Author's Note

A big thanks to all of you who left a review. They are big motivators for me. This was a difficult chapter to write but I hope I don't disappoint anyone. My next update will take longer than usual as I have to be a good adult and go back to work next week U.U my apologies in advance!

Chapter 9

The Fight

Syaoran

I felt the chill of the night hit my face as we moved towards our enemy. We had briefly discussed a plan before leaving, uncertain about what to expect in this battle. Hiragizawa and I had changed to our ceremonial robes knowing the added protections would be needed. We were so close to our target we could feel him, he no longer hiding his magical presence. He wanted to be found.

I saw him first, past the entrance to an old temple. He was standing in front of the gate, glancing at a clock he was carrying with a smile on his face, unperturbed by our arrival. As I got closer something caught my attention, behind him was the unconscious form of someone wearing a ceremonial robe I had never seen.

"You are just in time" Yuna D. Kaito told us, mocking us.

"What did you do to Sakura?" I yelled, demanding an answer, my sword in hand on the ready.

"I am merely fixing a wrong Li Syaoran. Not to worry, if everything goes well you will never remember this day"

I didn't have time to process what he had told me. A dark creature appeared in front of him and attacked us causing the desire effect of separating us as we dodged the attack. The creature looked like a mix between a dragon and something else, with electric currents being spit from its mouth. A guardian. Similarities to Keroberos and Spinel evident. He was a very strong sorcerer indeed to create such a powerful beast. I had never seen a guardian this size before.

We tried to take cover as best as we could for the upcoming attack but Hiragizawa chose to confront it instead, no longer wanting to be on the defensive. With his seal at his feet, Hiragizawa maneuvered his staff to divert the attack with ease. An incantation was heard and sharp ice came forth attacking the beast repeatedly under his command.

Kong took advantage of the distraction and moved swiftly between Hiragizawa and past the guardian throwing a spell towards our enemy. He had just joined the battle yet he had been seen by Yuna D. Kaito almost immediately. Yuna was unfazed by the spell, moving at the right time to avoid the hit. He raised his hand and called a spell of his own that in a second took Kong out. I was perplexed by the sight, it had happened so quickly. Kong was a strong sorcerer so to be taken down so easily spoke volumes of the power Yuna had.

"Kong!" I heard Ryu call after him as he saw the scene unfold, too quick for any of us to do anything about it. Ryu became very angry and in his stupor summoned the power of the earth to bring forth boulders of rocks against the enemy as he moved closer to deliver a hit with his body.

"Get back!" I yelled at him, worried he was acting in anger and not seeing reason. He needed to defend himself, not attack... but it was too late. He too was hit effortlessly by a spell from Yuna which threw him back with such force he hit the ground, the impact leaving him unconscious. We were losing this battle fast, we needed to do something.

"Ruby Moon, Spinel!" Hiragizawa called for his guardians who quickly understood and took over his position to face the beast. Hiragizawa already moving towards Yuna for an attack.

"I finally meet you Mr. Eriol Hiragizawa, I have heard a lot about you"

"Likewise" Hiragizawa replied while calling upon his power, fire raising from the ground to attack the enemy. This made Yuma retreat and for the first time, get was in a defensive position.

"Too good for the English Association? Don't forget who has the "D" title!" He taunted him, trying to gain control of the fire himself to reflect the attack. He was struggling but at the end he succeeded. Hiragizawa barely had time to cover himself with a shield of his energy for protection.

I had to do something.

"Fire God, come forth!" I called as I moved closer. Hiragizawa called for Fire as well joining powers. Yuna could barely contain it but was able to absorb the power at the end, thankfully not without getting hurt. He took a few more steps backwards, grabbing the arm he had used to defend himself in pain. Sorcerers used magical objects to channel power, the fact that he was able to use his body alone worried me.

"Two against one, that's not very fair is it? Not at all like the so powerful Clow would have done. If only he saw his reincarnation behave this cowardly he would surely be rolling in his grave in shame! I had enough of you Eriol Hiragizawa, meddling with my plans for the start but that will be no more"

"Free Sakura from that spell of yours, she has done nothing to you!" I told him, interrupting his ramble, anger fueling me, I would do anything to protect her.

He said no more, a smile visible on his face, making me explode. Hiragizawa and I continued to exchange spells trying our best to combine our powers to deliver the hits with more strength and accuracy as he moved rapidly from side to side avoiding each of them. Ruby Moon and Spinel still fighting the enemy's guardian with difficulty behind us.

