Card Captor Sakura 1. Clow Reed's Mistake: Prologue

By Maurynna  
  
Author's note: Hi everyone! I really hope you enjoy this fic! It's my first  
  
Cardcaptor one. I put effort into this and even suspended my DragonBallZ  
story to do this.....so you'd better like it! (joking) Seriously, though,  
this fic takes place five years after the series' time period. I think the  
kids were fourteen so now they're nineteen. Sakura has moved out of Japan  
and away from her family and friends(namely Lee; wicked grin.) to go to  
Canada for an education. That's all the background you get so far! Ha ha!  
You'll just have to wait for my other chapters to come out. One more thing,  
sorry for all of the spaces in between the paragrphs. They're not supposed  
to be there but I couldn't get my dumb computer to work properly. Again,  
sorry for the inconvience. Hopefully, it won't happen again.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Cardcaptors, no characters, no  
episodes, no nothing. And I am not getting paid for this....so don't sue  
me!!!  
  
Cardcaptors: Clow Reed's Mistake-Prologue  
  
~Japan~  
  
After centuries of sleep, the forgotten have begun to stir. They could feel  
  
the seals breaking, the spells dissolving, after so many years of  
imprisonment. They can now anticipate where the weakest point in their cage  
  
of rock is, where they will gather their strength and escape. They would  
have their revenge! They would hunt down the man who had imprisoned them,  
who had sent them to damnation so many years ago. Yes....they would find  
him.....and when they did, Clow Reed would be no more.  
  
~Canada~  
  
Late at night, a university student sat at her desk in front of her laptop  
writing her term paper. All of a sudden her head shot up. Something inside  
her shifted uneasily. Something was wrong.....  
  
~Japan~  
  
Yes! The seals are extremely fragile. The forgotten gathered their strength  
  
and lashed out. The seal cracked.  
  
~Canada~  
  
The student doubled over in pain. It felt like something was being ripped  
out of her from the inside. She fell out of her chair with a whimper as  
another barrage of pain assailed her, this one stronger than the last.  
  
~Japan~  
  
Another tear. Ahh....they could practically taste their freedom! And their  
power. They would soon gain back all the power that had been denied use in  
this cursed place. They lashed out in wild abandon. Strike after strike,  
after strike, until....  
  
~Canada~  
  
The woman opened her mouth in a silent scream as her world seemed to go  
black. One thing rooted itself firmly in her mind,  
  
Danger.  
  
~Japan~  
  
Freedom! The deprived have accomplished what centuries before they could  
not. They rushed out of their prison in gleeful abandon. Some stopped to  
savour the moment.  
  
They were again able to smell fresh air. They savoured the feeling of just  
being alive. Abruptly, however, their moods shifted.  
  
Never again. Never again would they ever be imprisoned. They would see to  
that. Clow Reed would not get another chance to send them to hell again.  
They would kill, or be killed, first.  
  
~Canada~  
  
Her world came back into focus slowly and the pain receded. She sat up  
from her position on the floor gingerly and brushed the hair out of her  
eyes. What had just happened? Sometime during the middle of her pain filled  
  
haze, she thought she sensed something. She could have sworn it felt  
like....  
  
But no, it couldn't be.  
  
Could it?  
  
She stood up on shaky legs and weakly made her way over to her bed. She sat  
  
down and reached over to open her night table's drawer. Reaching in, she  
gently shook what could have been mistaken as a stuffed teddy bear. "Kero?"  
  
she whispered.  
  
No response.  
  
A little louder, "Kero?" nothing. She drew in a deep breath and yelled,  
"KERO!"  
  
The little guardian beast of the seal woke with a start and jumped three  
feet into the air. "Where's the fire!?"  
  
The woman just sighed and bit her lip worriedly, thinking about what had  
happened not five minutes before.  
  
Kero Beros flew back to the night table. After determining that there was  
no fire, and no one had died, he was about to demand what it was his friend  
  
thought she was doing, when he got a good look at her face.  
  
"Sakura? You look awful! What's up?"  
  
Sakura looked at Kero with a pained expression. Trying to keep the tremor  
out of her voice, she spoke. "Kero? Something happened a minute ago.  
Something horrible. You didn't feel anything?" she asked nervously.  
  
Kero looked her over curiously. "No, nothing. What happened?"  
  
Sakura drew in a deep breath, willing herself to talk about it. "I was  
sitting at my laptop, working on my paper, when I got an uneasy feeling in  
the pit of my stomach. I didn't even have time to think about why before I  
was engulfed by pain.," Sakura trailed off.  
  
Kero, now looking concerned, said encouragingly, "Go on."  
  
Sakura's breath came out with a whoosh. "As if that wasn't bad enough, the  
pain intensified. It felt like my body was being consumed by fire, it felt  
like every part of me was burning. Like a part of me was being destroyed."  
Sakura looked Kero full in the eyes. "It felt like my soul was being ripped  
  
out."  
  
Kero looked concerned for Sakura, but he also looked worried. It seemed  
likehis mind was gnawing on something he dared not speak of. Yet. Not until  
  
his  
suspicions were confirmed.  
  
"But do you know what was the oddest thing out of all this?" Sakura  
continued. "During the entire time this was going on, I could have sworn I  
felt a......Clow card."  
  
No, Kero thought, please no. But he had knew no matter how much wishing and  
  
hoping he did, what he feared most was not going to go away.  
  
"But that's impossible." Sakura's eyes narrowed when she saw the look on  
Kero's face. "Well, isn't it? I've captured all the Clow cards." when Kero  
didn't respond, Sakura became alarmed. "Kero? What aren't you telling me?"  
  
Kero pushed back the panic rising within him. He must remain calm. For her.  
  
If he was going to be of any help he must....... remain.....calm. Besides,  
now that he was sure, she had to know....if she hoped to have any chance of  
  
winning.  
  
"Sakura, there is something I haven't told you. Clow Reed and myself were  
the only actual people who knew about this for the longest time. I didn't  
tell you before because I thought there was no danger of this ever  
happening again."  
  
Alarmed, and a little hurt that Kero had kept something from her, Sakura  
asked, "What's going on?"  
  
Accepting the inevitable, Kero sat down to explain. "A long time ago, when  
Clow Reed was still alive, he created the Clow cards as you know. But those  
  
weren't the only Clow cards he attempted to create. Clow Reed was a very  
powerful sorcerer, but even I admit that in this, he was way over his  
head."  
  
"After the original Clow cards were completed, Clow Reed attempted to go  
farther than he had before. He had a sort of...upgrade, I guess you could  
say, in mind for the Clow cards. He wanted to make stronger, smarter, more  
powerful cards. He worked night and day, dabbling in dark magic, almost to  
the point of obsession sometimes, until he had created thirteen new Clow  
cards."  
  
"At first, the cards' superior magic was noted by all, and they were  
admired. Clow Reed himself was extremely proud, more so than I had ever  
seen him. But before long, things began to change."  
  
Kero paused in his tale, thinking, "As I said, those cards were smart,  
smarter than Clow cards should have been-had any right to be-and they  
picked up on things fast. They could feel things. Sure, your Clow cards may  
  
be able to have flashes of emotion sometimes-like the mirror card with  
Tory-but when that does happen, it's so brief and inconsequential, that it  
doesn't really count. These cards were different. They felt things like  
happiness, anger, grief, and sadness."  
  
"And greed. Oh yes, that was something they picked up on quite  
effectively."  
  
"The cards soon realized that they were far more powerful than any other  
magic in existence. The realization, the power of it all, went straight to  
their heads. Soon, they began ignoring Clow Reed's orders and doing  
whatever they wished. Clow Reed did nothing at first since the cards hadn't  
  
really done anything wrong." Kero's eyes grew distant as he remembered some  
  
long buried memory.  
  
"That is, until they caused the deaths of five hundred eighty people."  
  
Sakura covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened in horror.  
  
"That was when he realized he had created something horribly wrong. He  
didn't act right away though, on no, he knew he'd have to be extremely  
cautious if he hoped to defeat them. The lesser sorcerers, however, weren't  
  
so patient. They were devastated by the loss of human life. They were  
afraid, and that made them foolish. As they say, 'Fools rush in where  
angels fear to tread,' so goes the case with them. They wanted this  
stopped! They wouldn't listen to reason; wouldn't heed Clow Reed's advice.  
They tried to take care of the situation themselves."  
  
"They were all dead by morning."  
  
Sakura's eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Clow Reed felt it when they died, but he could not allow himself to become  
  
irrational lest he become foolish. He had to think. The cards' biggest  
weakness was their confidence in their own abilities. He would use that  
against them. He knew they were smart, so he would have to be clever; find  
a way to trick them."  
  
"Using the Illusion card, Clow Reed created a copy of himself and used his  
magic to mask the card's aura so that it wouldn't be detected by the  
others."  
  
"He issued a challenge to the new cards. He challenged their superiority  
and implied that they were not nearly as powerful or clever as they  
claimed."  
  
"The ruse worked just as expected."  
  
"Setting the Illusion card into motion now, he sent it to his underground  
laboratory where he first created the Clow cards. Once all thirteen of the  
cards had arrived, the copy acted as if it would make a stand. Then, the  
copy of Clow Reed suddenly looked afraid and made to flee into the lab. The  
  
cards laughed, thinking that Clow Reed had realized he had had no chance  
and was now trying to run and hide. They couldn't allow that."  
  
"They followed the copy into the underground cave. Once all were inside,  
Clow Reed called Illusion back and furiously began a spell he ahd been  
working on. By the time the cards realized they had been tricked.....it was  
  
too late. Clow Reed had finished the chant and had sealed them inside the  
cave, trapping them for all eternity, never able to harm anyone ever  
again." Kero finished.  
  
"Well that's good!" Sakura exclaimed. They deserved it. But, if he trapped  
them.....then what's the problem?"  
  
Kero said the four most difficult words he'd ever had to say. "The cards  
have escaped."  
  
"What!?" Sakura exclaimed. "But how? Why? I thought they were gone for  
good. You said so yourself."  
  
"I know, I know. That's what I thought, too. Not to mention the fact that  
Clow Reed also thought so. But....I don't know......the spells should have  
held." Kero eyes widened as an idea hit him. "After Clow Reed died, the  
spells, overtime, without his presence to keep them strong, the seals must  
have began to weaken. If that's the case, and I'm sure it is, then I'm  
surprised the seals lasted this long." Kero shrugged. "But, then, that  
proves just how powerful of a sorcerer Clow Reed was."  
  
Sakura was silent, thinking about everything Kero had just said. "What do  
we do now?"  
  
"I know it'll be hard, but try to concentrate. Try to tell where the cards  
are now. If you were able to sense them breaking free from so far away,  
then you should be able to tell where they went."  
  
Sakura nodded and tried to concentrate. Flashes of images of what the cards  
  
must have done ran through her mind. She tried to banish them but they just  
  
wouldn't go. In fact, the harder she tried to concentrate, the stronger the  
  
images got. Finally, frustrated, Sakura focused on the pictures. They came  
more strongly now, and they came faster and faster until she thought her  
brain would surely explode. Then, as suddenly as the images had appeared,  
they vanished.  
  
And she knew where the Clow cards were.  
  
Sakura's eyes snapped open. "They're still in Japan." the, quietly, "It  
felt like they were searching for something."  
  
"Searching for something, huh?" Kero thought out loud.  
  
"Kero, what are we going to do about this?" Sakura asked again.  
  
Kero snapped out of his thoughts. "The only thing we can do. What we have  
to do......" Kero paused. "We're going back to Japan."  
  
The End  
______________________________________________________  
  
So? I put a lot of effort into this, especially with the telling of Clow  
Reed's story. I hope you liked this as much as I did writing it. Unless you  
  
want me to continue writing this(and if I do it'll turn into a complete  
series) I won't write anymore. So, please review and tell me what you  
thought. It's all up to you! :)  



	2. Coming HomeCh1

By Maurynna 

Author's note: Hello everybody! Another warning, read the prologue before   
you read this chapter or you most likely won't get it! Anyways....I'd like to   
remind everyone that I am just starting off on what I hope to be a fairly long   
series so things might start off a bit slow. The reviews I got from the   
prologue to this weren't exactly all that encouraging. But I wrote the next   
chapter anyway(na na, na, na, na). Seriously, if people aren't going to read   
this I won't bother writing anymore(even though I myself want to know what   
happens. Haven't gotten that far yet ^_^) so please read and review. Put what   
you truly thought in the reviews and if they're good thoughts   
(think happy thoughts~_~) I'll write more. The prologue may have set you off   
a bit because of the new things I added into it and how serious it was. But give   
it a chance! Keep reading and hopefully you'll change your minds!(Good, now   
that I've told you to read this four, five times now, it should be successfully   
engraved into your brains! Mwahahaha!) ~Sheepish smile.~ Sorry. :)   
One last thing, thanks to however it was who corrected my spelling mistake   
on **Li's** name. Thank-you. On with the fic! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or any of it's characters,   
merchandise, or episodes. I am not getting paid for this so please don't   
sue me! 

**Cardcaptors: Coming Home-Chapter1**

Sakura sat in her window seat looking out at the clouds in deep thought.   
When Kero let the bombshell drop about going back to Japan, Sakura had   
been speechless. She soon got over her shock, though, and became excited.   
She'd be able to see her family again; Dad and Tory. 

When she left four years ago to pursue her schooling in Canada, she had   
been sorry to leave. Since then, she had only been able to make one visit   
back to see her family, and that had been three and a half years ago. She   
had written to her family constantly, but, writing letters to her family   
and actually talking to them face to face was a different story. 

The truth of the matter was, she missed them. She couldn't wait to see   
them again! And then there was Madison. Sakura rolled her eyes.   
Yesterday evening, about an hour after the incident and Kero's story,   
she had gone back to her laptop and e-mailed Madison, telling her   
the good news. With the time difference, Sakura guessed it must have   
been around seven, eight in the morning over there. And yet, minutes   
after she had sent the e-mail, she had received a response. 

Madison had been ecstatic, almost to the point of being hysterical. They   
had been e-mailing each other at least three times everyday for the five   
years she had been away, but they hadn't spoken to each other. In her last   
e-mail, Madison had been very talkative indeed. 

She had written a seven page e-mail(Sakura had no idea how Madison could   
have written that in such a short time) mostly detailing the hours and   
hours of conversation they would be having on end. 

Sakura had specifically told her, though, not to mention her return to her   
family. She wanted to surprise them. Madison had expressed, quite clearly,   
what her opinion on that was. 

And then there was Li. 

Sakura's brow wrinkled in thought. She hadn't seen, written, spoken, or   
even heard from Li since she left. Madison never mentioned him in her   
e-mails and she had never thought to ask. Her family had never mentioned   
him, but why would they? Li liked to stay as far away from her house as   
possible for one reason, and one reason only. 

Tory. 

Sakura smiled. Tory always came down so hard on Li, worried that he was   
going to somehow harm her. She could always guarantee an interesting   
confrontation between those two. Sakura wondered what Li's reaction would   
be when she showed up out of the blue. 

Sakura was interrupted from her thoughts when a certain yellow fluff ball   
started wiggling around in her purse. Sakura quickly glanced around. There   
wasn't anyone seated beside her or in her row. Most of the passenger had   
settled down to nap the rest of the flight an the ones who weren't sleeping   
had headphones on. The stewardess was at the front of the plane chatting   
up the steward. Sakura opened her purse. 

Kero's head immediately popped out. Breathing heavily, he hissed, "What   
are you trying to do? Suffocate me in there?" 

"Shh," Sakura said quickly, looking around nervously. "Sorry about that,   
but you've got to keep quiet." 

"Tell that to someone after they've been stuck in a sweltering, cramped   
purse for nearly an hour." Kero said, but he did quiet down. 

"I said I was sorry," Sakura replied hotly. "But think of it this way.....   
You could have been stuck in the cargo hold, shoved around uncere-   
moniously, **stuffed** into a box that no one handled carefully, even though   
it was marked fragile, for the entire three and a half hour flight!" 

Kero stared at her for a full minute before finally asking, "What's wrong   
with you?" 

Sakura blinked, then blushed slightly, ashamed at her outburst. "I don't   
know. I'm happy to be going back to my home and I can't wait to see my   
family and friends again, but....." Sakura sighed. "I can't stop thinking   
about the new Clow cards." she confessed. 

Kero nodded, understanding perfectly. "What's on your mind?" he asked,   
trying to help. 

Sakura sighed, frustrated. "Everything! How strong **are** these cards? What   
if I can't beat them? What if they hurt people? What if I can't do it alone?   
Those sorts of things." 

Kero shook his head. "I can't help you there Sakura. Those are just   
worries. What if the sun doesn't rise? What if there's a World War 2?   
What if you win the lottery? Those are all just 'what ifs.' All I can tell   
you is....do your best." 

"But Kero! What if my best isn't good enough?" Sakura asked, panicky. 

"That's another 'what if.' Don't concern yourself about those types of   
things. Worry about it when the time comes. You need to be rational and   
logical. That's the only way you'll be able to beat this, Sakura. So pull   
yourself together!" Kero snapped. 

Sakura looked at Kero in astonishment. "How can you be so calm? Aren't you   
the least bit worried?" she asked incredulously. 

Kero looked down. "The truth? Sakura, I'm terrified. I'm so scared right   
now I can feel my soul tremble," Sakura looked astonished. Kero continued,   
"But what would panicking accomplish? The moment we caved in, gave up,   
we'd lose." 

The two sat in silence for a few moments, each thinking their own   
thoughts. Then Sakura spoke up, "I suppose you're right." 

Kero shrugged, brushing off the uneasy moment. "Was there anything else on   
your mind?" 

Sakura nodded. "About the cards' escape," she began, fidgeting, "This has   
nothing to do with what we were discussing a moment before," she assured   
him. "And I get everything you talked about in relation to the new cards'   
creation, but, there is one thing I don't get," 

Kero nodded, waiting. 

"It's expected that I would have sensed the cards once they began to break   
free, but, why the pain? Why did I experience such torment when nothing   
actually, physically, happened to **me**?" she asked puzzled, trying to sort   
out what, to her, made no sense. 

Kero immediately began explaining. "That I **can** help you with. You see, the   
spell Clow Reed had to make in order to keep the cards from escaping had   
to be strong enough to accomplish the task. I've told you how much more   
those cards had, this spell had to be an exceptional one if it was going to   
work." Kero shifted his position, trying to get more comfortable. "Well,   
you see, Clow Reed needed to add something to the basic chant to ensure it   
would hold, but none of the known potions in existence then could have done   
it. So, knowing he had to succeed, no matter what, Clow Reed added the most   
powerful ingredient he could think of. His life force." Sakura's eyes   
widened. "He used his life energy to ensure those seals held. So after his   
death, I can only assume that without his presence to balance out his blood   
in the seals, they would began to dissolve over time." 

"But Kero, that doesn't answer my question." Sakura protested. 

"I'm getting to that," Kero replied indignantly, "Don't interrupt me." Kero   
cleared his throat. "**You** are part of Clow Reed, his descendant, so you have   
inherited his powers, his strength,.....and his blood. I think it would be   
safe to assume that you've also inherited what made Clow Reed's life force   
his life force. So," Kero said, getting to the point, "When the Clow cards   
destroyed the seals, they destroyed what was left of Clow Reed inside them,   
what was, and still is, inside you. That's what you felt go. You felt a   
part of you that Clow Reed had passed on to you go when the seals did." 

Sakura nodded, satisfied. Then she smiled. "You know what, Kero? I had no   
idea you were such a storyteller," Sakura folded her arms behind her head   
and closed her eyes. "But you really should learn to get to the point. I   
thought for sure I was going to nod off waiting for the answer I wanted."   
Sakura cracked open an eyelid. 

Kero was sitting there in her purse fuming silently, face beet red. Sakura   
began laughing. Other people on the plane looked at Sakura with confused,   
annoyed looks on their faces. But Sakura just kept laughing. 

~Japan~ 

Sakura stepped off the plane, a nervous fluttering in her stomach. She knew   
Madison had said that she was happy she was coming back, but they hadn't   
actually seen each other in almost five years. What **would** happen when they   
actually saw each other again, face to face? 

Sakura put the question out of her mind. She'd worry about that when the   
time came. Sakura walked over to the baggage area and picked up her   
luggage. Then, walking over to the waiting area, Sakura put her bags down   
again and was about to seat herself when a screeching, so shrill she   
thought her ears would bleed, sounded from nearby, 

"SAKURA!!" 

Before she had time to do anything but slightly twist her body towards the   
direction of the shriek, Sakura found herself being slammed into full   
force. She nearly fell over from the unexpected body weight. 

After delivering the nearly bone breaking hug, the person pulled back. The   
woman looked Sakura in the eyes with such intensity that she nearly took a   
step back. 

Suddenly, the woman's face broke into a smile. "I **knew** it was you! As soon   
as I saw you walk off the plane I knew you looked familiar, but I wasn't   
one hundred percent sure until you turned around and I saw your eyes. **No**   
**one** could mistake your eyes with someone else's, Sakura." when she decided   
to take a breather in her mile-a-minute speech, it was only to gather   
enough gas to ask, "Where's Kero? Didn't he come with you? Or did you   
decide to leave him at home? In my opinion, you really shouldn't bring him   
anywhere anymore. Remember that time when he switched bodied with Li and   
was allowed to run amuck all over school? Disaster! Besides, he's getting   
old anyways. What is he? One thousand, two thousand years old? I don't   
think he should be overexerting himself." 

