Riddler's Grudge
By: Metal Sonic EX
Disclaimer: Everything is © to their respective owners.
Sakura opened the door and was greeted by her friends. She took her seat next to Tomoyo and looked at Daisuke. "Good morning…" Daisuke frowned when he noticed Sakura acting unhappy. "You miss your friends, right?" Sakura started, then blushed. "I can fix that." Sakura tilted her head and Daisuke simply smirked. Mr. Terada came in with an unhappy look on his face as well. "I'm afraid I have a rather disheartening announcement. Our originally planned field trip to the aquarium has been canceled due to the recent traffic issues." Everyone began chattering as Sakura frowned again. She then noticed Daisuke's frown, as did Tomoyo. "This isn't good…"
Episode Three
Sakura and the Traffic Jam
Sakura got home that day and noticed Kero, Toya, and Yukito watching TV in the living room. "What's going on?" Sakura walked in as Toya turned to her. "Dad's gonna be late." Sakura sat by Toya and began watching a breaking news report of another unbelievable traffic jam. 'Dad…' Later that same night, Sakura was looking through the Sakura Cards again. Fight still had her smirk and Mirror still had her ribbons. "It's strange, Kero…" Kero poked his head out of his room curiously. "The Spell Cards… Counter and Attack…" She pulled two cards out of the deck. "They're like Libra and Fight." Kero floated up and examined the two cards. "Hey… You're right…"
Kero got into a thinking pose. "That kid did have a magical presence similar to…" Kero started. "What?" Kero flew right into Sakura's face, causing her to back up. "I need you to get me close to that kid again! I have a hypothesis I want to try out!" Sakura nodded reluctantly just as Toya walked in. "Dad's home." Sakura sighed with relief as Toya eyed Mirror. "See you in the morning." Kero yawned and floated back into his room. "I'm cashing in too." Sakura gathered the cards and put them into the book. She then changed and she too went to bed.
During the night, the book opened and a single card floated out, surrounded in a bright light. Seconds later, one more floated out and the two began to spin around each other. Then, they spontaneously stopped and fell to the desk. In his room, Daisuke opened his eyes and saw the two Spell Cards glowing. He sat up and the two cards drifted back onto the desk. He got up and walked to them. He picked them up and looked at the two. As soon as he touched one, he pulled his hand away. "What… is this…" Daisuke pulled out his chair and looked closely at the two cards. Then, they shimmered briefly. "It… can't be…"
The next morning, Sakura walked in a slightly better mood. As soon as she sat down, Kero poked his head out of her bag. "Kero…" He turned to Sakura. "I won't be long." He suddenly started and turned back to him. Daisuke seemed out of it, almost as if asleep. "This presence…" Naoko walked up and Kero ducked back into the bag. "Did you hear that there was a crash last night?" Daisuke spun around. "What?!" Naoko nodded slowly. "The person in the crash said that a wall came out of nowhere." Chiharu looked at Takashi. "Sounds like something that you'd come up with." Takashi looked at her innocently as Daisuke growled. Naoko looked curiously at him, but he shook it off. "It's nothing." Naoko left reluctantly and the issue was left alone until lunch. Daisuke walked up to Tomoyo and Sakura, who were sitting on a bench. "We've got trouble. This is the work of a Spell Card, one of the more dangerous ones."
Sakura shook her head. "It can't be. Why would someone make a card that creates traffic jams?" Daisuke sighed. "Look. If another crash occurs, we'll need to get this card as soon as possible." Daisuke turned on his heel and left, leaving a confused Tomoyo and Sakura. "Maybe there is one that causes jams." Sakura turned to her curiously. "Maybe he didn't mean just traffic jams. Maybe he meant jams in general." Sakura thought about this for the remainder of the school day. That evening, she made dinner and went into the living room to get her brother and dad, who'd stayed home. "What's wrong now?" Toya frowned. "Another crash." Sakura started and ran to the couch. Sure enough, someone else had crashed after trying to avoid a 'spontaneously-appearing' wall.
