptered trilogy. The "Sakura and Syaoran" chapters are extremely relevant in the psychological development of the characters. So, even though they're not really having much action, their relationships with each other are not only changing, but being redefined, especially in Sakura and Syaoran's case. I didn't call the chapter Sakura and Syaoran for nothing. Plus, there are still many secrets about the puppet masters to be revealed. Not to mention the revelation of what the puppet master told Syaoran when he decided what to do about the spell.

Ok. I don't need to tell you to review do I? I guess you're kinda getting tired of that. So I'll only say goodbye.

Goodbye.