Sakura only had time to murmur, "Madison." before Kero's head popped out of   
her purse. 

"Who are you calling OLD!? I've still got plenty of juice left! And for   
your information, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, thank-you very   
much." 

"Ahh....so Kero's here after all." Madison said smugly. 

Sakura, who was still too stunned to move, said again, "Madison....." 

Madison looked her over with a critical eye. "You were expecting someone   
else, maybe?" then she let loose a lop-sided smile. "Ah, but you probably   
didn't recognize me, huh?" 

Sakura shook her head and cracked a smile of her own. 

"But then," Madison continued, "Look at you. What did you do to your hair?   
It's like almost as long as you are tall now. Speaking of which, you grew."   
she observed. 

After a nervous inspection of her hair, that had grown almost to her butt,   
Sakura asked, "Well what did you expect? I'd come back and I'd look exactly   
the same as when I left? Highly unlikely. Besides, you aren't exactly a   
carbon copy of your once fourteen year old self either." 

"Yeah," Madison replied self-consciously. She touched her now shoulder   
length hair. "Do you like it? I got it done not too long ago. It was   
shorter but it grew. I didn't know what you would think when you saw it."   
she confessed. 

"I like it." Sakura assured her. And truly, she did. Madison had changed   
though, definitely. Her face looked like an angel's, innocent, and she had   
lost all the baby fat she had so despised before. Madison had also grown   
but wasn't quite as tall as Sakura was, not coming from a tall family and   
all, but the way she filled out in all the right places completely made up   
for any qualms anyone might think to bring up. 

She could have been a model, Sakura thought. She mentally smiled. But then,   
she'd probably be happier photographing the models then actually being one.   
Madison had told Sakura how she had pursued her photography dream and had   
made it big when she submitted some of her pictures to a magazine. The   
magazine had loved her work and that was what started her now huge photo   
career. 

"You want some help with those?" Madison asked, pointing to Sakura's   
luggage. 

"Yeah, thanks." Sakura agreed. 

"So where are you staying tonight?" Madison asked as they picked up the   
bags and headed out into the parking lot. 

"Well, I was going to stay at my house. Dad says that whenever I come to   
visit I'll always be welcome. I know he'll be glad to see me. Besides,"   
Sakura added with a laugh. "He hasn't touched my room since I moved out.   
You'd think he was afraid that if he did I wouldn't come back." Sakura   
paused. "Why?" 

"Why what?" Madison asked heading towards a group of cars. 

"Why ask where I was staying?" 

"No reason. I just wanted to be sure you had **somewhere** to sleep tonight.   
Can't have you depriving others of the park benches at night now can we?"   
Madison joked. 

"Guess not." Sakura laughed. 

Madison stopped in front of a small white car and opened the trunk. 

"So this is your car?" Sakura asked, helping to load the bags. 

"Yeah, it ain't much but it gets me places." Madison agreed. 

They both got into the car and proceeded to speed off onto the busy   
highway. 

"So when do you plan on seeing your family?" Madison asked. 

"I'm not sure. In a couple of hours, I guess. I'd like to talk to you   
first. That O.K. with you?" 

"Do I like taking pictures? Hell, yes! I'll drive you over around four." 

"Uh.... hello? Aren't we forgetting about someone here? Someone who's going   
to go nuts if he doesn't get out of this purse!" a muffled voice exclaimed. 

Sakura and Madison exchanged knowing glances. "Sorry about that Kero."   
Sakura apologized, opening the purse. 

Kero flew up and sat himself on the dashboard. "That's better." he said   
folding his arms. 

Sakura sat in silence the rest of the way to Madison's apartment. The Clow   
cards were on her mind again. No matter what Kero said, she couldn't **not**   
think about them. She glanced at Kero. She didn't think he was exactly   
clear minded at the moment either, if the look on his face was anything to   
go by. 

Madison pulled off the road and into the apartment parking lot. They both   
got out of the car and grabbed the bags form the trunk. After stuffing Kero   
back into her purse, Sakura and Madison entered the building. They then   
proceeded to enter the elevator where they waited for it to reach the tenth   
floor. The doors opened and they stepped out into the hallway. Madison   
quickly went to her door and unlocked it. Pushing open the door, Madison   
invited Sakura to go in first. 

Sakura put her bags down and admired Madison's apartment. "This is really   
nice, Madison. Cozy. I wouldn't mind living here myself, no I wouldn't."   
Sakura observed. "But **where** did you get the money to pay for some of this   
stuff?" 

Madison didn't reply. Sakura got a bad feeling. Whenever Madison wasn't   
talking, she was thinking. And that, with Madison, was never a good thing. 

"Sakura? What's up?" Madison asked. 

Oh no, she was right, "Up?" Sakura repeated blankly, assuming an innocent,   
yet confused look. 

"Don't give me that!" Madison snapped. She lowered her voice. "I was   
watching you the entire time in the car. Something's on your mind and it   
isn't good." Madison concluded. "Aren't you happy to be back here?" 

Sakura was quick to reassure her, "Of course I am Madison!" Madison sighed   
in relief. "It's not that, believe me it isn't. It's just....wait. How did   
you know something was up?" 

Madison looked at her in a way that made her feel like a fool. "Come on,   
Sakura. How long have I known you? Of course I'd know if something was   
bothering you. Besides," she joked, "Your eyes were boring holes into my   
dashboard." 

Sakura sighed. She supposed she'd have to tell her. She walked into the   
living room and sat down on the sofa. She put her purse on the glass table   
in front of her and opened it to let Kero out. By the look on his face, and   
his silence, Sakura guessed that Kero must have heard what Madison said and   
knew that she was going to tell her. 

"There's another reason why I've come back to Japan," Sakura began. 

"What!?" Madison asked in mock outrage. "You mean there is something else   
more important than your friends and family?" Madison's good humour faded,   
though, when Sakura didn't respond. Madison took a seat across from Sakura,   
bracing herself for anything. "That bad, huh? So spill it." 

Sakura didn't even bother lightening the blow. "There are thirteen new Clow   
cards." 

"What!?" Madison exclaimed. Then her face screwed up in puzzlement. "What's   
the big deal? They're just Clow cards. You've captured them before and you   
can do it again." Madison grew excited. "Besides, I can record all your new   
captures! I've still got the tapes from your old captures. This'll be great!"   
she added with enthusiasm. 

Sakura shook her head. "No, Madison, this is different." Kero nodded.   
Sakura then proceeded, with Kero's help, to retell the story of Clow Reed's   
new and improved Clow cards. When Sakura had finished, Madison's good   
mood had vanished. 

"So, what you're saying is, we've got thirteen new pumped up cards running   
around, on the loose?" Madison summarized. 

"Pretty much," Sakura agreed. Then she did a 180. "Whoa! What do you mean   
**WE**? Madison, these aren't your average   
Clow cards, not that they were ever average," Sakura added under her   
breath. "These are **way** more dangerous. I don't want you anywhere near those   
Clow cards for any reason. **Especially** to get it on tape." 

Madison readied herself for an argument. But Sakura! You might need some   
backup!" 

"What are you? A cop?" 

Madison scowled and folded her arms over her chest. "No matter what you do,   
you won't be able to keep me away." Madison promised. 

Sakura sighed. Sometimes, Madison could be as stubborn as a mule. Wait!   
What was she thinking? Sometimes? 

"Fine." Sakura conceded. "But you will not, under any circumstances, get   
anywhere near the battle and if you do I'll find some way to keep you away,   
believe me I will! Tape from a distance." 

Madison frowned but backed down. 

Sakura glanced at the clock. "I should get going." 

"Yeah," Madison smiled. "I've kept you to myself for too long."   
_______________________________________________________ 

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you carry your bags inside?"   
Madison asked. 

"No, it's alright." Sakura winked. "I'll get Tory to do it." 

"O.K. Call me before you turn in tonight." Madison reminded her and drove   
off. 

Sakura watched Madison's car drive off into the distance until she couldn't   
see it anymore. She then turned her attention to her house. It looked exactly   
the same. Some new plants, a few new lawn ornaments, but other than that,   
it was the same childhood haven she'd left behind. 

Something poked her in the rib. Sakura looked down. "What are you waiting   
for, kid?" Kero asked. 

Sakura smiled. "Just savouring the moment I guess." 

Sakura picked up her bags and headed towards the front door. After setting   
them back down on the doorstep, and saying, "Kero, get back in the purse,"   
she knocked on the door. 

At first, she couldn't hear anything coming from the other side of the   
wood, but then, she heard footsteps coming towards her. Sakura pasted a   
smile on her face, hoping she'd be as welcome as she thought she'd be. 

The front door was opened and she found herself inches from a male chest.   
Sakura craned her neck upwards and smiled. 

"Hello Tory." 

Tory stood in the doorway for a few heart stopping moments before making a   
move. 

The chest she had been looking at only moments before she was now feeling   
as well. "Sakura!" Tory exclaimed happily, giving her a bone breaking hug. 

"Tory," Sakura wheezed. "I can't breathe." 

Tory immediately relinquished his hold looking sheepish. He regained his   
composure fast though, and looked so utterly indifferent to her now that   
Sakura almost laughed. Tory coughed into his hand. "Hello Squirt." 

Sakura lifted an eyebrow. "Squirt? I've grown, or haven't you noticed? I'm   
nearly as tall as you are now." she said indignantly. 

Tory snorted. "Yeah, the top of your head almost reaches my chin," he   
observed. 

Sakura smacked him on the shoulder. "When are you going to stop teasing   
me?" she asked exasperated. 

Tory considered. "After I die?" 

Sakura gave a wry smile. "Great." she said sarcastically. She folded her   
arms over her chest. "So am I going to stand out here all day or are you   
going to help me bring in my bags?"   
_________________________________________________________ 

Sakura climbed up the stairs to her bedroom. She had finished eating supper   
an hour ago and had been sitting up talking with her father and Tory.   
Sakura opened her bedroom door and smiled. She could have sworn Dad was   
going to cry when he saw her. His eyes had gone all misty and bright, but   
then she had received the same treatment from him as she had from Tory and   
she was too busy trying to breathe afterwards to notice whether he let a   
tear slip out. The only reason she had gotten away this soon was because   
she had pleaded fatigue; claiming jet lag from the long flight. 

Sakura sat down on her bed with a plop. She had already unpacked her things   
so she didn't have to worry about that. All she needed to do was call   
Madison. Sakura glanced at her alarm clock. She wondered if Madison would   
still be up. Sakura smacked herself on the forehead. Of course she'd still   
be up. She would stay up all night waiting for her phone call. 

Kero's head popped out of his customary drawer. "So how'd it go? With as   
long as you were down there I thought they'd never give you up." 

"Everything went fine." Sakura replied absently, picking up the phone. 

"Who are you calling?" 

"Madison." 

"When are you going to talk to that Syaoran kid? As much as I hate to admit   
it, we're going to need him." 

Sakura froze. Li. She had forgotten to ask Madison about Li. 

Sakura dialed Madison's number. The phone didn't even get a chance to   
finish the first ring when it was picked up off the hook. 

"Hello?" 

"Hi, Madison. It's me." 

"So how did it go?" 

"A lot of talking, a lot of reminiscing. Madison, I'm so glad to be back." 

Madison laughed. "I kinda figured you would be." 

Sakura glanced at the clock again. "Look Madison, I hate to cut this short   
but it's late and I'm really tired." 

"No problem." Madison assured her. 

"There is just one more thing I have to ask you before I go, though."   
Sakura said. 

"Shoot." 

"How's Li doing?" 

Silence. 

"Hello?" Sakura asked, puzzled by the unexpected reaction. 

"Umm....." Madison hedged. "Li is.....well, he hasn't exactly been...." 

"Madison," Sakura asked alarmed, "Where's Li?" 

Madison sighed. "That's just it Sakura. No one knows **where** Li is. After you   
left, he just sort of, disappeared. He hasn't been seen since."   
______________________________________________________ 

You like? Nice cliffhanger, eh? ^_^ I liked it. Please write reviews and   
tell me what you thought. If you read the author's note you'll know that   
I'm not sure whether I should continue this. It's all up to you, always has   
been, always will be ^_*   
(I sincerely apologize for the large amount of nonsense you were forced to   
read in my Author's note. Sometimes, all the time, I get carried away.   
You'll probably see that often, but, what can I say? I can't help it! Sorry   
again!)   
See you later! 


	3. An Encounter With RageCh2

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Hello again! I don't have much to say this time(shocker!)except that I hope you enjoy this. Just wait until you get to the end! Thank-you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Don't forget to review this one as well! Anything you would like to comment on is welcome. Anything......although, *sniff* if you're going to write something negative use constructive criticism please. Word of warning, if you haven't read the prologue and/or chapter one do so now! Before you read the fic or this very likely won't make very much sense. Thank-you. On with the fic! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or any of it's characters, episodes, or merchandise, so please don't sue me! 

**Cardcaptors: An Encounter with Rage-Ch.2**

Clow Reed was here. 

A lone figure sat in the upper-most boughs of a large oak tree, looking out over the park. He had first felt that meddlesome sorcerer's presence before dusk. He had decided to bide his time though, as he still was not familiar with this time and place. He could have called the others back, but, he would prove once and for all, that he was more powerful than Clow Reed!   
~   
"What do you mean he hasn't been seen since I left?" Sakura asked uncertainly, feeling the ground under her feet turn to mush. 

"Just what I said," Madison replied uneasily, not sure how Sakura was taking the news. She had wanted to postpone talking about this for as long as possible......things weren't working out quite as she had planned, "No one really knows what happened to Li. For all I know, Li might not even be in Japan anymore." 

"What about Meilin?" Sakura asked desperately, grasping for straws. Meilin would know where Li was. Meilin **always **knew where Li was. 

Madison coughed. "Meilin got married last week." 

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Meilin? Meilin Rein? **Our** Meilin? The one who was obsessed with whatever Li said or did? You've **got** to be joking." 

Madison shook her head even though Sakura couldn't see her, "Nope, and you'll never believe **who** she married." Madison paused for dramatic effect. "Zachary." 

Sakura nearly fell off the bed. "What!? No way! Those two never got along together, I don't think they've ever even exchanged two words before," Sakura pointed out perplexed. 

Madison shrugged. "I don't know. About four months ago, they seemed to just.....notice each other, I guess. It was like a whirlwind romance." Madison said dreamily. 

Sakura was in a fine state of shock. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. 

"Well," Madison said, scratching her head. "I didn't want to write anything in relation to Li incase you decided to ask about him. I didn't know what to tell you." Madison confessed sheepishly. 

"Well, if you hear anything, or see Li, tell me O.K.? I could really use his help." Sakura was at a loss for anything better to say. 

"Sakura? You alright? I know you two weren't the closest but you did get along, sort of." Madison added. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sakura assured her. "Bye." 

"Bye." 

Sakura hung up the phone. Kero floated over to the bed and sat down, looking at Sakura curiously. "So? What's going on with the kid?" he asked. 

"I don't know," Sakura said distantly. What had happened to Li? Why did he leave? Where did he go? "Apparently, Madison doesn't know where Li is. No one does." 

Kero folded his arms. "Huh, figures that kid wouldn't be around when you needed him." Kero flew back to his drawer, yawning, not overly concerned. "If I were you, I'd get to bed. We've got to be up early tomorrow to try and find those Clow cards." 

Sakura nodded and got ready for bed. As she turned out the light, one thing was still going through her head, 

"Where are you, Li?" she whispered.   
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

When Sakura woke up the next morning, it was to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. Sakura rolled over groggily, getting ready to go back to sleep, when her bedroom door slammed open. Sakura bolted upright in bed. 

"Squirt! It's time to get up!" Tory yelled. As he headed back out the door with a smile on his face, he added, "After all these years you're still a late case." 

"Tory!" Sakura screamed, throwing her pillow at him just as he shut the door. She could hear him laughing all the way down the hall. "Jerk." she muttered. 

Kero's drawer opened. He popped out holding his head. "I do not need this first thing in the morning." 

"Who are you telling?" Sakura asked as she got up and threw on a white short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. She twisted her hair up and stuffed it into a baseball cap. "So what are we doing this morning?" she asked. 

"Well, first," Kero said seriously, "We eat!" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Then we go see if we can find anything the Clow cards might have gotten into." 

Sakura picked Kero up and put him in her shirt pocket. Then she headed downstairs and towards the kitchen. 

Her father was sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper and Tory was leaning against the counter munching a piece of toast. 

Mr.Avalon looked up from his paper, "Good morning, Sakura." he greeted. 

Tory's attention immediately fixed itself on her shirt pocket. "You've still got that thing? And you still carry it around with you?" Tory finished off his toast. "I think you have some major childhood issues you need sorting out." 

"Morning to you, too, Tory." Sakura said sarcastically. Sakura grabbed some toast from the table and made for the door. 

"Where are you going?" 

Sakura froze. She turned to look at her father. _Whoa, _she thought, _talk about deja vu. _"I was just going for a walk, Dad. It's been a long time since I was last here and I wanted to get used to things again." she said quickly. 

Mr.Avalon put down his paper. "Do you really think you should be going out alone? It's not safe for a woman to be out by herself, not even during the day." 

Sakura looked at him quizzically. "I'll be fine Dad, but if you're worried I'll call Madison." she compromised. 

He didn't seem satisfied. "Still, you said so yourself, you haven't been back for a while. What if you get lost? Maybe Tory should go with you." 

Sakura was about to protest when sudden enlightenment dawned. She walked back to the kitchen table and gave her father a huge hug. "I'm coming back, Dad. I'm not going anywhere." she whispered. 

Mr.Avalon smiled. "I know, I just....it's been a long time since I got to fuss over my only daughter." 

Sakura kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'll see you at lunch." Sakura turned around and walked out the door and into the fresh morning air, smiling. Her smile didn't last long, though, as she remembered what Madison told her about Li. 

"Kero? What do you think happened to Li?" she asked, looking to the Guardian Beast of the Seal for an answer. 

"I have no idea, Sakura," Kero replied. "But, we're going to need him in the fight against the Clow cards." Kero sighed. "If you only knew how to use your magic you inherited from Clow Reed, then we'd have a better chance." 

Sakura looked hurt. "It's not my fault." then she looked sternly at Kero. "But that's not why I asked. I'm worried about him Kero." 

"Why?" Kero asked, completely uncomprehending. 

Sakura glowered at him. "Because Kero, he was, is, my friend. We've been through a lot together. I'd hate to think something had happened to him." 

"That annoying baka!?" Kero asked perplexed. "The first day he was here he tried to beat you up!" he reminded her. 

Sakura smiled, remembering. "I don't think he would have actually **hurt** me, Kero. He just wanted the Clow cards." 

"Oh, well, that makes it alright doesn't it?" Kero said, because in fact, it didn't. 

Sakura looked at him sternly. "Well everything turned out O.K. didn't it? He helped me capture all the Clow cards and was even semi nice about it sometimes." 

Sakura and Kero were approaching the park and a few people appeared up ahead. Kero immediately went limp in Sakura's pocket and Sakura walked into the park, passed the people, and went into the trees without looking any of them in the eyes. When she was a good ways away from anyone, namely out of hearing distance, Kero came back to life, 

"I still don't see why you're so worried," Kero held up his arms in a defensive gesture. "No, not because of that, I understand that he was your friend, but because, in case you've forgotten, Syaoran happens to be a skilled warrior. I'm sure he'll land on his feet, so to speak." 

Sakura's expression brightened, "You're right Kero. Li is a fighter. He can take care of himself, but still, the sooner I see him again the better." Sakura paused, trying to push the subject of Li out of her mind. "O.K. Kero, we came out here to try and find a Clow card. So let's do that." 

Kero held up a warning finger, "We only want to find them Sakura. You're not ready for a direct confrontation yet. Just keep a low profile. If we do happen to find one, keep yourself at a distance and just observe it." Kero reminded. 

Sakura nodded. "So what do I do? I can still sense them like the other Clow cards, so that should still work, right?" 

Kero nodded. "That's right. But be cautious when you're probing for them, they may be able to tell you're looking for them and either run, or attack." 

Sakura nodded, closing her eyes. She concentrated, keeping her mind completely blank so as not to alarm the Clow cards to her presence....... 

There! She felt something. Whatever it was, it was close. It felt similar to a Clow card, but subtly different, as if there was something there that just hadn't been with the other Clow cards. Suddenly, the card rapidly changed it's position. Sakura latched onto it, determined, desperate. She would **not **lose this card! 

Sakura opened her eyes. "It's this way," she informed Kero, heading deeper into the woods. The thing was still moving rapidly, not moving away from her, just sort of, jumping and dodging around casually, never moving more than a dozen metres away from her. Sakura kept a hold on it. 

A jogger abruptly rounded a corner in a bend of the trail and almost ran into Sakura. Sakura blinked and looked up into the man's face, prepared to apologize, but the look in his eyes paralyzed her. 

The emotion behind those eyes was rage, white, hot, rage. She didn't think she'd ever seen anyone look as angry as he did at that moment. He looked like he wanted to kill her. 

Then, the emotion seemed to completely drain out of him, not a single sign left to indicate he is, or was, the slightest bit upset. He smiled at her politely and with an, "Excuse me," jogged past her back up the path. 

Sakura stared at the man's back in confusion, and dread. "Kero? Did you see.....?" she began. 

"Yes," Kero said. "That wasn't his rage that took over, that was a Clow card's doing." 