From the corner of my eye I saw Jeong approach the body still laying behind our enemy, he had hid waiting for this opportunity. Jeong was fast so he reached the unconscious body from his hiding place in a matter of seconds. As he took the body in his arms to move it the robes slid off slightly revealing the person inside it, it was Shinomoto. A chilling warning was heard as this happened, Yuna D. Kaito's calmed demeanor gone.

"Do not touch her!" He yelled as he delivered a powerful lightning attack that I was sure had either killed the man or seriously injured him. He was unconscious the moment the spell made contact.

I could tell Hiragizawa was having more and more difficulty keeping up and so was I... I didn't know what else I could do but I needed to hold on matter what... for her.

...

Sakura

I was afraid to move. There was darkness everywhere I looked and I could not escape it. It took me a few minutes to hold myself together. It wasn't the time to be weak. I grabbed my key from my neck and called upon my staff before noticing in horror my cards where not with me.

Since I had fained unexpectedly, I had not been prepared to have my cards on me. I started to panic... how could I get out of this place without them? Will the cards be close enough to where my body was for me to call upon them? I decided to give it a try knowing this was the only choice I had. I called for my staff with my seal at my feet and tried.

"Blaze!"

Nothing happened... my worst fear becoming a reality. I was growing scared thinking of possible ways to handle this situation when I saw a small white light in the horizon. Like The Glow, my Sakura Card, blinking and disappearing as quickly as it had come, almost as if it was communicating with me. Something told me to try again... so I did.

"Blaze!" I called again and this time the card materialized in front of me, Blaze responding to my call. Somebody had moved the cards closer to my body. Could someone see me? I wondered.

"Blaze, please let me borrow your fire, and the card created a small ball of fire I could use to illuminate my surroundings while returning to its card form. Once I was able to see I noticed I was in a big room of what appear to be an old building, it was empty. I saw a door to my left so I walked out hoping to find a way out. A long hall connecting various rooms was visible so I decided to follow it cautiously as it opened up to what it looked like the outside. I thought this may be it but as I got closer I realized I was inside a temple and near the door leading to the outside someone I recognized was laying down.

The robes. This was the person I had seen in my dreams. It took me a minute to remember I knew this person. I approached the body removing the cover of the head with curiosity, something pushing me to find the identity of the person hunting my dream. To my surprise, Akiho was there, unconscious.

I stepped back from her, scared and confused. It was her, it had always been her. No... this could not be right. I refused to believe my friend was the one behind all of this.

"Akiho" I called her name after getting over my initial shock but she did not respond. Still cautious I approached her, I shook her, something didn't seem right.

Akiho awoke suddenly with my touch and as she did so, she grabbed my staff, trying to take it from me. I called upon Struggle without needing to think twice and I felt the strength of the card within me, allowing me to break free from her hold and regain power of my staff.

"What are you doing?" I asked, scared.

"I want it, give it to me!" She screamed, her eyes devoid of life, as if she were a mere poppet of something I was unable to see. This was my dream, I was reliving it once more, except this no longer felt like a dream.

"No, you can't!" I told her. To my surprise she started attacking me but having the power of Struggle in me gave me an easy advantage. I tried to reason with Akiho to no avail, she was not in her right mind, she seemed to be under a spell of her own.

I didn't want to hurt her but we were getting nowhere, I was running out of ideas until a memory came to me, one where an old friend was under a spell similar to this one except the culprit was a card. I knew what to do immediately, I needed to find the source of the power and either take it from her or destroy it.

"Siege" I called, the card surrounding Akiho, imprisoning her in its walls. "Mirror" I called next "show me our real enemy" The card penetrated the walls of Siege and showed me a silver crescent moon on top of Akiho's head, where her robe was again in place covering her face. I knew immediately this force was the one doing this to her.

"Gale!" I called, a powerful gust of wind flying towards the target, destroying it with its strength. Akiho becoming unconscious once more.

"Akiho" I continued to call for her as I ran towards her, trying to keep her from hurting herself as she fell. When I reached her I continued to call for her and after a few moments she opened her eyes slowly.

"Sakura-san?" Akiho finally responded, confusion evident in her face.

"I am glad you are okay" I sighted. Just by looking at her eyes and hearing her soft voice I could immediately tell I was seeing the usual Akiho in front of me.

She tried getting up but shrieked in pain holding her hand to her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked her as I reached for her to help her.

"Painful memories... I remember everything now"

"What are you talking about?"

"Yuna... Something is not right, we need to get out of here, I need to talk to him now"

"Kaito-san? You must stay away from him, he is dangerous" I warned her, knowing that in doing so I could hurt her. It was no secret they were close.

"Sakura-san... I don't blame you for thinking that way. I can clearly see what he is doing now but in my heart I know he is not a bad person. I just need to talk to him... To fix all of this"

I was perplexed by her words. "What is it that you know?" I asked her.