After dinner, Sakura went to her room and soon fell asleep. This time, just one card floated out of the book and Sakura, in her dream, caught it. "Dream!" She used the card and her dream began. The first thing she saw was the two cards spinning around. They stopped spinning suddenly and fell to the desk. Dream… Hope… The scene changed and a tall man in a black robe appeared. He had a collar that stretched around the front of his face, shielding all but his eyes and bangs. He rose a hand and she heard him talk. Thirty in all. Thirty there aren't. Thirty you need or forever you walk.
She woke suddenly to the sound of her alarm. She looked around, then noticed the Dream card in her lap. "Dream…" She got dressed and headed to Penguin Park, where she found Tomoyo and Daisuke. "I brought another costume for you Sakura!" She immediately sweatdropped and, seconds later, was dragged away by Tomoyo. She returned moments later wearing a black maid-like outfit, a black bow in her hair, and an amethyst choker.
(A.N. I should probably bring this up now. Many, if not, all of Sakura's outfits in this fic will be taken from pictures on DeviantART. Those outfits are © to their respective creators.)
She blushed and chuckled weakly until Daisuke scoffed. "You two ready?" Kero cleared his throat. "Sorry. You two and a half ready?" Kero growled and flew into his face. "What was that, punk?!" Daisuke flicked him away and began walking. "Follow me." Daisuke led them to a back alley in which he proceeded to skillfully jump across the walls onto the roof. "Amazing…" Kero, in his true form, helped Tomoyo to the roof and Sakura used Fly. "There." The three gaped as they saw a massive wall blocking the street and traffic being blocked.
"It's not often you see
All this traffic as stuck.
But if you'd ask me
This looks like Obstruct.
The traffic can't pass
For he's in the way.
So let's kick his ass
And continue our day."
Sakura nodded and pulled out a card. "Sleep?" Sakura nodded. "Good. Obstruct is invisible to them, but it is still preventing them from moving. When it's gone, they shouldn't notice much change." Sakura used Sleep and everyone in the street fell asleep. Obstruct then rippled and spontaneously appeared around them. "Wha-" Sakura looked around as Daisuke frowned. "Obstruct true form is an arrow. If we find that, we can capture the card. But it seems that we've been obstructed."
Sakura looked around their box-shaped prison, then started when she realized something. She pulled out another card and turned to the others. "Grab onto me!" They did so and Sakura used the Through card. They all phased through the wall and, sure enough, an arrow rotated around in front of them. "Quickly! Before it obstructs us again!" Sakura nodded and placed the wand in front of her as it rippled. "Return to the guise in which you were meant, Spell Card!"
The card was return to its' original form and both Tomoyo and Kerp, in his disguise form, crowded Sakura to look at it. It simply showed an angled wall with an arrow leading through it. However, the second half of the arrow was faded and almost nonexistent. "Obstruct is a deadly card. Traffic jams were nothing compared to what its' done before." Sakura handed the card to Daisuke. "Like what?" Daisuke accepted the card and pocketed it. "It can also clog things. In essence, if it dislikes a person enough, it can clog their arteries, leading to death."
Sakura and Tomoyo both gaped as Kero frowned. "Why are these cards so destructive?" Daisuke smirked. "You of all people should know." Kero raised an eyebrow. 'Today, when Sakura snuck you into class, you were startled because I reek of Clow's presence, right?" Sakura started slightly and Daisuke closed his eyes. "All will be told in due time, but there's no reason to spill the beans just yet. Although, I'll tell you this. We'd best hurry. Unlike the Clow Cards, the Spell Cards were created for destruction. People's lives are at risk and the faster we get these cards, the better. And you, Sakura Kinomoto…" He paused, then looked at her with a truly worried look. "You are their primary target."
Kero: People are being hospitalized after investigating a mysterious light. Daisuke warns Sakura of the danger, but she seems to have fallen under its' spell. If Sakura can't help up, who can? Tune into Episode Four: Sakura and the Forbidden Treasure. Wait! Treasure?! Where?!