"So we're getting close," Sakura said quietly. Kero flew out of her pocket and flew up just above Sakura's head, on guard. The sense of the Clow card grew inside her head. It was extremely strong now, and Sakura knew it couldn't be more than a few feet away. She crept off the trail quietly and headed towards a small, enclosed clearing, towards the place where she sensed the Clow card.   
~   
He could feel him getting closer! Clow Reed was just within his reach! He could feel his energy. Ah, but revenge was sweet! Soon, soon he would show Clow Reed who was the strongest, the smartest, the most powerful! And he would finish off Clow Reed all on his own.   
~   
Sakura walked into the clearing warily. Something didn't feel right. The Clow card was here......but where? She couldn't see it and couldn't quite pinpoint it's exact location. Kero flew on ahead of her, looking around for himself, apparently able to sense something as well. 

Sakura's only warning was a sudden spike in the card's energy before she was tackled from behind. Sakura grunted as her body forcefully hit the ground. She landed on her stomach, whomever attacked her on top of her. Sakura tried to roll out from underneath her attacker but found herself helplessly pinned. 

The stranger leaned down towards her and Sakura felt his warm breath waft past her ear, "Now," a masculine voice whispered softly, "You shall feel my wrath, my rage! Feel what it is like to know you have been defeated, Clow Reed." and with that shocking announcement, he got up off of her and roughly flipped her over and onto her back, causing Sakura's hat to be knocked off and her hair to come spilling out. 

Sakura found herself looking into startling blue eyes, eyes that were filled with shock. "You are not Clow Reed." he said dumbly, as if he couldn't believe it. 

Sakura sat up carefully, refusing to break eye contact with him. "No," she said cautiously, "I'm not." 

They continues to stare at each other for a few milliseconds before a streak of yellow lightening rushed past her, and then in front of her, acting as a barrier. 

She blinked. Kero? 

The stranger's eyes had also caught sight of the approaching Guardian Beast of the Seal. When Kero had stopped in front of Sakura, the stranger sneered, "Kero Beros," he said, utter contempt dripping from his voice. "Clow Reed's ever present apprentice." he gave Kero a once over. "What has your mighty master done to you? An experiment gone bad? Or perhaps he realized your real purpose in life and turned you into something accordingly, although, I think a lap dog might have been more appropriate." Kero didn't respond. "Speaking of your Master, tell me, where is he now? I can sense him on the girl. What sort of trick is this? Has he disguised himself mayhaps? But no, he would not be so foolish as to leave his energy so easily detectable. Where is he?" 

Kero studied the man for a brief second before casually dismissing him with his eyes. The man's lips tightened at the subtle insult. "Where have you been? That's right...." Kero said as if he just remembered, "You've been trapped in that cave these past centuries. And that's exactly what it's been. Centuries. You fool, not even Clow Reed could have survived this long." 

The man took a menacing step forward. "What are you saying?" 

"I'm saying," Kero spoke as if addressing a child. "Clow Reed is dead." 

The stranger stood stock still for a moment, his face utterly devoid of emotion, before suddenly striding forward and plucking Kero out of the air with one gloved hand. "You lie!" he shouted, his eyes churning like a boiling sea. "The sorcerer cannot be dead. I shall not be denied my revenge! He **will** pay!" 

Kero couldn't breath, nor could he break free of the furious man's grip. Suddenly Sakura appeared in his line of vision and grabbed the man's arm. Kero tried to warn her off, tell her to get away as fast as she could, but only managed to let out a wheeze. 

Sakura yanked. "Let him go!" she warned. 

The man's eyes flickered for a moment, then broke contact with Kero's and fastened on Sakura. Suddenly, he let Kero go. Kero fell to the ground coughing. The stranger grabbed hold of Sakura's arm. 

"Hey!" she growled, ineffectually trying to pry his fingers away. He ignored her efforts. 

His attention fixed itself back to Kero. "Then who is this!? She positively reeks of **him**!" 

Kero refused to answer. 

The man threw Sakura towards Kero, disgusted. Sakura fell to her knees beside Kero and grabbed him up quickly. "Who are you?" she demanded. 

The man executed a mocking bow. "I am Rage." he said quietly. He raised his arms. 

"Run." Kero said. 

"What?" Sakura asked, disbelieving. 

"Run." he repeated. 

Rage's energy began to build. 

"But I can fight him! Kero, just let me...." 

"I said run! Don't question me just do it!" Kero ordered. 

He said it with such panicked urgency that Sakura didn't question him this time. 

She ran. 

Sakura raced out of the clearing as fast as her legs would carry her. She tried to get back onto the park path, but she couldn't seem to find it. Sakura risked a peek over her left shoulder, and was glad she did. Sakura dove to the left with a cry as a white blur whizzed by her head and thudded into a nearby tree. Sakura did a tumbling roll to the ground. She whipped her head around and stared in horror at the object embedded in the tree. 

It was a sword. 

Sakura struggled to her feet but fell back with a whimper as her weight landed on her left foot. Sakura scooted back against a tree trunk, breathing heavily, her gaze darting around, looking for Rage. 

"Kero," Sakura whispered. "I don't think I can run. I think I twisted my ankle." 

"It's O.K. Sakura, we'll get through this." Kero reassured her. 

Sakura nodded. Her gaze crept back towards the sword and was horrified to realize it wasn't there anymore. Sakura stood up on one foot, bracing herself against the tree for support. She took out the Key of Clow and prepared to transform it, 

"Oh, Key of Clow......" she began. 

"No!" Kero hissed. 

Sakura looked at him in bewilderment and frustration. 

"You cannot let him know who you are! He's just toying with you right now, you amuse him. Trust me, if he had wanted to impale you with that sword he wouldn't have missed. If he sees the Key of Clow, figures out that you're related to him, it would only enrage him." 

"So what am I supposed to do!?" she asked with anger born from desperation. 

"We bide our time, and hope we get a lucky break." Kero said. 

_Well that's just great, _Sakura thought, _A lucky break....when does anyone **ever** get one of those when you need them?_

The Mistress of the Clow cards and the Guardian Beast of the Seals sat in silence, anticipating the worst. Throughout the wood was an eerie silence, not a bird chirping, not a single gust of wind. Sakura stood at rigid attention, listening for the slightest sound. She kept putting a little bit of her weight on her left foot, hoping that the pain would abate soon so she could get out of here. For what seemed like an eternity, the two sat there, dreading the moment Rage would show himself. 

Sakura had had more than enough, and she was a little more than angry at Rage for toying with them this way. She put her foot down and pressed experimentally. 

Nothing. Good..... 

"Kero, we're getting out of here, now." Sakura stepped away from the tree and made to get out of there, 

"I did not give you permission to leave." 

Sakura whirled around, clutching Kero to her chest. There he was, leaning against a nearby tree trunk, arms crossed, studying her with a slightly puzzled expression, like he couldn't quite figure her out. 

Sakura stared back, stubbornly refusing back down. Rage had intense blue eyes, they seemed to stare straight into your soul. He had long angel white hair that flowed untamed down his back. A few unruly strands had separated themselves from the rest to frame his face. 

And, oh, what a beautiful face he had. 

His features were delicately sculpted, as if an artist had taken great care in putting his features onto paper. His eyebrows were arched and his complexion fair, but his beauty did not detract from his masculinity. His clothes were best suited for the Medieval times. He wore a white long sleeved silk shirt and black pants with black boots. He also wore short black gloves over his hands. 

Sakura's gaze drifted down to something strapped to his waist. She blinked. It was a sword. The same sword, she realized, that had almost split her skull in two. That bit of reality snapped her out of her thoughts sufficiently enough for her to remember that he was a Clow card, a murderer who wouldn't think twice about killing her or Kero. 

Sakura took a step back. He took a step forward. Sakura bolted, Rage ran after her. He stepped into her path and blocked her way. 

"What I don't understand," Rage began, "Is why you have the sense of Clow Reed, and why Kero Beros is with you." 

"Let me pass." Sakura said quietly. 

"Or what?" Rage opened his arms wide, inviting her to do as she would. "The only way you will leave is by defeating me, which is highly unlikely, or telling me who you are." 

"Don't do it." Kero warned. 

Rage's face twisted with anger. "I have not asked for your opinion, wizard, nor do I want it!" 

Kero jerked out of Sakura's protective embrace angrily. "I'll say what I wish, card." Kero sneered. "And I wish for you, and the others like you, to go back to where you came from! Oblivion!" Kero shouted. 

Rage exhibited signs of why they called him just that. His eyes dilated and his nostrils flared. Before Sakura could help Kero, Rage's arm shot shot out and he knocked Kero into a nearby tree. Kero slid to the ground, dazed. 

"Kero!" Sakura shouted, worried. She went to comfort him. 

Rage took hold of her arm forcefully, "Now, you will tell me what I want to know." he demanded. 

Sakura's other hand came up with a snap and slapped Rage across the face. His head jerked back in surprise. He slowly turned his head back towards her, revealing a red mark on his skin, blemishing his pale skin. 

Sakura glared at him. "I'm not telling you **anything** you cold hearted bastard." she said quietly. 

Rage just stared at her until Sakura became nervous. Then his eyes narrowed and his grip on her arm tightened. Suddenly, Sakura didn't think striking him had been such a good idea. 

Rage flung her away from him. Sakura landed solidly on her hip, wincing. "If you will not be cooperative, I have no need of you." he unsheathed his sword and held it in front of his face in a salute. Then he lowered himself into a fighting stance and with a cryptic remark, "Say hello to Death for me," he charged. 

Sakura closed her eyes. _Not enough time to get out of the way, _she thought, _and no time to call upon a Clow card. I'm sorry Dad, Tory, Madison. I said I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, looks like I was wrong. And I'm sorry Li, that I didn't get a chance to see you again. Good luck in your fight against the new Clow cards._

All of this passed through Sakura's mind as she prepared herself for the end, 

But it never came. 

Suddenly strong arms were lifting her up and away from danger, away from Rage's oncoming sword. It ended up striking the grassy earth instead. 

Sakura opened her eyes. She had been saved by a brown haired, brown eyed stranger, his expression as cold as steel. 

There was something familiar about that hardened, closed expression. It almost looked like...... 

But it couldn't be. 

Except it was. 

His hair was a little longer, and his expression was colder than she ever remembered it being, but, he was without a doubt..... 

Li Syaoran. 

Rage looked up at Li, who had jumped onto a tree branch, with unconcealed annoyance. "And who are you? You have no right to be here, I have no qualm with you. Leave." he ordered. 

Li ignored him. "Time card! Freeze the moment!" 

Everything in the immediate area ceased to exist in the normal flow of time. Li quickly sprinted out of the vicinity, using the Jump card to gain extra momentum. Sakura hung on for dear life. She hadn't frozen along with everyone else because she had been in physical contact with Li when he initiated the Time card. 

Li came to a skidding halt. He glanced over his shoulder to see if the card had somehow managed to find them. Satisfied that he hadn't been followed, Li released the spell the Time card had created and everything returned to normal. 

He set Sakura down gently and asked, "Are you hurt?" 

Sakura shook her head. Then she smiled. "I am so glad you showed up when you did. I didn't think I was going to get out of that one." 

Li shrugged, unaffected by either her apology, or the fact that she had come so near death. "You should get home now. Next time, be more careful. Talking to strangers is never a good idea." Li turned around and started walking away. 

Sakura could not believe her ears. Had Li just patronized her? He had treated her like a child! "W-what did you just say to me?" 

Li glanced over his shoulder, surprised to see her still there. "You heard me." was all he said. 

Sakura was hurt. After all this time, this was all he could say to her? Sakura became angry. "I am most certainly **not **going home! In case it escaped your notice, that was a **Clow card** back there, and you need my help to capture it." 

Before Sakura realized what was happening, Li had her arms in a death grip. He leaned in close, staring into her eyes with a deadly calm. "How do you know about Clow cards?" he asked softly, dangerously. 

Sakura stared at him, wide-eyed. What was wrong with him? 

When Li didn't get an immediate answer, he shook her slightly. "Answer me." he ordered harshly. 

This was too much. First, she's attacked by an incredibly strong, lethal, **psychotic**, Clow card, and now Li looked as if he wanted her dead as well. 

Li's grip on her arms tightened. "Who are you and how do you know about the Clow cards?" 

Sudden realization dawned on Sakura. He didn't recognize her. And somehow, that hurt more than anything else had today. "Li, you don't know who I am?" Sakura asked in a hurt voice. 

"No, why? Should I? And how do you know my name?" 

Sakura couldn't believe it. _He doesn't know who I am. How could he not know who I am?! _Sakura's pain abruptly turned to anger. She jerked herself out of Li's grasp roughly. "Oh, I don't know Li, you tell me. How **do** I know your name? I've only fought beside you a countless number of times, saved your life, and been your **_friend_**. So you tell me, Li Syaoran, how it is I know your name and know about the Clow cards. I know about them because **I** **sealed** **them**!" Sakura shouted the last three words at him. 

Li stared at her, his composure cracking. "I don't believe you." he said simply. 

Sakura couldn't believe it herself, but not for the same reason. "Are you calling me a liar?" she asked incredulously. 

Li shook his head, as if trying to dispel the vision in front of his eyes. "You look like her, you sound like her, god.....you even act like her. BUT YOU AREN'T HER!!" 

"Li," Sakura said heatedly, "I am Sakura Avalon." 

"No!" Li reeled back. "You're not her, you **can't **be her!" his voice turned to steel and took on a desperate edge. "You're another one of those Clow cards. You pretend to be her, to plague me! Just like the visions you've been sending me. I've seen her death over and over again, in my head." Li unsheathed his ancestral sword. "You're not Sakura. Sakura's gone and she's never coming back. Begone!" Li swung his sword. 

"**_LI!_**" 

To be continued.......   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Evil cliffhanger, eh? I didn't even know I was going to end it like that. What's wrong with Li? And what's going to happen to Rage, who has a striking resemblance to a certain *cough* Miliardo *cough* Peacecraft *cough*. ^_^ My fault entirely. I just love him! Anyways..... before you kill me for that downright wrong ending, keep in mind that you need me around if you want to read the next chapter *_^ Keep an eye out for it though because I'm not sure when I'll be able to get it out. I hope it will be soon. See you all later!! 


	4. ExplanationsCh3

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Hello again! Sorry it took me this long to get this posted. There won't be such a long wait for the next chapter. Don't forget to review! Thank-you to everyone who remembered to review the last one, and remember, all comments are welcome.   
Note(that I put in every chapter): If you haven't read the previous chapters go back and do so NOW! And don't forget to review them as well. Remember.....I'm watching you 0.0 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or any of it's products, characters, or episodes and am not getting paid for this, so don't sue me! 

**Cardcaptors: Explanations-Ch.3**

For the second time that day, Sakura ran for dear life. She could hear Li shouting at her from behind, 

"That's right, run!! I'll find you, and when I do I'll destroy you!" 

This was really too much. What was wrong with him? It almost looked as if he was mad(as in insane, people) for a moment. He certainly acted as if he was. What was she going to do now? Li can't help her, not when he wants to kill her, she has a Clow card after her, and not to mention the fact that she hurt like a bitch! 

Sakura had dozens of little scratches on her face and arms from running carelessly through the woods. Her clothes were torn in various places, her hip hurt, her chest felt like it was going to explode, and her legs were on fire. Not to mention her upper arms. They were going to be black and blue before the day was up from Rage and Li's rough handling. 

She couldn't deal with this right now, there was way too much to think about. As soon as she saw Kero she'd tell him about Li, maybe he could..... 

Sakura stopped running as she realized, in horror, that Kero wasn't with her. He was still back in that clearing somewhere, hurt, maybe unconscious. Sakura bit her lip. How could she have left him there? She didn't care what Kero said, she was using the Key of Clow and she was going back to get him. 

"Let's see if I remember how to do this," Sakura closed her eyes. "Oh, Key of Clow," she began the chant. 

When the Key transformed into her wand, Sakura immediately took out a Clow card. "Fly card, release and dispel! Fly card!" Sakura hopped on the Clow wand and flew up above the trees. Wary of Rage, and of Li, Sakura flew over the clearing where Rage had first shown himself. Sakura searched frantically for any sign of Kero from above. She dared not get any closer though, in case she ran into one of the two men. Sakura searched the entire length of the park woods, never once finding any sign of Kero. 

Sakura decided to head back for home. She knew she shouldn't leave Kero out here by himself, but with the state she was in, Sakura figured she'd be doing both of them a favour if she came back to look when she was more alert. Besides, Kero knew what he was up against, he could handle himself. He'd lye low until she found him. 

Sakura landed just outside of the park. She put the Key of Clow away and began to walk home dejectedly. She vaguely noticed that people were staring at her. She didn't care. She knew with brutal certainty that, at this moment, she was completely alone. No Kero to give her advice, no Li to help her battle the Clow cards. She couldn't go to Madison for help because she'd only end up putting her in danger as well. She couldn't go to her family because they knew nothing about her and the Clow cards. Sakura wished she could have told her family, especially Tory. She could really use their support right now. 

Sakura walked up the drive to her house. She opened the door quietly, hoping that no one would notice her. She needed to get upstairs and change before..... 

"Squirt? Is that you?" Tory yelled from the living room. 

_Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. Don't get up, don't walk in here. _"Yeah, it's me," Sakura said, hoping she sounded normal. 

"Sakura? Are you O.K.?" Tory asked. 

_Damn!_ He knew something was up. He never used her name unless it was something serious or he was worried about her. "I'm fine, Tory. I'll be in my room." 

Sakura raced up the stairs, wincing with every step she took, hoping that Tory wouldn't come looking for her. She opened her door and entered her room. She shut the door and leaned against it, placing her forehead against the wood. 

She wouldn't cry, she would not. Despite her best efforts, Sakura could feel her eyes filling with unshed tears. She felt an almost irresistible urge to start laughing. God!...... she was such a wreck! She knew she needed to be strong, but all she wanted to do was crawl into a corner and cry. 

Sakura shook her head. _Snap out of it Sakura! How is this going to help solve anything? Get moving! _Sakura dragged herself over to her bed and sat down. _Right, first thing's first. Kero. I've got to find him as soon as possible._

Sakura tried to stand back up, to get some new clothes out of her dresser, but found that every nerve ending screamed when she attempted the feat. She was getting stiff from this morning. _This, is not good, _she thought. 

There was a knock on her door, then Tory stuck his head in, not waiting for an invite, "I know you said you were fine Squirt, but I just thought......oh my God! What the hell happened?!" 

Sakura closed her eyes. _Oh great, and here I thought things couldn't _possibly _get any worse._

Tory rushed over to the bed and took Sakura's face into his hands, examining her closely. 

Sakura jerked back, "It's nothing, Tory, I'm fine." 

"Like hell you are!" Tory said with vehemence. Sakura stared at him. "Who did this to you? What happened? When I find them....." 

"No one did this to me Tory," Sakura looked down at her hands. "I-I tripped and fell in the woods." which wasn't so far from the truth. 

Tory eyed her disbelievingly. "Whoever you think you're protecting," Tory began slowly, "Or if he threatened you into silence, don't worry about it. You can tell me Sakura. Tell me." he coerced. 

Sakura looked into his eyes. She wanted to tell him, she really did, but, Sakura lowered her eyes again. "I told you, no one attacked me. I fell." 

Tory sat there for a few moments, not understanding why Sakura wouldn't confide in him, and hurt because she very obviously didn't trust him enough to do so. "Fine," he replied. "I'll go get some water and peroxide to clean those cuts." 

"No, that's alright," Sakura said quickly. "I can do it myself, besides, I have to change. I need to go out and....." Sakura trailed off, realizing by the expression on Tory's face, that she shouldn't have said that. 

"You're not going anywhere! What are you....a machine? And where could you possibly need to go with the shape that you're in?" Sakura didn't answer. "Didn't think so. Now, you get changed if you want to, but you are not leaving this house anytime soon." Tory headed out the door. "I'm going to get some water." 

Sakura slumped back on her bed with a defeated sigh. How was she ever going to find Kero now? Sakura narrowed her eyes in determination. She didn't care what Tory said, she was leaving to find Kero, with or without the medical attention she probably needed. Sakura dug into her pocket and pulled out a Clow card, 

Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Mirror card! Help me fool Tory so that I might get away, Mirror card!" There was a brief flash of light, then Mirror appeared, an exact replica of Sakura. "Keep Tory busy until I get back, and make sure you act exactly like me." Sakura reminded. 

Mirror smiled. 

Satisfied, Sakura went to her window and silently opened it. Looking out at the large tree that took up residence not a few feet away, Sakura gulped. At any other time Sakura would have had complete confidence in being able to jump and successfully grab hold of the nearest branch. But now, Sakura bent her arm at the elbow experimentally, and winced. Just great. Well, she'd have to risk it. She couldn't use the Fly card, too many people around. Sakura took a deep breath. 

One, two, three,........ 

Sakura jumped. 

She caught hold of the nearest branch with one hand, she brought the other one up. _Well, this isn't so bad,_ she thought. Then she attempted to pull herself up, and nearly let go of the branch. Whenever she put any pressure on her arms they wanted to buckle. 

Sakura just hung there, two stories up, breathing deeply. "O.K. Sakura, you can do this," she encouraged herself quietly. Holding her breath, Sakura pulled herself upwards, inch by painstaking inch, until her arms started shaking so badly that she would have been surprised if the tree didn't start vibrating. Finally, she managed to get her left shoulder over the tree branch and pull herself all the way up. 