"He is looking at all of this wrong, that's why he is doing what he is doing. He just needs to learn the truth. I can feel it, my fate has been sealed, it's too late now, he must know that"

"I don't understand..."

"There is no time, we need to keep moving. We need to get out of here. I promise I will explain it all later, at the right time" She declared. She moved to look around, searching for any clues as how to escape this prison.

I was still hesitant but chose to trust her, at least for now. I stared looking around too, making a move to go to the outside where I had initially been heading towards before encountering Akiho. "There is nothing but darkness farther inside, I was there before, I think we need to move outside" I told her, Akiho nodded and followed behind me.

As soon as we were outside we were able to see the temple more clearly, the gate, the trees, the statues... everything was there. We decided to walk around the outside first before attempting anything else. As we walked I dared to ask a question that was bothering me from the start.

"Akiho...your robes... do you have powers?" I blurred out.

"Yes, but they are not what you think they are" She said simply, still looking around.

"What do you mean? I can't sense any magic..."

"That's because I stole it from you, so slowly you barely noticed, unable to feel the threat of something that in theory is yours already but in someone else's body...I am sure he helped too" She had interrupted my ramble, the new information confusing me even more. I stopped cold while hearing her words, scared at the implication.

"What are you talking about?"

"I see it clearly now, my memories returning. I had powers of my own before but the book cursed me, draining my own energy with the passing of each day, sealing my fate in the depths of the book I adored, when in reality I should have despised it..." Her face fell at the confession.

"You are cursed?" I asked her, now feeling sadness for my friend.

"Yes, and so are you... because of me. We need to get out here Sakura-san. A battle awaits us on the other side"

Tears threaten to leave my eyes when I heard I was cursed, I never imagined this situation to be this bad. It took me a moment to collect my bearings yet again. Akiho stopped waking knowing I was having a hard time processing her confession, she put a hand on my shoulder before speaking.

"I can break the curse Sakura, do not worry, I am so sorry that this happened. I know I have told you many things that are hurtful and confusing but right now we need to join another battle to save the ones we love...and ourselves"

Her words helped give me the courage I needed to keep going. I tried my best to calm myself before getting back to work.

"We can't walk any farther, there is nothing else there. It's like we are trapped in a dream." I told her seeing we had already explored the outside of the temple without success, not feeling any magic or seeing anything that could help us.

"A dream you say?... Alice!"

"What are you talking about Akiho... you are confusing me"

"We are trapped inside the book, my book...Sakura-san, do you remember how Alice escaped Wonderland"

"Her sister woke her up... it was a dream, right?"

Akiho nodded. "I think one of us is sleeping. Maybe if we are awakened?"

"Impossible, I was with someone before fainting. I am sure people have already tried to awake me, yet we are here. Does it mean that I am in your dream?"

"Perhaps" Akiho said pensive. "If the outside won't wake me, then we need to destroy the book from the inside"

"I don't have the power to destroy the book" I told her sheepishly "My magic uses cards but none of them could destroy this place without hurting us, if only I had the Sakura Cards..."

Akiho looked around, taking sight of our surroundings once more. "The moon" she said with a smile on her face, looking hopeful.

"What about it?" I asked in confusion.

"You can see it from here, look!" She pointed above us, it looked quite small but it was there. A silver glow high above us. "Maybe the exit is in the sky, but how could we get there..."

"Flight!" I called "Mirror" I continued. I had done this before, I was sure this could work out. Mirror copied Flight so that there were two sets of wings in the shape of ribbons. I gave Mirror's creation to Akiho and took her by the hand helping her navigate the sky. As we reached out we were stopped by translucent glass keeping us from leaving the book.

"Amazing Sakura-san, I didn't know you had such powers!" I just smiled at her words, trying to hide how scared I was knowing that my powers were draining fast, I was having a hard time keeping myself going.

"Akiho-san, move over there for a minute. I will try to break the glass. I gestured for her to move behind me a distance away.

"Blaze!" I called and a huge bird came forth spitting fire towards the glass, melting it. The glass disappearing as sand below us. I didn't know how much longer I could continue, I had used 6 cards today, a feat I had never before accomplished but I needed to push forward, Akiho needed me now.

Once the glass was broken I grabbed Akiho by the hand and pushed forward flying higher towards the moon. We heard walls starting to fall below us as if the world that held us prisoners was reshaping itself to hold us back. I increased our speed almost missing the bright light at the end blinding us. I heard Akiho's scream but just like before there was nothing else for me to hear or see afterwards. Nothingness swallowing me once more.