She sat there, on the tree branch, massaging her arms for a few moments. After moving them back and forth, to make sure she **could **move them, Sakura started back down the tree. It wasn't nearly as hard getting down as it had been getting up. 

As Sakura jumped the last few centimeters to the ground, she thought she saw movement off to her right. Sakura froze. Was it her Dad or Tory? Or worse....Rage or Li? Sakura got ready to call upon a Clow card if necessary. 

A yellow popped out of the grass. 

"KERO!!" Sakura crowed happily. She picked up the Guardian Beast and **squeezed**. "I'm so glad to see you! I thought something awful might have happened to you." 

"Sakura," Kero wheezed. "I can't breathe." 

"Oh," Sakura put him down. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. She sat down on the grass. 

After catching his breath, Kero glanced at Sakura. "Oh, Sakura," he breathed, staring at her face and torn clothing. "I'm so sorry. I should have warned you, prepared you. Now look what it's gone and done to you." Kero said quietly, referring to the Clow card. 

Sakura smiled a wobbly smile. "I'm fine." she reassured him. Kero's expression changed so fast that Sakura blinked, wondering if she'd imagined the change. 

"Why aren't you in bed?!" Kero glowered at her. "You shouldn't be up and walking around in your condition." 

Sakura frowned. "I was coming to save **you**. And what condition? I'm not pregnant so don't treat me as if I were." 

Kero harumphed and folded his arms. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. You shouldn't have worried." Kero paused, looking at Sakura. "Something did surprise me though. Someone unleashed the Time card." Kero peered up at her. "I thought you said the Kid was a no show?" 

Sakura bit her lip. "About Li," Sakura glanced back up at her window. "I have to talk to you. Come on," she said wearily, heading back up the tree. 

"Sakura, you really think you should be doing that?" Kero asked worriedly, floating near her head. 

"If I've done it once I can do it again.".....she hoped. Well, if she fell flat on her ass she could blame it on her sneakers. 

She hauled herself back up into the tree, wincing and muttering a string of curses under her breath. Pulling herself up onto the last branch, she said, "The things I do," and hopped back onto her window ledge. She poked her head through the window and took a quick look around, her body followed her head's example. 

Mirror was sitting on her bed, in the exact position Sakura had been in. 

"Has Tory come back yet?" Sakura asked. Mirror shook her head. Sakura nodded. "Good job. Return to your power confined." Sakura whispered. 

Mirror smiled and turned back into an inanimate object. The now resealed card floated back to Sakura's waiting hand. She put the card back in her pocket and sat herself down in the vacated seat of Mirror. 

Kero floated onto her dresser. "So what's up with Syaoran?" Kero asked again. 

Sakura was about to reply when she heard Tory's footsteps coming back up the hallway. "Hide." Sakura whispered. Kero dove into his drawer. 

Sakura's bedroom door opened and Tory appeared, carrying a small bowl and a wash cloth. He clutched a bottle of peroxide under his arm. He came and sat himself down beside her and placed the bowl on his knees. He dunked the cloth in the water and squeezed out the excess water. He held the cloth in front of her face, 

"I'm going to clean those cuts now." he informed her, fully expected her to protest and start talking nonsense again about getting up and going out. 

Sakura smiled brilliantly. "Good, they sting." 

Tory looked at her like she'd grown horns, knowing instinctively, that something was up due to her easy acceptance. "You're not going anywhere?" he asked slowly. 

"Of course not Tory, why would I possibly need to go anywhere?" 

Tory shook his head, confused. Deciding Sakura was in shock, he dismissed her odd behaviour. He applied the wet cloth to her face. 

"Ouch!!" Sakura growled, jerking back. 

One side of Tory's mouth lifted up in the hint of a smile, he couldn't help it. "Did you think this would feel like a warm summer's breeze?" he asked sarcastically. 

Sakura glared at him. "No, but you could have warned me first." she grumbled. 

Tory shrugged. "Sorry."   
~   
After Tory left, Sakura tapped Kero's drawer to let him know it was O.K. to come out. 

Kero floated onto the bed. Looking her over, he said, "Well, you look much better." he commented. 

"Thanks." Sakura said. 

"The Kid?" Kero asked. 

"Oh, right," Sakura said, worried anew. 

"What is it?" Kero asked, peering into her eyes. "What happened?" 

Sakura related what had happened after he had been out of commission. She explained about Rage, and about Li. "It was so..... horrible Kero. You should have seen the look in Li's eyes. He looked, lost, almost, like he was trapped in a world of his own and couldn't get out." Sakura paused. "Kero, I don't think Li's completely sane." Kero was silent, thinking. "What do you think happened to him that could have driven him to that?" 

"Well, your leaving, for one thing," Kero began. 

"What!?" Sakura gasped, her eyes as wide as saucers. "Are you saying this is **my **fault?" 

"No, I didn't mean it that way," Kero quickly explained. "What I meant was that your departure from Japan could have opened a door." 

"Huh?" Sakura asked, clueless. 

"I mean, that someone was waiting for the perfect opportunity to get into Syaoran's head. When you left, the Kid's mind must have been fragile enough to breech." 

"Whoa! Wait a second, who would want to do that to Li in the first place? Who **could** do that to Li, period? And how was my departure from here able to affect Li's mental stability so badly that someone could have done.....whatever it is they did to him? It's absurd! There's no **way** Li could have let something like that affect his thinking. This is **Li** we're talking about." 

Kero looked Sakura steadily in the eyes. "I guess the Kid must have cared about you enough for him to become distressed when you left." Sakura looked at him as if he had gone mad. "I'm serious. He said the visions started right after you left. That means whoever was sending them knew you had gone and that it was the perfect time to strike." 

"But who would do such a thing, Kero? No one could. You're talking about putting visions in people's heads! It can't be done! No living.....what is it?" 

Kero's eyes had widened as a revelation struck. "Li thought you were a Clow card, that's what he called you, right?" Sakura nodded. "And what was it he said? He said you had been sending him visions, but by you he meant a Clow card." 

Sakura looked dumbfounded. 

"Don't you see? He realized it, he must have sensed it. A Clow card has been sending him these visions." 

"But, Kero, that's impossible! What Clow card could have the power to do that? Illusion would be the only possible fit, but that possibility is out of the question." 

"There is one." Kero said quietly. 

Sakura just looked at him. "I seriously hope you're not talking about the new Clow cards. If you will recall, they've been trapped for hundreds of years, and were only set free two days ago. Li has been having these visions for five years now, since I left." she pointed out. 

"This Clow card might have been able to bypass the confines of it's prison, so to speak, to find a way to leak a little of it's power out and into the world." 

Which card is it?" Sakura asked, dreading the answer. 

Kero looked away. "Insanity." 

Sakura stared at him. "Well,....I suppose that makes sense," Sakura said. "But I still don't understand how it could have 'leaked' it's power enough to influence Li." 

Kero spread his arms. "The Insanity card.....knows things. It has visions of it's own to go by, pathways and possibilities. The card must have been given a vision that would have shown him how to do what he did." 

"But why Li?" Sakura wanted to know. 

"Insanity must have been able to see who you were, a potential danger, and he must have been able to see what Syaoran is. Descendant of Clow Reed, warrior, and most importantly, your protector. He would have wanted you separated, make sure you were alone." Kero explained. 

Sakura rested her chin in her hands. "So you think this is what happened?" 

"It makes sense." Kero said. 

"So what am I supposed to do about this? Hunt down Insanity and capture him?" 

"You won't be doing **any** hunting down of any card, especially Insanity. He's tricky." 

"Well, what am I going to do, Kero!?" she cried out, frustrated, feeling useless. "I can't leave Li like that. I've got to help him." 

"You will, you will," Kero assured her. "Just not that way. You've got to break Insanity's hold over him without confronting Insanity himself." 

"How?" 

"You need to use something stronger than what Insanity's using to control him." 

"He used my death," Sakura said, thinking out loud. "So all I need to do is convince Li that I'm not really dead. That didn't work out so well the last time." she muttered. 

Kero nodded. "And remember, you must have something strong enough that will break Insanity's hold on Li's mind." 

"O.K." Sakura agreed, thinking up ways in which she could accomplish this. 

"Leave it," Kero said. "We've got bigger things to worry about right now." 

Sakura looked at him incredulously. "Like what?" 

"Rage," Kero reminded. 

"But," 

"No buts, Syaoran isn't a danger to himself or others at the moment. Rage, on the other hand, is definitely a problem concerning the latter. Let me tell you what I know of him," 

"Rage is an expert swordsman. The best, in fact. He studied under the masters in his time, and he trained ferociously, night and day. He had a real knack, talent, when it came to swords. None of the other cards could match his skill. He simply was the best, and still is I'd wager, even if he is a bit rusty." 

"Rage pictures himself as a real gentleman and places great value on honour. He would not attack you from behind or unannounced." 

"Well maybe you should have told him that when he jumped me from behind." Sakura said dryly. 

"That was different, he thought you were Clow Reed, the man who had imprisoned him. He was acting on vengeance. Unfortunately, he often lets revenge cloud his vision." 

"He is very determined. Once he has his mind set on something, he does not let it go easily. He is also very powerful," Kero paused. "I would have hoped that you wouldn't have had to encounter him until much later, when you knew more about the cards. I should have known he's waste no time in looking for you, or rather, Clow Reed. God, he's tenacious." 

"Well that's just wonderful." Sakura sighed, weary, "Kero, I'm really tired of this, of Cardcapting, I mean." Sakura looked out her window. "When I left, I thought I had put all that behind me, except for you that is," Sakura smiled to let him know she meant no offense. "I thought my life was finally going to be normal again, and now this happens." Sakura rested her head on her knees. "I just want a normal life." she whispered. 

Kero floated over to her. "I know Sakura, do you think I like chasing Clow cards? No way. And do you think I like being a stuffed teddy bear?" Kero snorted, needing no words to get his feelings across on that subject. "But the point is, Sakura, there is no one else." 

Sakura lifted her head to look at him. 

"You may not have wanted or asked for this, but what's done is done. You can't go back." Kero paused, his eyebrow twitching, "And besides, people need you Sakura. They may not know it but they do. Without you, what would they do about the Clow cards?" Kero ducked his head and said in an embarrassed voice, "And if you weren't Mistress of the Clow cards, if the Clow cards were never created, I never would have met you." 

Sakura gazed at him through eyes that had begun to mist. "Oh, Kero," she whispered. She picked him up gently and brought him close, cheek to cheek, for a hug. "I'll always be here, Kero. You'll always have me." 

To be continued   
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Awwwwwwwwww. That last bit was so sweet! *sniff* I'm going to cry, where are the tissues? O.K, O.K., I've got myself under control. So? What did you think? I know this chapter wasn't nearly as exciting as the last, but, I can't have **all** my chapters be like that. Well, I could, but then this would be a short series ^_* Please read and review. Tell me what you thought, and if you're nice, I'll consider bringing in another Clow card next chapter. :) See you then! 


	5. HateCh4

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Hey everyone! This chapter is the longest one so far. I really hope you like it. Remember to review. All comments are welcome. If you haven't read the other chapters, go back and do so now or you won't fully understand this. Also, if you have any questions, anything you want cleared up about something in the story, just ask me, either in the review or e-mail me. My e-mail should be around somewhere.....0.o;; In case it isn't, here it is, Maurynna_h@hotmail.com. But don't ask me about what's going to happen in the future, like, for example, when I'm bringing Li back, because I'm not going to tell you. I'm sorry, I should say you can ask, but I won't answer. *_^ Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or anything in connection to it. So do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: Hate-Ch.4**

Sakura supposed she should call Madison and tell her what had happened. She would already be angry over the fact that Sakura hadn't told her she was going out looking for Clow cards. Not to mention the fact that Sakura had already taken this long to call her. 

But that hadn't been her fault. 

Sakura cringed thinking about it. If she thought Tory had been bad, she had been sadly mistaken. When her father got home from work, Tory had immediately told him what had happened, and that he thought someone had attacked her. Her dad had come up the stairs and into her room unannounced. Sakura still hadn't changed her clothes or fixed herself up and she looked like she had been through a very vicious tornado. 

Her dad had looked her over for no more than a few seconds before he started yelling. Sakura had been dumbfounded. She'd never heard him raise his voice before, especially not like this. He yelled about how Tory should have gone with her, how he shouldn't have let her go out at all. After he had yelled himself out, he had taken one look at Sakura's wide-eyed face before he hugged all the air out of her. He comforted and patted her back and made soothing noises. And after he was done that, he abruptly stood up, put his 'Dad' face back on and told her that under no circumstances was she leaving this house anytime soon. Then, turning on his heel, he exited the room without another word. 

It was, by far, the weirdest thing Sakura had ever seen. 

She shook her head. She hoped she'd never worry Dad that much again, to bring him to such uncharacteristic behaviour. 

Sakura put it out of her mind and picked up the phone. She dialed Madison's number and waited. 

"Hello?" Madison said from the other end of the line. 

"Hi, Madison. It's me." Sakura said. 

"Oh, hi Sakura." Madison greeted. "What's up?" 

Sakura took a deep breath. "Oh, nothing much, this and that, I came across a Clow card, you know, little things." 

"What!? You what? What was that about a **Clow card**?" Madison asked. 

Sakura laughed nervously. "Oh, you caught that did you?" Sakura proceeded to tell Madison everything about what had happened since that morning. Madison was silent the entire time, saving her comments until the end. 

When Sakura finished her tale, Madison jumped right in. "Oh my god, Sakura, you're going to be all right aren't you? And poor Li, that's absolutely horrible. You're sure you're fine?" Madison asked again. 

"Yes, trust me, I'm fine." Sakura assured her. 

"Good," Sakura could hear Madison taking a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to confront a Clow card? I wanted to get every encounter on tape. You **promised** I could video tape form a distance!" Madison complained. 

Sakura sighed, exasperated. "Madison, I know what I said, but, there is no way I'm letting you anywhere near any of those Clow cards if I can help it. Screw what I said." 

Madison frowned. "I don't know whether I should be angry with you or thank-you for worrying about me." Madison drew in a breath, thinking. Then she became excited as a thought occurred to her. "I'm going to come over." Madison informed her. 

"Madison......" Sakura began. 

"Now don't say no. I can keep an eye on you while making sure you don't go anywhere without me." Madison said triumphantly. She rolled her eyes as she heard Sakura sigh on the other end of the line. "Besides, I've got a surprise for you." Madison told her. 

"Oh really?" 

"Yeah, give me half an hour to get it ready. See you then!" and she hung up. 

"How am I going to get out of this one?"   
~ 

A woman stood in front of a table, rearranging a bunch of flowers in a vase. She picked up a tulip and frowned. She placed it between two orchids, studying it. She smiled. She resumed her rearranging. 

"How can you stand being in a place like this?" 

The woman didn't even pause in her work as the man's voice rang out in the cavern. "It is not whether or not I can stand it, it is whether or not I will allow it to bother me." she informed him. 

A draft made it into the shallow cave, ruffling the woman's long red hair. Her green dress rustled about her, veiling her in a haze of colour. 

The man lifted his arm, indicating the vase and other valuable furniture situated around the small living quarter. "And where did you acquire all of this?" he inquired. 

"I stole it." she said simply. 

The man frowned, not amused. Not pursuing the subject, he said, "But still, situating yourself in an enclosed space so soon after your release? Are you not a trifle nervous?" 

The woman placed a daffodil among her artistic accomplishment. "Do spare me the idle chatter. You are here for a reason. I know you do not like me, nor do you approve of my actions," she said, referring to the stolen items. "So do not waste my time. What is it you have come to tell me Rage?" she picked up a rose. 

Rage stiffened, affronted. He relaxed minimally, refusing to let the woman get to him. He came right out with it. "Clow Reed is dead." 

The woman froze, the rose clutched in her hand, the only indication that she had heard him. "Oh?" she said coolly. 

Rage smiled slightly, knowing he had her attention. "I had a very interesting encounter with a certain wizard. Kero Beros. We had an enlightening conversation, where he so graciously informed me of Clow Reed's demise." 

"Well," she said. She still had not moved. "That little complication has been removed." she reasoned. 

"There is something else you should know," he said. "The wizard had not been alone. A girl, a woman, was with him. There is something very....odd about her. All I could sense from her was Clow Reed. So much so, that I had mistaken her for him. Not to mention the fact that Kero Beros had been extremely protective of her." Rage paused, looking to her for any movement. There was none. "I think the woman is going to be extremely important. I do not know how or why, but I sense it." 

"Since when have you taken on Insanity's odd character traits?" she finally spoke. 

Rage turned away from her, preparing to leave. "I just thought you might have found this information useful. It is quite obvious that you were planning to strike soon. Do tell me how your investigation goes." 

"How do you know I will go to this woman?" she asked, betraying nothing, or so she thought. 

Rage smiled a bitter smile. "Because I know what you are like, Hate." with that, he turned and exited the cave. 

Hate stood there for a moment, doing nothing. Then, she tightened her hand into a fist around the rose she was holding, crushing the delicate flower. Her face twisted into a horrible mask. If looks could kill, the rest of the poor flowers would have withered and died.   
~ 

There was a knock on Sakura's door. She looked up from her Clow cards which were arranged about her on the bed. Kero, who had been watching her, froze. 

"Come in." she called. 

Tory opened the door. "Your friend is here," he informed her. Sakura's face lit up. "But I told her you weren't up to seeing anyone." 

Sakura scowled at him. "Tory! How could you have done that!? I'm fine, send her in here." 

Before Tory could react, Madison brushed by him and entered the room. Under her arm was a box. Turning back towards Tory, she said, "See! I told you she would want to see me." 

Tory snorted and left the room. 

Sakura smiled. "Don't mind him, you know Tory." 

Madison didn't answer. She seemed to be staring at the door. 

Sakura frowned, confused. "Madison? Earth to Madison! Hello!!" she peered at Madison's face. Her eyes were distant and she had a dreamy smile curling her lips. Sakura looked at the door. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, she looked back at Madison as confused as ever. That look was familiar somehow...like she'd seen it somewhere before..... 

Sakura started laughing as realization struck. 

Madison snapped out of her stupor and glanced at Sakura. "What?" 

Sakura laughed all the harder. 

Placing the box on the bed, Madison placed her hands on her hips. "What's so funny?" she asked exasperated. 

"You, you," Sakura couldn't get the words out she was laughing so hard. "You were...you were making gaa gaa eyes at my brother!" she chortled. 

Madison's face went beet red. "I-I was not!" she protested, stuttering. 

"Oh, yes you were!" Sakura stopped laughing for a moment, drawing in a deep breath. She looked up at Madison from her sitting position, completely serious. "Do you have a thing for Tory?" she asked. 

Madison's gaze darted around the room, settling on anything and everything that wasn't Sakura. "Maybe." she confessed. 

Sakura went into hysterics again. "You do! You do!" she clutched her stomach, "Ooh, don't make me laugh, it hurts." she looked at Madison. "How long?" she asked. 

Madison glanced down. "A while." she admitted. She sat down next to Sakura. "I really don't know how it happened! At first, I thought he was just cute, you know, like adorable." Sakura made a face. "Then, when I kept seeing more and more of him, I began to get these.....feelings, whenever he was close. I started thinking he was good looking, then handsome, and sexy, and...." 

Sakura held up her hands in horror. "Whoa! Stop right there! This is my brother you're talking about. I do not want the details. She giggled. "You think Tory is _sexy!?_" 

Madison blushed. "Oh, nevermind! Forget I said anything!" 

Sakura looked at her like she was crazy. "Yeah, right! So have you made a move?" 

Madison just looked at her. "I thought you didn't want to know." she pointed out. 

"I lied. Besides, this is different, you're not telling me about Tory's" Sakura almost gagged. "Physical charms." 

Madison sighed. "I haven't done anything yet. I can't help but stare at him when he walks into a room, but does he **ever** notice me? No, never, at least, not **that** way." she amended. She buried her face in her hands. "Oh! It's hopeless!" she mumbled. 

"No it's not!" Sakura reassured her. "You haven't even **tried** yet. Madison, I know for a fact that you could get any guy you wanted. So stop moping about! Go catch my brother!" Sakura said, raising her arm into the air. She blinked and the arm came back down. "I cannot believe I just said that." 

Madison giggled. "So you're O.K. with this?" 

Sakura shrugged. "Yeah, it's about time he found somebody. Geez, I wouldn't want him to grow to be a lonely old man, living by himself, coincidentally close to his sister," her eyes grew wide in mock horror, "Then I'd **_never_** get rid of him." 

The two burst out laughing. Kero, who was still sitting on the bed, had had just about as much as he could take, "Would you two change the subject!? This is making me uncomfortable." 

"Then go do something else." Sakura suggested. 

Kero harumphed. "Well, you should at least put the Clow cards away. It's not wise to leave them lying out." 

"Right." Sakura began gathering them up. "So what's in the box?" she asked Madison. 

Madison jumped up. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! Your surprise!" Madison grabbed the box and handed it to her. "Here, open it." 

Sakura smiled. "What's this?" she took the lid off, and gasped. 

Madison grinned. "I made a few changes and re-sized it to fit you, but, it's still the same outfit." 

Sakura lifted the blue one-piece from the box. She remembered this. She used to capture the old Clow cards in it, one of Madison's many designs. It was the blue outfit that had tight long sleeves and a hem that only reached mid thigh. There used to be yellow wings on the front of it, but they had been removed. In their place was an oval sized hole that would show off the tops of her shoulders and maybe the very beginning of her cleavage, bu not by much. The high blue boots that reached her knees had also been modified. Instead of having flat soles, the boots now had heels. The plastic wings that adorned her head were gone, but the two white stripes on each side of the front of the outfit were still there. The two tails that had been at the back were gone as well. 

"I only had time to complete one outfit before you arrived, and even then I worked like mad. What do you think?" 

Sakura looked over to her. "Wow, Madison. Thanks. It looks great. I didn't think I'd be seeing any of these again." she put the garment back in the box and placed it on her dresser. 

"Well, I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if they would still appeal to you after all these years." 

"No, it's great." Sakura told her. She began picking up the rest of the Clow cards. "I really love it. It's a change from the ordinary, you know?" Your designs are always....." Sakura trailed off as she sensed something. She looked down at the card she held in her hand. The Flower card. 

"Sakura, are you all right?" 

Madison's voice seemed distant. She was losing sight of reality. Instead of seeing Madison's worried eyes, she saw a field, covered in flower blossoms. And there, sitting among them, was a woman. She had long red hair and was wearing a green dress. At first, Sakura thought the woman had been gathering flowers, but on closer inspection, soon realized that she was brutally shredding them. At what, at first glance, appeared to be a calm, graceful woman, turned out to be an ugly creature as her face became twisted with hate. Sakura sensed a strong Clow card presence around her, in her, she was a Clow card..... 

"Sakura!" Kero nearly yelled, peering into her lifeless eyes with concern. 

Sakura blinked as the scene dissipated and reality cam rushing back. She focused on Kero. "I think I just saw a Clow card Kero." 

Kero frowned. "Can you tell me anything I might make use of?" 

Sakura nodded. "I saw a woman, in a field full of flowers. She was destroying them. Kero, she looked so hateful." 

"Are you sure Sakura? I mean, maybe you're just overly tired and imagined it." Madison suggested. 

Sakura shook her head. "No, Madison, the vision I saw was **real**. I could **feel** it. The woman definitely had the sense of a Clow card." she turned to Kero. "Who do you think it is?" she asked. 

Kero's brow furrowed. "There are a few possibilities. Could you narrow it down a bit?" 

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated, recalling the vision of the woman. "She had red hair. She wore green. And her face, beautiful, yet ugly at the same time." Sakura opened her eyes. "Does that make sense to you?" 

Kero nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. You saw the Hate card." 

"We should go after it, right?" Sakura questioned. 

"Yep. If the cards showed her to you, that means it won't be long before she shows herself of her own accord. And I don't want to see what would happen then." Kero said. 

"O.K. So now we need to pinpoint her location." Sakura reasoned. 

"I can help you there," Madison said speaking up. "About three months ago, they put up a botanical garden about two miles from here. No problem." 

Sakura nodded. "Right. We should wait until after dark," she suggested. "It would be much easier that way. I won't have to worry about running into anyone at the garden, and I won't have to worry about Dad or Tory interfering. If they guessed that I was leaving, and at night to boot, they'd have my head." 

Madison quickly agreed. "Good. That'll give me enough time to run home and get my video camera." 

"Madison," Sakura protested. 

"Don't you tell me I'm not going, 'cause I am. There's no way you're keeping me away this time. Don't worry, I'll be careful." she promised. 

"Fine!" Sakura threw up her hands. "Fine! But if something happens to you, it's **not** my fault." 

"Everything will be fine." Madison assured her. She made her way to the door. "Oh, and Sakura?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Wear the outfit." 

Sakura grinned. "You bet." 

Madison left. 

Sakura glanced down to find Kero string at her intently. "What?" 

"Are you sure you're up to this? You're still pretty banged up." 

Sakura put the rest of the Clow cards away. "I don't really have a choice, do I Kero? I **have** to confront this card or people could get hurt." 

Kero nodded reluctantly. "True, but remember, you're actually going to fight this time. Last time, it was mostly self defense, and Rage was being lenient." 

"I know. I really hope this goes well." 

Kero floated up in front of her. "Hate is one of the easier cards. But be careful Sakura, she is still stronger than your Clow cards. Listen, Hate is very cool, very collected. She's the kind who bottles everything up inside. She rarely lets her temper get the better of her, but when she does, look out. Her hate is very powerful, and there is something she hates more than anything else, Clow Reed. So be on guard." 

"I will be Kero, I will be."   
~ 

A stone connecting with her window alerted Sakura that Madison had arrived. She motioned to Kero. She silently opened the window and climbed down. The moon was full so Sakura had no trouble seeing into the darkness. 

As she approached Madison, she whispered, "I'm not too sure about this," motioning to the blue outfit she had donned. It was made tight and clung to her body like a second skin. It hadn't been so bad when she was a kid, but now, she didn't feel comfortable. She had certain...assests now, that she''d rather not make a public show of. 

"Nonsense." Madison quipped, already video taping Sakura. "You look great." 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Just show me where the botanical garden is so I can get this over with." 

Madison frowned, not at all happy her recording had been interrupted. Sakura shook her head, same old Madison. 

Madison turned the camera off and motioned for Sakura and Kero to follow her. "It's this way." she started walking. 

"You know," Sakura commented. "It would be a lot faster if I just flew us all over." 

"It would be," Kero agreed. "But, we don't wasn't Hate to know we're coming." Kero pointed out. 

Sakura sighed. "All right, all right." 

After a few minutes of silence, Madison asked, "Did you get out O.K.? Tory and Mr.Avalon didn't suspect anything?" 

Sakura chuckled. "Nope. I played the obedient patient the whole time." Sakura paused guiltily, "Well, except when I threw my pillow at Tory's head." 

Madison looked back at her with an incredulous look. 

"What!? He was really beginning to annoy me. He wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to resort to pillow throwing violence." she said solemnly. 

Madison rolled her eyes. 

They walked the rest of the way in silence, Madison leading the way, followed by a determined Sakura and an ever watchful Kero. They were approaching a large circular building that was labeled Viewmont Gardens. 

"Well," Madison said, stopping. "Here it is." 

"Good. Thanks Madison." Sakura stepped up to the glass front doors and tried them. Locked, just as she'd expected. "Well, now what? I suppose I could use the Lock card to open....." 

Madison stepped past her, smiling. "Don't bother." she extracted a lock pick from her sleeve and stuck it in the keyhole. After a few twists and turns, there was an audible click and Madison pushed the door open. She could see the questions forming in Sakura's eyes, but before they could reach her lips, Madison grinned. "Don't ask." she stuck the lock pick back up her sleeve with a flick of her wrist. 

Sakura shook her head in wonder. They ventured forth into the building. 

"O.K. Sakura, where to now?" Madison asked. 

Sakura concentrated, looking for the unique signature of a Clow card. There! "This way." she led the trio deeper into the building, down corridors and hallways, following the trail of the Clow card. She stopped in front of a set of double doors, one was slightly ajar. 

Sakura looked at the two. "Both of these doors should have been closed and locked. She's in here." 

Sakura cautiously pushed the door all the way open. She stepped inside with Kero close by and Madison just behind her. 

Inside there was an array of different plants and flowers in bloom. It was breathtaking. It was like wandering into a wonderland. Part of the place was a woodland with many different species of trees. The other part was a meadow of flowers and small trees scattered about here and there. It felt like they were in a sort of dome. The roof was made entirely of glass and Sakura could see the full moon if she looked up, it's rays splattering the scenery in silver. 

The field of flowers drew her attention again. It looked just like the place in her vision, with the exception of a certain red haired woman. 

"Madison, if you're going to tape, don't come too much closer." Sakura told her. She started ahead, not waiting for an answer, Kero sticking close. 

She passed the trees and stopped at the boundary of the field. She could still sense the card, she knew it was close, but, again, as with Rage, she couldn't pinpoint it. 

"Be careful Sakura." Kero whispered. 

Sakura nodded. She started into the field, the flowers brushing against her legs. She kept twisting her head about, trying to look everywhere at once, searching for possible threats. She reached what she gauged to be the centre of the field of flowers. She turned every which way, thinking that there must be some sign of the Clow card by now. 

"I don't get it Kero," Sakura began. "She's supposed to be right **here**. Where is she?" 

"I don't like this Sakura, this feels like a trap." he observed. 

"So.......Rage was right." a feminine voice said behind them. 

They both spun around. 

And there she was, her hands clasped behind her back, studying Sakura. "You do feel like him." she said noncommittally. 

"Who?" Sakura stared back at her. 

"Why, Clow Reed of course," she said matter of factly. 

"A coincidence, I'm sure." Sakura said dryly. 

She smiled slightly, "Quite." her attention turned to Kero. "And you're here as well. Another coincidence no doubt." she tilted her head in acknowledgement. "Greetings Kero Beros." 

"Hate." he said through gritted teeth. 

She faced Sakura again. "Rage seems to think that you are a key factor. I haven't the faintest idea why, but you seemed to catch his interest. How odd." she bent down to pick a flower. She brought it to her nose and sniffed. "I might be able to understand if I knew who you were. What is your name?" 

"Do you plan on harming people?" Sakura countered with a question. 

Hate smiled minimally. "If I must. If anyone seeks to stop me, if anyone gets in my way, I will not hesitate to destroy them." she said without remorse. "Now that I have answered your question, you must answer one of mine. Who are you?" 

Sakura narrowed her eyes in disgust. How could this woman be so heartless? "I will not give you my name, you don't deserve to know my name." Sakura saw Hate's lips thin. Kero's warning about not angering her ran through her head. She ignored it. "But I will tell you why it is I have the sense of Clow Reed." 

"Here we go," Kero muttered, backing up a bit. 

The Clow Key appeared. "Oh, Key of Clow, power of Magic, power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" the Key turned into the Clow wand. Sakura twirled it up until it came to rest in front of her face in a defensive gesture. 

Hate flinched back, hissing, "That wand, how did you....?" 

"You want to know who I am?" Sakura demanded. "Well let me tell you! I am Mistress of the Clow cards, and I will capture you! For I am the blood of Clow Reed and I will avenge him by doing right." 

Hate's mask of ice cracked. "You are a descendant of Clow Reed? You are blood of his blood?" 

"That's what I said." 

Hate began laughing. Sakura frowned, annoyed, this was **not** the reaction she had hoped for. 

She should have known Hate was not laughing because she was amused. Her laugh was a bitter, malicious thing. When Hate focused her eyes on the Mistress of the Clow cards, Sakura knew she had succeeded in breaking that monumental temper Kero told her about. 

"Clow Reed's own, how fitting." Hate said, her eyes glittering. "When Hate told me of Clow Reed's death I hated that sorcerer even more for denying me my revenge. But now, now I shall finish off any remainder of Clow Reed from this world! You shall not stand in my way!" Hate lifted her arm, and what looked to Sakura to be blue fire came racing towards her from Hate's fingertips. 

Sakura cried out as she dodged it, surprised. "Kero! You didn't mention anything about this!" 

"It's magic Sakura!" Kero yelled flying upwards and out of harms way. "All of the new Clow cards some magic on some level. Clow Reed himself taught it to them." 

"That's just great Kero!" Sakura yelled, a ball of blue fire whizzing past her and exploding into a tree, setting it ablaze. 

"Sakura! Her specialty's fire! Use the Water card to extinguish her steam!" Kero advised. 

Sakura took out the Water card, desperately dodging the blue fire. "Water card! Release and dispel! Release!" 

Water exploded from the card and rose majestically into the air. She shot a spout of water at the poor tree that had been encased in flames and put the fire out. Then, she rushed at a surprised Hate, who continued to shoot fire at water, but to no avail. She quickly changed tactics and set up a shield of fire around herself. Water slammed into it, but it held no matter how much Water punished it. Water screamed in outrage. 

"It's not strong enough, Sakura! Call it back!" Kero yelled. 

"Water card! Return to your power, confined!" Sakura brought the Clow wand down and resealed the Water card. 

Hate's shield of fire disappeared. "You fool! Did you really think that puny card would be able to defeat **_me_**? How naive you are! Let me give you a taste of true power!" Hate upped her energy and shot a wall of flame towards Sakura. 

"Jump card! Release and dispel! Release!" Sakura jumped over the flames. 

"What a clever one you are." Hate said mockingly. She closed her eyes and raised her arms up high. 

For a moment, all was still, then, six columns of fire erupted out of the ground in a circle around Sakura. The columns reached as high as the ceiling and Sakura knew there was no way she'd be able to make a jump like that, not even with the Jump card. She decided to make a quick run between them, but just as the thought formed, columns expanded. They became one solid cylinder of fire around Sakura, completely closing her off from Kero and Madison. All she could she were the flames. 

"Sakura!!" she heard Kero yell. 

The wall of fire began inching towards her, slowly becoming smaller, and Sakura knew it wouldn't be long before it engulfed **her**. She had to act quickly. "Shield card! Release and dispel! Shield!" a pink bubble formed around Sakura, protecting her from the oncoming fire. Sakura remembered how Water, one of her strongest cards, hadn't done much damage to Hate's fire shield. She raised the Clow wand up in both hands, gripping it tightly, concentrating on strengthening her shield and keeping it that way. Sakura closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She really hoped she'd live trough this.   
~ 

Kero watched on in horror as the flames engulfed Sakura. He knew there was nothing he could do, he just wasn't strong enough in this form! But he knew, for a certainty, that if Sakura died her and now, he'd never forgive himself.   
~   
Hot. It was so hot. Sakura fought the fire with everything she had. She knew she couldn't take much more of this. The Clow wand was shaking violently because her arms had begun to spasm. She could feel the shield weakening around her, disintegrating. Any moment now, a few more seconds and her shield would break, leaving her to die by fire. 

Suddenly, the flames disappeared altogether. Sakura's shield faded into nothingness and she fell to her knees, gasping for breath, exhausted. 

"Well," Hate mused. "You're still alive. Imagine that. You must be stronger than I thought to have survived that." she smiled an ugly smile. "But you won't be alive for much longer." she lifted her right arm towards Sakura. 

_This is it, I can't defend myself, I'm too tired. But no, NO! There must be a way out of this, there must be! But how? Think Sakura, think! I won't die this way!___

Just as Hate was about to shoot with a small fireball, a group of clouds passed overhead, hiding the moon, effectively blocking it's rays and the light it produced. The Gardens wa plunged into almost complete darkness. 

Sakura's eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, seeing as how there hadn't been much light in the first place. Her eyes quickly darted to Hate. 

Hate had lowered her arms and was blinking owlishly, looking this way and that, as if she couldn't see a foot in front of her face. The her eyes widened in panic and Sakura heard her whisper, "Not again. Please no, don't put me back in the dark." 

Sakura's eyes widened as well, not in panic, but in realization. Hate was afraid of the dark, from all those years of being trapped in a mountain of rock. 

The clouds were beginning to move away from the moon and the shadows were fast receding. Sakura had to act fast, while Hate was still stunned, 

"Dark card! Release and dispel! Dark card!" 

DArk moved swiftly towards Hate, eradicating any light that had been in it's path. It surrounded Hate and Sakura wasted no time. She raised the Clow wand, "Hate card! Return to your power, confined!" she brought the wand down with force and Dark began to be sucked towards it with Hate. 

When Hate realized what was happening, it was already too late. "NO!!" she screamed in outrage as the last of her being was transformed into a Clow card. 

The Dark card and the Hate card floated back to Sakura. She immediately put the Dark card away, but she studied the Hate card in her hand. She was happy that she had managed to capture this tough card, but she was also extremely weary. She sat down right where she was, taking a breather. 

Kero and Madison came running up to her. 

"Wow Sakura! That was great! And I got it all on tape." she said, patting her trusty camcorder. 

"Nice work Sakura." Kero complimented her. "You're all right? You weren't burned?" he asked. 

Sakura shook her head. Kero opened his mouth to say something else, but someone's clapping interrupted him. They all turned their heads in the direction of the sound. 

Rage stepped out of the shadows of the tree line, slowly bringing his gloved hands together, clapping. "Well done." he said calmly. 

"Is that Rage?" Madison whispered. 

_No, not now. I can't battle a fly right now! _"Yes, that's Rage." Sakura struggled to her feet. She held up the Clow wand. _I must protect them....___

"So, you are a descendant of Clow Reed." he said idly, walking towards the group. 

Sakura pushed Madison behind her and stepped forward herself. "Let's just do this Rage, leave Kero and Madison out of it." 

Rage glanced down. Sakura reluctantly lowered her own eyes as well. Her arms were trembling, and she knew Rage had noticed. 

He rested his left hand on his sword sheath. "What an odd garment you have on." he commented. 

Sakura blinked. Was he toying with her? She was in no mood for this. "Let's just do this, stop wasting my time." 

Rage smiled. "You misunderstand me. I am not going to fight with you. I'm going to let you go." 

To be continued....   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Dum dum dum! Don't forget to review! *_^   



	6. The Forming of A PlanCh5

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: HI!!!!! I'm back, been a little while. I'd just like to say that my last chapter didn't do so well last time. I only got one review! ONE!! But....I'll let that go.....this time. I'm blaming it on the whole new chapter system and giving you a break on account of the fact that you were all probably too busy tending to your own fics. That's perfectly understandable. But unless I get at least four reviews for this I won't continue. You should all be fairly organized by now...and if you aren't you should be! ^_^;; I would like to thank Azn Pnay for taking the time to read and review my last chapter. Thank-you. It meant a lot. Ok......on with the fic!!! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or anything related to it. I am not getting paid in any way for this so please don't sue me!! Thank-you. 

**Cardcaptors: The Forming of a Plan-Ch.5**

Sakura stared at him, shocked. "What did you say?" she asked faintly. 

"You can leave, I will not stop you." Rage repeated. 

Sakura started to lower the Clow wand, confused, 

"No Sakura! It's a trap! You can't trust him," Kero warned. "He's a Clow card. What possible reason could he have for letting you go?" 

Rage sent Kero an annoyed glance. "You jump to conclusions, wizard. Do not presume to explain that which you do not understand." 

Kero fumed silently, sending Rage death glares. 

Sakura still stood there, unsure of what to do. Could she trust him? Whoa! Wait a minute! What kind of thought was that? Of course she couldn't **trust** him, but, perhaps she could take his word in this instance? 

"I see you are skeptical," Rage observed. "But do not be. You see, now that I know who you are, I **cannot **kill you," 

Sakura sighed in relief. 

"Not with the pitiful condition I find you in now." 

Sakura stiffened, she didn't know whether to be frightened or angry. 

Rage spread his hands, "Look at yourself, you are about ready to fall over. If I were to fight you now I would surely win, but, I would have had an unfair advantage." he explained. He crossed his arms. "There is no honour in beating a beaten foe." 

Sakura was beginning to understand what Kero was talking about when he mentioned that Rage valued honour. Even though this heightened her belief that he would let her go after all, she still didn't trust him. 

"Give me your sword." she demanded. 

Rage's polite mask was wiped clean off his face. "Pardon me?" he asked quietly, sounding dangerous. 

Sakura would not back down. "If you want me to believe you, you'll have to give me your sword to prove what you say is true." Sakura reasoned. 

Rage smiled a mean smile. "Even without my sword I am not helpless." he informed her. 

"I didn't think you were." Sakura lifted the Clow wand aggressively. "The sword?" 

Rage's smile disappeared. He strode towards her quickly. Kero started forward reflexively, instinctively trying to protect Sakura, but she shook her head no, silently telling him not to interfere. 

Rage kept coming until he was nearly nose to nose with Sakura. He stared down at her intently and Sakura looked at him warily. They stood that way for a long moment, observing each other, before Rage finally spoke, 

"If I do not get my sword back soon, I **will** come looking for it." he informed her. 

"I won't do anything to your sword to damage it, don't worry." Sakura said quietly. 

Rage stood there for another minute, contemplating, before he suddenly reached down and unclasped his sword and sheath from his belt. He held it up near Sakura's face for her to observe. 

Sakura reached up tentatively with her free hand, still cautious of a trap. Her hand closed over the sheath and Rage let go. Sakura nearly dropped it. 

One side of Rage's mouth turned up, then the other, as if he couldn't help it. "Heavy?" he asked mildly. 

"No, I'm fine." Sakura said, her voice strained, hefting the sword onto her shoulder. She looked into his eyes. "One more thing," 

"Yes?" Rage asked, his eyes focused on hers, one eyebrow raised. 

"I want your word of honour that you'll neither attack me this night nor follow me." 

Rage was taken off guard. Then his eyes gleamed shrewdly as he appraised her. "Very clever indeed," he murmured. "I give you my word, as a warrior, and by my sword, that I shall not attack, nor follow you,....this night." 

Sakura looked at him suspiciously for a moment before nodding, satisfied. She was about to turn away when Rage's hand shot up. She flinched, thinking he had tricked her and was about to strike her. _Fool, FOOL! I should have known......_

Rage's fingers ran through her hair. Sakura's eyes popped open in surprise. "So soft," she heard him murmur, then he wrapped some tresses around his fist and squeezed. It didn't hurt, and he wasn't pulling, but Sakura knew that she wasn't going anywhere without some serious tugging. And so did he. 

He leaned forward, staring into her eyes, "Remember," he whispered, "**_Nothing_** happens to my sword or you will pay. I will give you three days before I come for you. You should be adequately rested by then, but I want my sword back before dawn." his fist tightened again, emphasizing his point. 

Sakura nodded, unable to tear her eyes away. "I'll drop it off at the park, near the penguin slide." she said absently. 

They stayed like that a moment before Rage's fist loosened and his fingers drifted out of her hair. He turned swiftly on his heel and walked away. A cloud was passing in front of the moon and momentarily cloaked everything in darkness. When the light reappeared with the moon, Rage was gone. 

Sakura slumped into a heap on the ground, overwhelmed. 

Kero immediately inserted himself in her line of vision. "What were you doing!?" he asked in a mix between anger and incredulity. "Making deals with Clow cards?" 

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Look Kero, I was just trying to make sure we got out of here **alive**. You yourself said that he valued honour, so that's what I used against him. If he's as you say, he won't go back on his word." Sakura sighed, "I just had to be sure." 

Kero folded his arms over his chest, "And the sword? **_Why_**, in god's name, did you take his **_sword!?_**" 

Sakura's shoulders' slumped. "It was a test, to see how much he wanted me to believe him. It seemed like a good idea," she muttered. 

Kero threw his arms up in the air, "A good idea!? Are you crazy? He values that sword more than almost anything!" 

"Then think of it as double insurance," Sakura grumbled, getting tired of this. 

"I think of it as a death wish!" Kero's eyes narrowed, "You'd better hope nothing happens to that sword. I cannot believe he even gave it to you in the first place!" 

"Guys?" 

"I think he was trying to show me he meant what he said, Kero." Sakura pointed out. 

"Guys?" 

"You can't trust Clow cards Sakura, not these ones. They don't care about lying or anything else of the sort." 

"**_GUYS!!_**" 

Sakura and Kero looked at Madison. "What!?" they asked in unison. 

Madison cleared her throat. "As much as I love listening to you two sort things out, I want some sleep. I have to go places tomorrow. Can we go home now?" 

Sakura and Kero looked at each other. They both smiled at the same time. Sakura struggled to her feet, shifting Rage's sword on her shoulders so that she was more comfortable. "Sure we can go Madison. Besides, you know how cranky Kero gets when he doesn't get enough sleep." 

Kero's smile disappeared. "**_I_** am **_never_** cranky!" he protested.   
~ 

Sakura plopped down on her bed with a weary sigh. She picked up her brush and began running it through her hair. She had just finished changing out of her Clow card costume. Before that she had dropped Madison off at her apartment, then, she flew to the park and dropped Rage's sword off like she said she would. After that she had flown home. She had flown up and into her open window silently, praying to God that Tory or her Dad wouldn't pick this time to wake up. 

And now here she was, sitting on her bed brushing her hair, thinking. A lot of things were going through her head. She replayed the battle with Hate over and over again in her mind. She remembered her conversation with Rage, and the way his hair shone in the the moonlight. 

Sakura sighed. He was handsome. 

But most of all, she worried. She worried about Li and what he was up to now. Something Rage had done and said reminded her of Li. It was the way he had at first gently ran his fingers through her hair, and then, when he had whispered, "So soft," Sakura later realized that Li had done the exact same thing once..... 

**_{Flashback}_**

It was the day she was to leave for Canada. Dad, Tory, and Madison had all been there to wish her good luck and to say good-bye. all except Li. She remembered being disappointed and sad that Li hadn't been there to say good-bye as well. Oh, well, she had thought, he probably had better things to do. 

As she was about to board the plane, she saw someone running towards her. To her surprise, it was Li. He stopped right in front of her, breathing deeply. Then he straightened up, his usual mask of indifference in place. 

"Li," she had said, happy he had come. 

He just stood there, looking at her in that unnerving way he has, making her nervous. Suddenly, he reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. "So soft," he murmured under his breath, almost too quietly for Sakura to hear. Then, he had quickly snatched his hand back, as though he'd been burned. "Good-bye Sakura." he had said simply. 

"Bye Li," she had said, confused by his actions. 

Then Li had simply turned around and gone. His expression had never changed throughout the entire thing. 

**_{Flashback}_**

To this day, that little scene still confused the hell out of Sakura. Why had Li done that? It couldn't have meant anything to him or he would have shown some emotion, wouldn't he? But then, Li never showed any emotion except anger, annoyance, and impatience. And on the rare occasions, concern. 

Sakura was still pondering when Kero suddenly spoke up from his position on the dresser, "It isn't over." he had his eyes closed and his arms crossed. He hadn't moved or spoken from his sitting position since they'd gotten back. 

Sakura paused, mid stroke. She put down her brush. "What isn't over?" she asked perplexed. 

"This, the Cardcaptoring." he said. 

Sakura gave him a quizzical look even though he couldn't see it. "I know that Kero. I just captured a card today, the first card." 

"That's just it," he cracked open an eyelid. "I'm happy for you Sakura. Capturing these new cards won't be easy, but, I've been thinking about tonight." the other eyelid opened. "The Hate card was an easier card, especially since she was rusty. But even then, you could barely stand up to her. The only reason you were able to capture her was because you had a few lucky breaks. She was angry, therefore she was sloppy and made mistakes. She underestimated you, and she had a weakness. The Dark. If you hadn't gotten lucky on that one she would have had you." he uncrossed his arms and began pacing. "You can't count on luck, Sakura. You won't have such an easy time with any other card." 

Sitting there, listening to Kero's little speech, Sakura knew he was right. She had had one too many breaks, she couldn't count on those next time. "So what am I supposed to do Kero? I did my best out there under the circumstances." 

"I don't know," Kero muttered, frustrated. "If only you had more experience with the new cards. If you knew how to use the magic you inherited from Clow Reed this would be a whole different ball game." Kero sighed, "But you don't, and I can't teach you, not in this form. If only that Kid wasn't out of the picture. Even he could have shown you some things." Kero paused in his pacing. "We've got to find that Kid." 

"How? Kero, **no one** could find Li before, what makes it any different now?" 

Kero tugged on his lower lip, thinking. "We've got to draw him out." 

Sakura looked at him incredulously. "How the bloody hell are we supposed to draw Li Syaoran anywhere!?" 

"Think! There must be a way." 

"Well, the only thing would be if he knew I was alive, but, that would involve finding him to tell him that, which is what we're trying to do," she muttered. "Wait,.... the first time I saw him was when I was with Rage. So, the Clow cards must have drawn him out. In his madness, he must still be able to sense Clow cards, and realize his duty to help capture them." 

"So all we need to do is have a Clow card draw him out," Kero said quietly. "Easier said then done without getting killed first." 

Sakura's breath gusted out of her. How was she going to go about this? She needed a Clow card for this, but who knew when the next Clow card would show itself, and how much more Li could take. 

Sakura had to find him soon. No matter how hard she thought about it though, she couldn't find a solution. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it, at least, not by herself. 

An idea began forming in Sakura's mind. No, it was too dangerous, it would never work. He would **_never_** help her. But maybe.......she had to try, he was her only chance. 

"Kero," Sakura said slowly. 

"Hmm?" 

"I think I might know a way to find Li." Sakura told him. 

Kero's face brightened. "Good! We need that Kid. What's your plan?" 

Sakura bit her lip. "It's a surprise! I'll tell you when we get there." she evaded. If Kero knew what she was planning, he'd flip. Sakura began to wonder if she wasn't losing it herself.   
~ 

BEEP BEEP BEEP 

Sakura reached her hand up, blindly looking for her alarm clock. She missed the button and hit the alarm clock itself, knocking it to the floor with a bang. 

Sakura groaned, opening her eyes blearily. She waited for the room to come back into focus. Man, she was really out of it. 

Sakura's door opened quietly. "Sakura? Are you awake?" Mr.Avalon asked softly, poking his head in. 

"Mmph," Sakura responded from her pillow. 

Mr.Avalon walked in. He sat down beside her on her bed. "Sakura, are you feeling well?" he asked, concerned, feeling her forehead with the back of his hand. 

Sakura cracked her eyes open. "Of course I'm fine." she said groggily, yawning, "Why wouldn't I be? And what are you doing in here Dad?" she rolled over and closed her eyes. "I'm going back to bed. Wake me when it's morning." 

"Sakura," he said slowly, "It's one in the afternoon." 

Sakura's eyes popped open. She jerked into an upright position. "Nani!?" she jumped out of bed and ran to her closet. _Ahh! I'm late! I have to find Li! _She rummaged through her closet, looking for a shirt and some jean shorts. "Shimatta! Where are my shorts?!" 

"Sakura," Mr.Avalon's voice sounded strained. 

"Yeah, Dad?" Sakura asked, her head still in her closet. 

"**_Where _**did you get **_those!?_**" he asked. 

Sakura turned around, looking at him with a puzzled expression. "Get what?" 

"That!" he had a horrified look on his face. He pointed to her arm. 

Sakura looked down, and cringed. She had worn shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt to be. In her haste, she had forgotten that, and now the black, purplish bruises on her arms were in plain view for anyone, namely her father, to see. 

"Umm...." Sakura started nervously, "These?" 

"Yes!" he dad strode over to her and examined the bruises more closely. "How did you get these?" 

Sakura looked away, holding her now found shorts in her hands. "I told you, I fell." she said lamely. 

Her father stared at her, hard. Sakura gulped. "I think we both know you didn't fall." he said quietly. 

Sakura lowered her eyes, ashamed to be caught lying, and knowing she'd have to tell him something of the truth now. "Someone, someone gave them to me." she whispered. 

Mr.Avalon tilted her head up. "Just like someone gave you those cuts on your face?" he asked. 

Sakura nodded dejectedly. 

He took her chin in his hands. "Why didn't you say anything?" 

"It's no big deal. Please, leave it alone. There's nothing you can do." she whispered. 

"Nothing I can do? If someone is my daughter, I want to know who it is. I want him in jail! When I see him I'll..." 

"Dad, you can't!" Sakura raked a hand through her hair. "You don't understand. This has only happened once, and by nobody I know. And besides, I," Sakura nearly gagged as another lie made it's way out of her mouth. "I didn't get a good look at him. He was wearing a ski mask, he was a thief." Sakura explained. "But he didn't get anything." 

"You didn't see his face?" he asked. 

"No." 

"Well, you should at least report it." he said. 

"Dad, just leave it alone." she pleaded. 

Mr.Avalon stared at her a long while, noting the pleading tone that had entered her voice. Why was it so important to her that he try to ignore what happened? What was she hiding? He could obviously see she was depressed, so he decided to put her mind at ease. He'd continue his own investigation on his own time. 

"All right." he said reluctantly, surprising Sakura. "I'll let it go, but if this happens again I won't no matter what the reason. Do you understand?" 

Sakura nodded. Mr.Avalon headed towards the door. "Dad?" 

He stopped and turned his head. "Yes?" 

"Could you not mention this to Tory? He'd over react. 

Mr.Avalon didn't reply. He left. 

Kero came into view. "That went well." he commented dryly. 

Sakura sighed, gathering up her shirt. "It could have been worse. Kero, turn around." he did. She began changing. "Kero, why didn't you wake me up?" 

"Believe me Sakura, I tried. I did everything but bring a marching band in here. You were dead to the world, and for a couple of seconds I could have sworn I meant that literally." he remarked. Sakura pulled her shirt over her head. "Well, I was tired. What about my alarm clock?" 

Kero snorted. "It started beeping at seven. I kept hitting the snooze button when it was obvious a little sound like that wasn't going to wake you. After about the fifteenth time I got tired of getting up and turning it off so I just left it." 

Sakura zipped up her shorts. "Damn," she breathed. "I needed to be up early so I could.....search for Li." she said after a notable pause. 

Kero narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And where are we going now?" 

"To find Li," Sakura replied. 

"Where?" 

"You'll see." Sakura smiled nervously. "Come on," she picked him up and set him in her shorts pocket. 

"Sakura," Kero said, wiggling around. "There isn't exactly a lot of room in here," he turned his face and found himself staring at her abdomen. "And I'm very uncomfortable." he muttered, wiggling back around. 

"Well, this is the only place I can put you. My shirt doesn't have a pocket and I don't want to bring a bag. There's nowhere else to put you." 

Kero humphed, folding his arms. He noticed that Sakura put the Key of Clow around her neck. "Why are you bringing that?" he asked, his suspicion growing. 

"Just in case." she replied evasively. 

Sakura left her room and went down the stairs. After yelling to her Dad that she was going out, and quelling his protests, Sakura left to go try and save Li.   
~ 

Sakura jogged along the park path, nodding to people who passed her by. Kero, who was still in her pocket, was hanging on for dear life, 

"Where," bounce "are" bounce "we" bounce "here?" he asked, trying to keep his words together. 

"I'm going to find a way to locate Li here." she puffed. "I hope." 

Sakura turned off the park path and entered the woods, going deeper into the park and farther away from civilization. She jogged in silence for about half a mile until Sakura judged she was far enough away from any park goers. She stopped running and said between breaths, "You can come out now Kero." 

Kero immediately, and gratefully, complied. "Thank god!" he said enthusiastically, making Sakura laugh. But then his expression became serious. "You still haven't told me exactly **how** you plan on going about finding the Kid, and frankly, I'm curious. I don't like being kept in the dark." 

"I told you Kero," she said beginning to walk, looking for a particular place, "You'll see when the time comes." 

Kero frowned, not liking this one bit, but followed his Mistress none the less. 

_Where, where, where? _Sakura thought frustrated. She thought her surroundings looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't be absolutely sure. She turned her head from side to side, hoping to recognize something that would tell her she was going in the right direction. 

It was then that something caught her eye. It looked like a white piece of fabric, attached to a plant. On closer inspection, Sakura realized it was a piece of her shirt from yesterday, torn clean off on one of her many falls. 

Good, she was going the right way. 

Sakura began walking again, keeping an eye out for any more clues. Kero flew by her right ear, occasionally asking the same question over and over, "Where are we going and what are you going to do?" but after the twentieth question, and after twenty times of being ignored, Kero finally stopped asking. He was a tad bit angry that Sakura wouldn't answer him, but he figured she had a reason why. And that should have warned him right off the bat. 

The two entered a clearing right in the middle of the woods. Kero could have sworn it looked familiar somehow, like he'd been here before, but he just couldn't place it. 

Sakura walked right into the middle of the thing, out into the open. She stopped and stood by an ancient willow tree, set off by itself, away from it's comrades. 

She took the Key of Clow from around her neck and held it in her hands. She closed her eyes. "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic, power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite. Release!" the Clow wand was now gripped in her hands. 

"What do you think you're doing!?" Kero looked as if he was about to have a heart attack. "You're going to draw unwanted attention to yourself. If one of the Clow cards are close enough, it would have been able to sense that sharp energy spike and come running to investigate." 

"That's what I'm hoping for." Sakura murmured. "Snow card! Make it snow! Snow card!" gentle snowflakes began to fall from the sky. 

"**Now **what are you doing?!" Kero asked, flying back and forth, agitated. 

Sakura winked at him. "I'm trying to draw some of that unwanted attention here." 

Kero's jaw dropped and he stared at her, speechless. "Are you mad!?!" he finally burst out. "Why?" 

"Because, Kero, I'm going to get a certain Clow card to help me get Li here, I hope." she added quietly. 

"That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! Are you trying to get killed? This is suicide! Why didn't you tell me you were planning something so completely senseless?" 

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the willow tree. "Because I knew I'd get a reaction, and that you'd do anything possible to try and persuade me not to do this." 

"Now there's a bet you'd win!" Kero pulled on Sakura's sleeve, trying, ineffectually, to get her moving. "Let's get out of here before...." 

"One of us finds you?" 

Kero and Sakura's heads jerked to the right. 

Rage stood with his arms crossed, a small smile playing about his lips. "Too late." 

Kero tugged harder, "Let's go!" he hissed urgently. But to Kero's ever increasing frustration, he heard Sakura say, almost too softly for him to hear, "Thank god it's him." 

"Listening to your wizard would be a wise move." Rage commented. 

Sakura stepped forward, in the **opposite** direction Kero wanted her to go. She closed her eyes and the Clow wand turned back into the Key. She dropped the Key of Clow into the grass and stepped away from it, raising her hands. "I am without a weapon." she stated. 

Kero did an anime fall. 

"Do you have a death wish?" Rage asked, thoroughly amused. 

Sakura smiled slightly, trying to keep the fact that she was utterly terrified from Rage and Kero. "You won't harm an unarmed woman. It wouldn't be....honourable." 

Rage's amusement grew. "For someone who knows absolutely nothing about me, you certainly seem to know quite a bit." Sakura opened her mouth, "Ah, but then, you want something." Sakura's mouth snapped shut. Rage gestured up to the sky, at the now non-existent snow which had vanished when when Sakura put away the Clow wand. "That was not necessary. I sensed your energy the first time." he began circling her, a predator watching his prey, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, "What is it you want?" 

Sakura came right out with it, "I want you to help me get a friend of mine here, then, I want you to help me subdue him so that I may help him." 

To be continued.......   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Oohhh....what **is **she thinking? 0.o;; Will Rage help her? Or will he finish her off, despite his honour? Sorry I ended it here, I had intended to make it longer but I didn't have any time. If I wanted to get it out this soon I had to end it here. Review and tell me what you think! Don't forget!! I'll come after you if you don't.....grrrr!!! He he.....sorry ^_^;; I don't know when the next part will be out, watch for it or put me on Author alert if you like. See you later!! ^_* 


	7. To Catch A DragonCh6

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Guess I got at least four reviews or I wouldn't be writing this chapter. Remember, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me, Maurynna_h@hotmail.com. I will only answer questions that have to do with things that have already happened and you didn't understand. I will not answer questions about what is going to happen in the story later, although, you may ask all you like ^_^ Snow_wolf asked a very interesting question in his/her review, unfortunately, I can't answer the question because it pertains to the future of the fic. That, and the fact that I have no idea ^_^;; I will say this though, if I did end up bringing Rage and Sakura together, I'd probably get complaints from S+S fans. But......we'll see *_^ 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or anything in relation to it, nor am I getting paid for writing this, so don't sue me! 

**Cardcaptors: To Catch a Dragon-Ch.6**

Rage stopped circling, an incredulous look coming over his face. "You want **_my_** help?" she has surprised him again, she seemed quite adept at doing so. 

Sakura nodded, hoping. He hadn't immediately rejected her idea nor had he laughed in her face. So, she figured she still had a chance. "Yes, I want you to help me get a friend of mine here. Then, I want you to help me get him under control." 

Rage studied the sienna haired woman, utterly confused. "I am your enemy. Why would you seek **my **help for anything? I could kill you now if I so desired." 

"Ah, but you wouldn't." Sakura pointed out. Rage's eyes narrowed, thinking she meant he couldn't. Sakura hastened to explain. "Your promise." she reminded. "You said you'd give me three days. The three days aren't up." she smiled slightly. "As to why I seek your help, well, sometimes, one's greatest enemy can be one's greatest ally." 

Rage glared at her. "And why should I help you? It is pointless. I may not defeat you now, but someone else would gladly take that pleasure." his polite smile reappeared. 

Sakura folded her arms. She licked her lips, a nervous movement she did not even realize making. Rage had, and he mentally smiled. _So, she is not as calm as she would have me believe._

"If, if you did this, if you were to help me, I would agree to fight you somewhere, at a certain time and place." 

"A duel?" 

"Yes!" Sakura jumped at the word, glad he had found a suitable title for it. It sounded better that way. 

Rage walked over and leaned against the willow tree Sakura had vacated. His expression was thoughtful. "How would that be any different from me searching you out on my own time?" 

"Well," Sakura said, grasping for straws. She was losing him. "It would be easier that way!" 

Rage smiled. "Cowards are wont to take the easy path in life. I am no coward." 

"I knew this was senseless!" Kero hissed in her ear. "Let's get out of here before he changes his mind, breaks his 'word' and kills you." 

"No Kero," she whispered back. "I've **got **to find a way to get him to agree. Any other plan would take too long and Li doesn't have much time left." 

Sakura looked back at Rage to find him studying her through bottomless blue eyes, waiting for her next proposal. Sakura knew the ground under her feet was rapidly disappearing. Oh! What else could she offer him? She would have thought a match, one on one, would have satisfied him. Wasn't that what he wanted anyways? This was just making his goal one step closer. Sakura thought quickly, a million voices buzzing in her head but none giving her the answer she sought. There was nothing she could give him that he could possibly need. She couldn't give up her life to save Li because that would have been pointless. Without her, Li couldn't seal the Clow cards so her death would have been in vain. Sakura's shoulder's slumped as she realized he really wasn't going to help her, that she wouldn't be able to help Li, at least not anytime soon...maybe not ever. Sakura admitted to herself that she'd have to go home. She couldn't save Li, and she couldn't take care of the Clow cards by herself. 

Sakura's shoulder's straightened. So what? She'd do the very best she could, and if she never got Li back, she'd seal as many of those Clow cards as possible.....for him. She wouldn't let them get the best of her! 

Rage watched as the woman's shoulder's slumped and he realized she must have come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to help her. He was disgusted with her weakness and how easily she gave up, and yet, at the same time, as he watched her dejected form, he had the odd urge to comfort her. He didn't understand why, she was nothing more than a slip of a female, and weak as well. And yet, the more he concentrated on ignoring the ridiculous feeling, the stronger it seemed to get. 

He shook his head slightly. No matter. He would not let this interfere with his revenge. He would defeat her, and he would show Clow Reed who, in the end, had come out on top. 

He opened his mouth to say something when the woman's shoulder's straightened and her head lifted. Instead of the picture of defeat she had been so portraying not a second before, she was now the model of determination. Her eyes glinted green with purpose and her jaw set stubbornly. Whatever was going through her mind certainly must be of great consequence. Before Rage quite realized what he did, he smiled warmly. A true smile. He quickly wiped it off his face, though, as he realized what he had done, but he could not help the words that came out of his mouth, 

"Your name." 

Sakura had been about to take Kero's advice and leave when Rage uttered those two words. She blinked, surprised. "What?" she asked, confused. 

Rage inclined his head, his mouth set in a straight line, not giving anything away, "What is your name?" 

Sakura smiled bitterly. "What's it to you? You won't help me, you don't even like me! Hell, you probably don't even want to be on the same planet as me, so why does such a small thing as my name interest you?" 

The area around Rage's mouth became pinched. "I thought it would be only fair, seeing as how you know my name and I have yet to learn yours. Besides," his mouth softened. "I was hoping to make a trade." 

Sakura eyed him skeptically. "A trade?" she repeated, suspicious. 

Rage nodded slightly, that smile playing about his lips. "Your name for my help." 

Sakura looked at him disbelievingly. She could not believe what had just come out of his mouth. Had he just said......"You'll help me?" she whispered. 

"For a price," he reminded. "I want to know your name." 

Sakura narrowed her eyes, thinking he was up to something. "Why do you want such a little thing as that?" 

Rage shrugged, "A name can hold a lot of value. How much does yours hold?" he asked cryptically. 

Sakura studied him. What's the big deal? It was only her name, right? Telling him her name in exchange for saving Li was the best deal she could possibly hope for. So why did it feel like she was giving away a lot more? She looked to Kero for assistance. 

"Be careful," he advised. "He's right, names have a lot of worth. It's just like when you captured the other Clow cards. You had to find out which ones they were first before you could seal them." he paused. "It's up to you." 

Sakura looked back to Rage. "My name? For your help?" he nodded. She was silent for a moment, thinking. What did she have to lose? "Sakura. My name is Sakura Avalon." 

_Sakura...._Rage played the name over in his mind, liking the sound of it. Such a beautiful name fit her perfectly. Rage blinked, not quite sure how that thought had entered his head. Rage didn't like this, his thoughts were becoming dangerous..... 

"Why would you need my help to subdue a friend?" he asked quizzically. 

Sakura bowed her head and mumbled, "He....isn't quite in his right mind." she said, not wanting to give away the whole situation. She knew he was honourable, but if he got the chance to defeat her, he wouldn't pass it up. She didn't want to give him any information that would give him an advantage over her. 

Rage tilted his head, studying her, knowing there was something more. But when she declined to say anything else he let it go. "And how exactly do you wish me to help? Because in my mind, there is only one definition to what you are saying." 

Sakura looked at him a long moment, as if she didn't understand him. Perhaps she didn't, for her eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfect O. Then her eyebrows snapped together and Rage felt for all his life as if he was about to be scolded. 

His assumption proved right. Sakura lifted her left index finger and shook it back and forth. "Don't you dare hurt him." she warned. 

Rage lifted an eyebrow. "Then how exactly do you presume to have me stop him?" 

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Just.....hold him or something. I'll take care of the rest." 

Rage looked at her intensely, then slowly shook his head in disappointment. She'd never make a good war general. "And this is what you plan to do?" he asked slowly. She nodded. He smiled wryly, "It is good that you have this all sorted out....for he is here." 

"**_What!?_**" she nearly shrieked, making his eardrums vibrate. She whirled around just in time to see Li step out of the trees, his sword unsheathed. Li took one look at her and his lips drew back into a snarl. He advanced on her. 

Rage's sword came out of his sheath, a keen metallic ring echoing through the woods. He stepped forward towards this new adversary as well. Sakura, unfortunately was stuck in the middle. 

"Wait!" she said flinging a hand in the direction of Rage. If she had hoped he would stop she was mistaken. He kept right on coming. Getting over the momentary shock that had caused, Sakura stepped directly into his path. "Let me talk to him first." she said. 

Rage took his eyes off Li to glare at Sakura. That look held so much heat that Sakura wondered if she had made a grave mistake. What was wrong? 

Rage didn't hesitate in answering the unspoken question for her. "You did not tell me he was also a descendant of Clow Reed." he growled, red rage filled his vision. 

_Uh-oh, _Sakura was in for it now. "You promised to help me." she said staring into his eyes, trying to draw his attention away from the cautiously approaching Li. "If you harm him before the three days are up I will consider it a direct blow to me! You will have broken your word!" she knew she was stretching it there, and she had to wonder, was Rage's honour stronger than his desire for revenge? She hoped so. 

Rage stood stone still, his struggle evident in his gaze. Finally, he looked into her eyes. "You will pay for information witheld." he promised. 

Sakura walked past him, towards Li, who was still edging cautiously towards her. When it was apparent she was heading towards him, Li darted back, holding his sword in a defensive gesture. 

"Done discussing your plans, card?" he asked with contempt. "It doesn't matter. It won't save you." 

"Li, it's me, Sakura." she said, holding out her hands in a gesture of peace. "Try to remember." 

"I remember," he rasped, desperation edged his gaze. "First, you sent her away, then you killed her. Now you pretend to be her to satisfy your own sick appetite. Well, I can't take it anymore." 

"Hurry up Sakura," Kero said, fluttering his wings nearby. "He's not going to listen to reason. You'll have to do this by force." 

"But, Kero," said, stalling, "I'm not going to do that until absolutely necessary." she turned her attention to Li. "Look, Li, it's Kero. If I wasn't the real Sakura, I wouldn't have Kero with me would I?" she said reasonably. 

Li's sword lowered a notch. He stared at Kero as if he was trying to puzzle out the meaning of life. His sword lowered another notch. Sakura thought she might be making progress, but suddenly, Li's eyes went blank and he looked as if he had joined the dead. Sakura knew that look, he was having a vision, but something told her a vision was being **_forced _**upon him. 

Rage's hand came to rest on her shoulder abruptly, like a clamp. Sakura looked up at him. "He is not under his own influence." he stated. Rage stared hard at Li, trying to decipher something familiar, yet, elusive. When he figured out what it was his gaze flew back to Sakura's. "Insanity has laid claim to this human. He is under his influence." 

"I know." Sakura said. 

Rage looked at her incredulously. "You **_knew_**?" his eyes narrowed. "Yet another thing you have declined to tell me." 

"I didn't think you needed to know." she mumbled. 

"I **need** to know everything I can of a situation. The smallest thing left unattended could kill you." he informed her heatedly. 

Sakura was about to reply when she noticed Li's eyes change again. They were back to normal, so to speak. They held a feverish glint in them, and she knew that whatever Insanity had shown Li, it hadn't been good. 

"Sakura!" Kero said urgently. Sakura looked to him. Kero, god bless his soul, had took the liberty of looking for the Key of Clow when no one was paying attention to him. He tossed it to her now. She caught it with both hands. 

She shook off Rage's hand, which he hadn't removed, and closed her eyes. "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic! Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared in her hands. 

Li seemed genuinely shocked by this. He stared at the wand, dumbfounded. Sakura knew he hadn't been expecting that. She held up the wand. "Last chance Li. I really don't want to hurt you, but, I'm going to have to if you don't calm down." she looked him in the eyes. "I **am** Sakura, your friend. I **am **alive, and I **am **Mistress of the Clow cards. The Clow wand should prove it to you." 

Li gazed into her eyes until he began shaking. "Impossible." he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "It can't be, you're dead. Stop plaguing me!" Li took a fighting stance. 

"Sakura!" Kero warned. 

She was already moving. "Sleep card! Release and dispel! Sleep!" she brought the Clow wand down. The little blue faerie that was Sleep appeared and flew over Li. What happened was **not** what Sakura was expecting. 

Sleep.....didn't affect him. Sleep had flown right over Li, she had seen the powder go straight into his face! Yet, he was still standing there, wide awake. Or was, she corrected herself as Li jumped into the air and brought his sword down, his target herself. She could only stand and watch. 

Rage saved her. He picked her up in his arms and jumped with her into a tree. Li's sword hit the ground, finding only earth. 

Rage put her down on the branch he was currently standing on. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "It didn't work." she said dumbly, still not able to understand it. 

Rage snorted. "Of course it didn't work. Insanity has placed a shield around him. It snapped up as soon as the card was released." he stared at her. "You mean you did not know about it? You did not sense it?" 

"Well, obviously not!!" she said, frustrated. "You could have told me!" 

Rage smiled slightly. "You did not ask. Call it a small repayment for keeping information from me." 

Sakura opened her mouth to yell at him, 

"Element! Wind!" 

Rage and Sakura jumped out of the tree in opposite directions just before a powerful gust of wind snapped the branch they had been standing on. Rage landed gracefully behind Li, near a small pond, and Sakura did a tumbling roll to the ground, landing just in front of Li. She looked up at him quickly. 

"Element! Fire!" he yelled. A burst of fire came speeding towards her. 

"Shield!" Sakura quickly screamed. She was encased in a pink bubble a second before Li's fire hit. The stream of flame deflected off the shield harmlessly. But now Li was coming towards her personally, his sword drawn back to strike the bubble surrounding her. 

Sakura called back the Shield card and called forth the Sword card. The tip of her Clow wand transformed into a blade. Sakura's sword met Li's halfway. She knew she should go on the attack, stun him, phase him, do something to immobilize him! But she couldn't seem to summon the will power to harm Li in any way. She remained on the defensive, merely deflecting Li's attacks. But Li was no amateur, and he had strength and stamina born of desperation and doubt. 

"Li!" Sakura screamed, trying to get through to him once again. His sword came down powerfully over the Clow wand and Sakura felt her whole arm vibrate. "Please! Try to fight it! It's me, Sakura! **_LI!!_**" Li's sword came down with inhuman strength and knocked the Clow wand right out of Sakura's hands, knocking her to the ground in the process. 

Sakura looked up in horror as Li smiled triumphantly and brought his sword back for the final swing. Sakura saw Rage coming up on Li's right, his eyes blazing. "Enough of this," she heard him say, fairly growl, and he drew back his own sword. 

"**_NO!!_**" she screamed at him, sure he was going to kill Li. 

Rage brought his sword down and gave Li a good clout to the head, with the back of his sword. Li's blade fell from from his limp hands as he slumped to the ground, unconscious. 

Sakura looked up at him with wide, vulnerable eyes. "You didn't kill him." she stated obviously. 

Rage sheathed his sword. He gave Li a look of disgust before saying, "Of course not. I do not so easily forget my vows." he told her, as if she should have known. 

Sakura fell back, straight on her back and gaze up at the sky, emotionally drained. Rage came to stand before her and his visage was soon silhouetted above her against the sky. "Are you injured?" he asked. 

"Yes, no, maybe." she replied uselessly. She just wanted to lie there forever. Of course, her dear Guardian Beast had to ruin everything, 

He flew over to her and immediately took offense at Rage being so close to his prone Mistress. "Get away from her!" he growled. 

Rage gave Kero a look that should have killed him. "I'll do as I please, wizard." he snarled. 

"Enough!" Sakura demanded from her position on the ground. "I don't need this right now! Kero I'm fine so get over it. Rage, I'm not going to die so you're still going to get to fight me. So both of you be quiet so I can go to sleep!!" she fairly yelled. 

The two males looked at her, complete confusion written on both their faces. Sakura sighed. Men! 

After about what she judged to be five minutes, Sakura managed to pull her weary self up and collect her scattered wits. Amazingly, neither Kero nor Rage had opened their mouthed since she had last spoken. Thank god for small miracles. They were just like Tory and Li, they **_hated_** each other. 

Speaking of Li,.....Sakura looked down at his sprawled form. What was she supposed to do now!? She had gotten him subdued, but not quite how she had hoped. So what was she supposed to do with him? She couldn't bring him home. She could just imagine the look on Dad and Tory's faces when she walked in with an unconscious Li, said, "Just bringing him up to my room where I'll probably have to tie him down so I can get some sense into him," and sauntered up the stairs. Dad would probably have a heart attack, and Tory......well,.....she couldn't imagine what Tory would do. 

"Ooh! Where am I going to put him now!?" she thought out loud. Then an idea entered her mind. She smiled suddenly and brilliantly, making both men nervous. "I'll keep him at Madison's!" 

Kero immediately went into hysterics. "No way!! When that boy comes to he's going to be flaming mad Sakura! You **don't **want him around **_anyone, _**including yourself. And Madison isn't exactly qualified to handle stuff like this." Kero reminded. 

Rage didn't say anything on account of a) he wanted to kill Li himself, b) if he couldn't accomplish a) at the moment, he didn't care what they did with the body, and c) he had no idea who Madison was to begin with. 

"Well, where else are we supposed to put him Kero? We can't keep him at my house. There's no where to put him! And no one else knows about this so Madison's our only solution." Sakura argued. 

Kero crossed his arms over his chest, seriously peeved. "These last couple ideas you've had have **not** been to my liking. And now here you go again. But no! Don't take my advice! Bring him to Madison's! But you'll regret it! Not that you care." he grumbled. 

Sakura smiled. "Good." then she frowned. "How are we supposed to get him there?" 

To be continued............   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Well? You like? I was going to write more in this chapter but, for crying out loud! I'm tired, it's late, and I'm going to bed so I can get up early enough tomorrow to post this. I don't post it now on account that I'm too lazy to. Deal with it! ^_^ Don't forget to review! I could really use some reviews. I haven't been getting many and have only been continuing this for those few people who do review. Guess I'll just have to spice up the summaries a bit ;) So please review. I need as many comments, opinions, questions, as possible. See you next chapter! 


	8. Taming the DragonCh7

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Hey! Wow, I'm glad I got this out so soon after the other chapter. I'm so proud of myself!! ^_^ 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors nor am I getting paid to do this, so do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: Taming the Dragon-Ch.7**

Sakura looked at Rage. 

It took him a moment to understand that Sakura wanted **_him_** to help carry the man to this Madison's place. "I am not carrying him **anywhere.**" he stated firmly. 

Sakura just looked at him with pleading eyes. 

As Rage gazed into her luminous green eyes, he couldn't help but feel lost. It got to the point where he felt like he'd do anything for her. There he went again! What the **_hell_** was getting into him? He scowled, anger coming to life in his eyes. He **_hated_** not being able to understand what brought about such feelings. 

Sakura stared at him, confused over his sudden mood swing. 

He glared at her. "I am **not** helping you with this. I agreed to help you stop him only because of the trade, and the duel." 

Sakura's eyes widened. "But I thought you said you weren't going to accept the duel." she said, baffled. 

Rage nodded. "So I did. But this will be too much fun to pass up." he smiled. 

Sakura's eyes fairly popped out of her head. "FUN!?" 

Rage laughed before turning around and walking away. 

Sakura watched him go. _FUN!?_ Sakura shook her head. There went her lucky break. She looked back down at Li. She knelt down beside him and her brow knit in concern. She reached out a hand and brushed back a lock of his brown hair from his forehead. "Oh, Li," she whispered. "What have you been through while I was away?" she stood back up and put her hands on her hips, thinking. "So how am I going to get him to Madison's Kero?" 

Kero shrugged. "I don't know. It's your plan, you figure it out." 

Sakura glanced at him and frowned. "Kero, don't be like that. I know I should have told you what I was going to do and I know it was dangerous, but it worked didn't it?" 

Kero crossed his arms. "That's not the point. You could have been hurt." he said gruffly. 

Sakura looked at him with shining eyes. "But I wasn't Kero. Thank-you for worrying but I'm fine." she smiled. "And if I come up with any hair brained ideas again I'll tell you before I go and do them." 

Kero snorted. 

"Now," she said, getting back to Li. "What am I going to do about you? I can't carry you to Madison's. Face it Li, you've grown." she said wryly. "Well, I can't make myself bigger, well, I could, but someone would notice. It's just too bad you aren't a bit smaller......" Sakura trailed off as an idea hit her. She transformed her Key into her wand and pulled out a Clow card. "Little card! Make Li small so I can carry him to Madison's! Little card!" Little went over to Li and came into contact with him. Immediately, light surrounded Li and when the light faded he was small enough to fit in the palm of Sakura's hand. 

Kero smirked. "You'd better hope he doesn't wake up Sakura," he advised. "We'd have a devil of a time finding him when he's that small." 

Sakura gave him a look. "He won't wake up." she looked down at Li in her fist with concern. "Rage hit him pretty hard, don't you think?" 

"He'll live," Kero said, not terribly worried about it. 

"Well," Sakura said, Li safely encased in her fist, "Let's go." 

Kero started flying away. Sakura cleared her throat. Kero looked back at her questioningly. She gave him a look that said he was out of his mind and then she pointed to her jean shorts pocket. Kero groaned. "Oh, no! Not this again!!"   
~ 

Sakura knocked on Madison's door. She heard a muffled "Coming!" from the other end of the door and then heard someone running. Madison pulled the door open with a pair of scissors in her hands. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Hi Sakura!" she said happily. When Sakura didn't reply and just kept looking down at something, Madison frowned and looked down herself, trying to see what was making Sakura so nervous. She saw the scissors in her hand and grinned wickedly, snapping them open and shut. "Think I'll do something to you with these?" 

Sakura gulped and sweat dropped. "Maybe, you could put those down?" she advised nervously. 

Madison grinned and opened the door wider. "Sure. I was just teasing. I was working on your outfits some more. That's why it took me a bit to open the door, and why I have these." as she walked by the kitchen she set the scissors on the table. "So," she began, "What brings you here?" 

"Well....." 

"Oh, no!!! You are getting me out of this pocket first!" Kero demanded hotly. 

Sakura looked down at him, amused. "Why don't you just get out yourself?" 

"Because!" Kero practically wailed. "I'm stuck!!!" 

Madison covered her mouth so she wouldn't burst out laughing. Sakura gritted her teeth until her jaw hurt. "Sorry Kero," she said her voice strained. As gently as she could she pried Kero out of her pocket. 

He flew around the room stretching out his wings and exhaling deeply. "That is so much better!" he said enthusiastically. 

Madison made a strange gagging sound, and that set Sakura off. They both burst out laughing. 

Kero put his hands on his hips and glared at them. "What's so funny? You try being stuck in someone's pocket, wedged up between a piece of cloth and,...well.....nevermind." 

The two girls laughter eventually died down to giggles. Madison sat down in her favourite chair and returned to the original subject. "So why are you here?" 

Sakura looked around and answered, "What? I couldn't come simply because I wanted to?" 

Madison grinned. "Oh, you could have, but if that was the case you would have called first. But you didn't, which suggests you were in a hurry. Which means," Madison concluded. "There's an actual reason why you're here." 

Sakura looked at her in mock amazement. "Are you sure you're not a secret investigator?" she asked innocently. 

Madison shrugged. "I know you." she said simply. "Well?" 

Sakura glanced sheepishly at her. "I have a REALLY big favour to ask you." she began. 

"Ask away." Madison assured. "You know I'd do anything for you Sakura." 

Sakura laughed. "This isn't your typical favour." she opened her hand and showed it's contents to Madison. 

Madison's eyes bugged out of her head. "Is that **_LI_**!?" she asked leaning forward out of her chair. 

Sakura nodded. "I need to keep him here while I try to break Insanity's spell. I can't keep him at my house because Tory and Dad would have a fit. Do you have any place where I could set him?" she asked hopefully. 

Madison quickly got over her shock. She stood up. "Yeah, sure." she started walking towards a closed door. "I have an extra room I don't use, a guest room if you will. It's actually pretty clean, aside from a few boxes stacked in the corner." she opened the door, revealing a dresser and a table set by a bed. "There isn't much furniture, but there is a bed. You could drag a chair in here from the kitchen." 

Sakura gave her a grateful smile. "**Thank-you **Madison." she said gratefully. "You're taking this very well." she commented. 

Madison shrugged, grinning. "Well, with all that time spent catching Clow cards in the past, nothing much surprises me anymore." she watched Sakura walk in and gently place the chibi Li in the middle of the bedspread. "There is something I want in return for this." she said. 

Sakura stiffened minimally. That didn't sound like Madison. "What do you want?" she asked warily. 

Madison broke into another grin. "The whoooole story. Everything, on how Li came to be here and in this condition." she glanced at him on the bed. "I noticed he didn't say anything when you came in, nor is he moving." Madison looked back at Sakura, ready to drag information out of her. "What did you do to him?" 

Sakura pulled a face. "I didn't **_do_** anything to him, Madison." she looked down. "Rage hit him over the head." 

Madison's eyes filled with the light only a true gossip addict can get when their on to something interesting. "**_Really?_**" she asked, a wealth of meaning behind that word. 

Sakura gave her an amused glance. "Well, you see, I kind of went to Rage for help." 

Madison's eyes filled with amazement. "Really?" 

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Stop doing that! It's not like this is such a big deal." Madison just looked at her. Sakura sighed "O.K., maybe it is, but you don't have to act like that. It's giving me the creeps." 

Madison giggled. 

Sakura sighed again and rolled her eyes, knowing that there was no hope for this certain trouble maker. "Anyways,.....I asked him for help. He agreed only when I promised to tell him my name." she could see Madison opening her mouth to ask the obvious question. Sakura held up a hand. "Don't ask, because, honestly, I don't know why he wanted to know that. But he did. Oh, and I'm going to have to battle him later. That was part of the deal, too." 

Madison looked worried. "A duel? Are you sure that's such a good idea, Sakura?" she asked, concerned. 

Sakura frowned. "Not you, too!! Kero had the exact same view on that. But was I supposed to, Madison? I had to save Li." 

Madison held up both hands. "O.K., O.K.," she said quickly. "You're right. You did, and do, still have to save Li." she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway. "So what next?" 

"Well, Li appeared and I tried talking to him first, I didn't want to resort to violence," she explained. "But he wasn't listening, so then I tried using Sleep on him, but it didn't work." Madison's eyes widened in surprise. Sakura nodded, noting the movement. "Apparently, Insanity had placed some sort of shield around Li that protected him from things like that. I'm not exactly sure how that worked," she confessed, embarrassed. "Rage was the one who told me about it. So, then I took out the Shield card, but Li decided to come at me directly, so I changed to the Sword card. Only for defense though. But Li was too out of control and he knocked the Clow wand right out of my hands. That's when Rage stepped in and knocked Li over the head." Sakura finished. "That's about it." 

Madison looked at her, her eyes gleaming. "Ooh! That sounds so sweet! Like he rescued you or something." 

Sakura just stared at her while that comment sunk in. When it did she immediately began protesting at the exact same time as Kero did, 

"That's ridiculous! He was just getting tired of the fight and wanted it done!" Sakura.   
"Not in a million years! He was just never one for patience for a battle if he wasn't in it!!" Kero. 

Madison stared at the two, not sure whether she should retreat. "Hey, I was just saying," she started defensively. 

Sakura shook her head and smiled. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter." she walked over to the bed and pulled out the Key of Clow, "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic! Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared. "Little card! Reverse your power and make Li normal again! Little card!" Little card appeared and touched Li again. In a matter of moments, Li was back to his regular size. Sakura looked over at Madison. "Do you have any rope?" 

Madison looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Rope?" she asked faintly. 

"Yes, rope, or something I can use to bind Li's hands to the bedpost and his feet to the foot of the bed. Hurry, I don't have much time. I don't know when he'll wake up." Madison just stood there. Sakura looked at the ceiling in exasperation. "In case you've forgotten, Madison, Li isn't exactly hospitable at the moment. If he wakes up and he's not contained, we're just going to have another fight again, and without Rage's help he'd probably end up hurting me, or killing me." she added under her breath. 

Madison smiled and laughed weakly. "Of course, I knew that. I'll be right back." she said, quickly disappearing from the room. She reappeared a few minutes later holding some blue material. "It's not rope, but it's strong." she said. She handed the blue strips to Sakura. 

Sakura approached Li. She took his right hand and wrapped the material around it. She then held his wrist to the first post and tied his hand securely to it. She leaned over him and did the same thing to his other wrist. In the process, she looked down and gazed at his face. She sweat dropped as she thought, _Oh, I really hope he doesn't wake up right now._

When she finished her business, she turned back to Kero and Madison with a triumphant grin on her face. "All done!" 

Kero and Madison both exhaled, relieved. 

"Kero," Sakura said quietly. He's **_really _**kill her for this one. "Would you two leave me alone with him, please?" 

Kero looked at her, aghast. "Are you kidding me? That kid is dangerous. What if he breaks free and I'm not here?" 

"It's O.K. Kero. He won't." 

"Sakura,......." he began protesting. 

Sakura crossed her arms, a sure signal that she was going to get her way no matter what. "Look, Kero. You said I'll need to break the hold Insanity has on his mind. I think I could accomplish this much better if I was alone. That way I'll have his full attention, no one will distract him." she explained. 

Kero huffed silently, knowing she had a point but not liking it any better. 

Madison nodded silently, she knew this was for the best. She always knew Sakura had always had the best luck in getting through to Li. She had her suspicions as to why that was, but, Madison grinned mentally, she wasn't sure yet. "Come on Kero," she said, grabbing him by the tail. Kero yelped, beginning to protest, yet again. "Let's go." Madison said mercilessly. 

The door closed behind the two and Sakura was left alone with Li.   
~ 

Sakura sat in an armchair that Madison had brought in from the kitchen, by Li's bed, staring at him. She had been in here, alone, for fourty-five minutes now, waiting for Li to wake up. She kept tensing up, then, when she realized that she was tense, she immediately relaxed, feeling foolish. This had gone on for the entire time she was in here, but, for crying out loud! she really thought Li would have been awake by now. Maybe Rage had hit him a little too hard. Sakura frowned. She kept worrying about that. But then, she kept thinking that when Li **did** wake up, she'd have to face him, and she wasn't looking forward to that. 

Sakura bit her lip. She kept thinking about how she was going to save Li from Insanity. Every time she had tried talking to him, she had failed in getting through. So how was she going to do it? Use something stronger, Kero had said, use something stronger than Insanity had used. What could she use that was stronger than her death? 

At that moment, Li's eyebrow twitched. It was such a slight movement, and if Sakura hadn't been watching him so closely, she would have missed it. She leaned forward in her chair anxiously, nervously, and waited. 

Li's eyes opened slowly. He blinked a couple of times, trying to get things into focus. When he did, the first thing he saw was the brilliant green of Sakura's eyes. His brow knit in confusion. No, not Sakura,..... 

Li abruptly reared off of the bed, his torso rising clean off it. Sakura, taken off guard, fell back in her chair with a thump, her eyes wide. Li relaxed back onto the bed. He looked up at the bindings around his wrists with wide, confused, eyes. He pulled at the cloth experimentally, but it didn't budge. He looked back at Sakura with hate in his eyes. Sakura sunk into her chair, not liking that look one bit. 

"So," he said evenly, his voice chilly. "You have caught me." he pulled on his bindings. "Now comes the torture." 

Sakura looked at him aghast. "I'm not going to **_torture _**you!" she fairly yelled. 

"Then you're just going to kill me." he stated matter-of-factly. 

Sakura leaned forward, fairly confident that Li was securely tied down, in exasperation, "I'm not going to kill you either." 

Li looked at her askance. "Then what are you going to do?" he leaned his head back on the pillow, a smile forming on his lips, "You know, for one of the new Clow cards, you're pretty dense." 

Sakura put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "First of all Li Syaoran! I'm not dense, and second! I'm not a Clow card. I'm **_Sakura Avalon!!_** The real one! And don't you forget it!" her tone and expression softened. "I'm alive Li. I'm the real Sakura." 

Li cracked his eyes open. "That argument again, is it? It's getting a bit old by now. Don't you have anything better to say? Oh, I see," he opened his eyes fully as an idea hit him. "You plan on gaining my trust, making me think you **are** her, and then you'll betray me, making the torment even worse." he sneered at her. "Well guess what, **_card,_** I'm not going to let that happen." 

Sakura was getting angry. She knew Li thought she really wasn't real, but, he was getting on her nerves. This was **_not_** working. Talking wasn't getting through to him, would violence, maybe? She shuddered at that thought. She really didn't want to hurt Li, she couldn't. 

She stood up and leaned over Li, trying to be intimidating. "Look, Li, why can't you just believe what I say?" 

Li glared at her. "Why would I do that? **_How_** could I do that?" his voice became desperate. "All those years you've been sending me those visions of Sakura's death. I have seen her die a countless number of times, and each time a small portion of my sanity has gone, too. I don't know how I've remained sane these past years, but I have." his eyes narrowed and his voice took on new strength. "But whatever has kept me sane, I'm grateful. And I'm going to keep my sanity. No matter what you do, no matter what you say, you'll **never** make me forget the **real** Sakura or what's right." he glared at her with new hatred. "I hope you die, and I hope you die soon. And I hope it will be a painful death, just like hers! You don't deserve to live! And you don't deserve to take on her form, and you will never deserve anything but my derision!!" 

***SLAP*******

Li turned his head back to look at a fuming Sakura, his cheek red. "You think you know so much," she hissed. "Well if you were half as strong as the Li I used to know, you'd never have let a **_Clow card_** influence your decisions. The Li **I know** would have recognized me no matter what!! But obviously, you're not the Li I used to know. You're just an empty shell. I don't know why I even bother trying to help you. You obviously don't want any help." she leaned in close. "You are weak." she whispered. "I cannot believe I thought I was doing you a favour. Know this Li, no matter what happens between us now, know that I will always be your friend, no matter what." 

Li stared into Sakura's eyes, that were just inches from his own. Could she really be the real Sakura? He was so confused! A collage of visions assaulted his mind, all of them of Sakura dead, and a Clow card gloating over the kill. Li closed his eyes in torment. WHEN WAS THIS GOING TO STOP!!! 

He opened his eyes again, to find that 'Sakura' was still gazing at him, her eyes still blazing. He let the now familiar hate edge his vision and mockery to enter his tone. "You're good." he said condescendingly. 

Sakura's nostrils flared. She was really angry now. Not thinking about what she did, she hopped on the bed and sat down with a plop on Li's stomach, one leg on either side of him. Li grunted but said nothing. She leaned in close to his face again. "You're a coward." she said quietly. "It's not that you can't believe, it's that you won't." her eyes began to tear up. "I want **_my_** Li back again, not this Li. I hate to think what you see when you get those horrible visions. I know he's hurt you, Li, but try to believe, believe in me." she pleaded, a tear slipping down her cheek, unheeded. 

Li stared at her, something stirring inside him. He had always hated to see Sakura cry. He **_hated_** it. 

Sakura continued, another tear slipping down her cheek. "I know it's hard Li, but, **try **to fight it. Do it for **_me_**, Li. Because every time you get hurt, so do I." Li started shaking. "I care for you Li, you're my friend, I can't bare to think you're suffering. Come back to me, Li. Come back." 

Something in Li began to break, he was trembling violently. He stared up into Sakura's wet, luminous eyes. "S-Sakura?" he asked plaintively, tugging on his wrists, trying to touch her face. 

Sakura leaned in, mere millimetres from his face. She looked into his eyes, her breath coming out in a whoosh, "Come to me Li, come to me." and she kissed him. 

Li's eyes flared open as he felt something leave him, his very soul. He heard an enraged voice in the back of his head, "**_Noooo!!!" _**it screamed as it was forcefully removed from his mind, driven out by a pink glow that was filling the darkness, consuming every crevasse of his mind. He embraced it, opened up to it's warmth completely. There was deep sorrow there, and worry, but a calm peace surrounded it all. A peace for his benefit. It reminded him of cherry blossoms in spring......he knew that soul........ 

Sakura ended the kiss and leaned up slightly. She looked down at him with hooded eyes for a moment, before the full impact of what she had done hit her. She blushed as red as a beet. **_Why _**had she done **_that?_** Her very first kiss.....Sakura almost groaned in frustration(not that kind *_^). She had been really angry at Li, she remembered that, she had been angry at him for not trying. And maybe a little scared that she wouldn't be able to draw Li back and banish the spell. Then she had been extremely sad, sure that she had failed, and she had just leaned down and...... she didn't know. 

"Sakura." 

Sakura's eyes darted to Li's face. Had he just called her by name? As she looked down at him, she noticed that none of the resentment, or anger touched his expression anymore. There was no tormented soul peeking out from behind his eyes. And he had said her name with such...tenderness. Hope flared in her anew. Had she done it? 

"Li?" she questioned, holding her breath. 

Li smiled up at her nervously, his lips wobbly. "Hi." he said simply. 

Sakura stared down at him, happiness beginning to shine in her eyes. "You're all right?" 

Li nodded, never taking his eyes from her. "I'm back." he whispered. Then he lowered his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry Sakura. I really am a coward, I never should have stopped believing in you, stopped trying. Will you ever forgive me?" 

Before he knew what was happening, Sakura glomped him. She put her hands around his neck and literally **_squeezed_** the life out of him. With a big grin on her face, Sakura cried happily, "Oh Li!! Of course I forgive you!! I'm so glad you're back!!" 

To be continued......   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Aww......*sniff*(watery grin) that was so sweet! *sigh* I had fun with that part. I hope you liked it, I did! ^_^ So, Li's back to normal, and Sakura certainly is happy. But what's going to happen next? Stay tuned, so to speak, and find out, because, I don't even know!! I'll have to take some time off and think about this ;) Don't forget to review!! I REALLY want to know what you thought about this one. 


	9. Back to Normal Ch8

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Ok,.....let's see how this goes, ^_^. I have an idea of how I'm going to start this chapter, but not much else. I guess you could say I've got a touch of writer's block. In other words,....I'm going to write this on a complete blank!! So I would appreciate it if you reviewed and told me how it was. This is going to be interesting.....;) 

Disclaimer(did I put one in the last chapter?): I do not own Cardcaptors or anything in relation to it, so please do not sue me!! 

**Cardcaptors: Back to Normal?-Ch.8**

Madison sat in her living room, calmly sipping her tea. If anyone had looked at her, they would have said she hadn't a care in the world. Not so.... 

Kero was slowly pacing on air. His wings fluttering nervously. Everytime he passed the closed door Sakura and Li were behind, he'd glance at it, wondering what was taking so long, and why it was so quiet in there. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, 

Madison's eyebrow began twitching. Kero didn't notice. 

Back and forth, back and forth,....... 

**_"KERO!!!"_** Madison yelled, slamming her teacup down on the table. 

Kero shot up like a bullet, hitting his head on the ceiling. "OW!!" he whined, rubbing the top of his head. He floated back down to eye level, glaring at Madison. "What was **_that_** about!?" he demanded. 

Madison glared right back. "You're driving me insane!! Knock it off!" 

Kero stared at her, his head still cradled in his hands. "You could have asked." he whined. 

Madison sighed. "Sorry Kero," she apologized. "But, you were getting on my nerves, and I was thinking about Sakura in there and,.....Kero, do you think everything's all right?" 

Kero glanced back at the door. "I hope so Madison. I'd hate to think something happened to Sakura when I was right here and could have prevented it." 

Madison stared at nothing in particular, thinking. "Do you think Sakura will be able to help Li?" she asked, wanting, and not wanting, to know the answer. 

Kero said nothing for a few moments. Then, quietly, "If Sakura can't do it, no one can."   
~ 

Sakura relinquished her hold on Li, looking sheepish. "Sorry," she said, as Li wheezed breath in through his tortured lungs. Sakura sat back up. She gazed down at Li happily for all of two seconds before she started chattering, 

"Oh, Li, there's so much I want to tell you! You missed way too much! Did you know Meilin got **_married!?_** To Zachary!? And Madison got a job in the photography business. Did you know she takes pictures for major magazines? And she's got this really nice apartment, well, you're in it, and......." 

"Sakura," 

Sakura blinked twice and looked at Li questioningly. "Yes Li?" 

Li had a pained expression on his face. He pulled at his wrists, annoyed, and slightly embarrassed. Sakura still didn't seem to realize she was sitting on him. "Sakura, could you untie me?" 

Sakura blinked again, as if she didn't quite understand him. Then she broke into a smile. "Of course, Li." she bent forward and began untying his left wrist. 

Li gulped as his eyes grew wide. When he realized he was staring, he quickly squeezed his eyes shut, his eyelids scrunched tightly together. Sakura had forgotten she was sitting on him again, and when she leaned over, Li was presented with a bird's eye view of her chest. He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter as he realized he liked what he saw. His cheeks burned. 

And when she had kissed him. Li fought the urge to smile. When her lips had touched his, it had felt like.......like.......Oh, he couldn't describe it. It had felt like passing through the gates of heaven, like running through a field of wildflowers, like his soul had left his body and was flying among the clouds, looking down on earth and seeing the cherry blossoms, with her. 

Li did smile. O.K., maybe he could describe it, to a certain extent. 

Li remembered the first time he had he'd realized he felt something for Sakura. It was right when she had told him she was going to Canada to finish her education. When he had heard that, something inside him had felt like it was breaking. At first, he hadn't known what the feeling had been, or when he had felt so empty when he thought of Sakura leaving. 

Li could have laughed. Oh, he had been so young then. When he had understood these new feelings, realized that the breaking he had felt inside him was heartbreak, he had been surprised. 

Well, maybe surprised wasn't a strong enough word......try aghast, skeptical, disbelieving, speechless. 

Pick one. 

After the shock had worn off, he had time to reflect and start to get a better understanding of this new emotion. He realized that he had begun to feel for Sakura earlier, when they were still catching Clow cards, but he hadn't known it. He soon realized that this awkward feeling was not going to go away, no matter how uncomfortable it made him feel. And with that thought had come another....... 

He couldn't live without her. 

But he could never have told her that. No, not Li Syaoran, calm, cool, and collected warrior that he was. Li wanted to sigh. He was such an idiot! And he **still** couldn't tell her how he felt. Not before he knew for sure she felt the same way. But that kiss had given him hope. Maybe, just maybe, she felt something more than friendship for him? But he still wasn't sure. 

Love could be a bitch. 

"All done Li." Sakura said suddenly. 

Li blinked, getting his head up and out of the clouds. He hadn't even noticed when his wrists had been set free, nor had he noticed when Sakura had reached back and untied his feet. Li brought his arms down by his sides and looked up at Sakura, "Umm....Sakura? Could you get off me now?" he really didn't want Sakura to move, he kind of liked her where she was. She wasn't very heavy at all, so she wasn't crushing him. Her weight was very pleasurable, actually. He wanted to place his hands on her waist and keep her there for all eternity, just gazing into her sea green eyes, 

Sakura blushed a deep red and mumbled, "Sorry Li." and proceeded to get up off of him, one leg after the other. 

Li stared after her in regret, missing her presence, no matter that she was only a few feet away. He sat up slowly, bringing his feet over the side of the bed. He glanced at Sakura who was sitting in a chair, a faint blush still tingeing her cheeks. 

She had changed. He had a vague recollection of events when he wasn't himself, and he remembered, vaguely, rescuing her from a Clow card. He hadn't even realized who she was until she had told him. She had let her hair grow, it now hung just above her tailbone and was left unbound. She had grown in height as well, taking on the height of her family, and Clow Reed. Li knew he was pretty tall himself, and Sakura nearly reached his own height. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, and realized sourly, she could have very easily found herself a boyfriend in Canada. He didn't want to think about that, and he wouldn't ask. 

Li cleared his throat. "Where am I ?" he asked, glancing at his surroundings uncertainly. This wasn't his apartment, and it wasn't Sakura's house, so where......? 

"You're at Madison's," Sakura said. 

"Madison's?" he echoed blankly. "When did Madison get an apartment?" 

Sakura smiled. "Two years ago when her photography career took off." 

Li blinked. "Madison's in the photography business?" 

Sakura laughed. It was so good to hear her laugh, 

"You've got a lot of catching up to do, Li. Why don't I tell you all about it." Sakura then proceeded to tell Li all that had happened while she was in Canada and he was under Insanity's influence. 

Li listened avidly to Sakura all the while, especially interested in what Sakura herself had been doing. Not once had he heard her mention any special somebody she had left behind, and he was relieved. The fact that Meilin had gotten married to Zachary had thrown him for a loop to be sure, he was still getting over that little shock. 

As much as Li liked sitting there, alone with Sakura, just talking with her, listening to her talk, Li knew there were bigger things to worry about. Li had known he was under the spell of a Clow card, he just didn't know how. He **knew** all of the Clow cards had been sealed, so how could one have possibly taken hold of him? He briefly considered one of Sakura's cards being responsible, but quickly dismissed that idea. Sakura had been in Canada when this happened and she would have never done anything like this to him. If her cards had been acting on their own, then Sakura would have known, and if she hadn't, Kero most surely would have. So what was going on?   
~ 

Sakura finished relating everything that had happened over the past five years. She had pointedly left out any mention whatsoever of the new Clow cards. Sakura figured Li must know something about them since he was fighting them, or trying, to, but she didn't want to bring up anything that might be potentially painful for him to hear. Besides, she really didn't want to ruin this by mentioning the new danger. However, Li must have had other thoughts..... 

"Sakura," Li started, thinking about what he had to say. "I sensed a Clow card, that was what was controlling me. But that doesn't make any sense. All of the Clow cards have been sealed." 

Sakura sighed, she had really hoped not to talk about this so soon. She should have known Li would want to get straight down to business, this was Li after all. "Li, come with me." she said, standing up. 

Li stood up as well. "Where are we going?" he asked, following Sakura to the door. 

Sakura placed her hand on the doorknob. She turned around to face him. "Madison and Kero are in the next room, waiting for us. If you want the answer to the question you just asked, Kero would be the one to talk to." 

Sakura turned the knob and as soon as the lock was completely reinserted, the door came crashing open. Sakura eeped and leapt back, bumping into Li who had been right behind her. His left arm came up around her waist instinctively, supporting her, while his right hand twitched towards his sword. What they saw made their eyes widen. 

Madison and Kero lay in a heap on the floor, sweatdrops down the sides of their heads. They quickly scrambled into a standing position, one hand behind their heads, laughing nervously. Both their faces were red. 

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and arched her eyebrows at them. "And what, exactly, were you two doing?" 

"Nothing." they both said in unison. 

That eyebrow kept going up. "Uh-huh?" 

"I don't think she's buying it, Kero." Madison whispered out of the side of her mouth. 

"Well she was, but your guilty expression gave you away." Kero whispered back. 

Sakura stared at them in amazement. "Am I not supposed to be hearing this?" she asked hypothetically. 

Madison looked up at the ceiling. "Well, you see, it was Kero's idea......" 

"What!? It was as much your idea as it was mine!! I didn't hear you objecting." Kero said hotly. 

"Excuse me?" Sakura interrupted. "What's going on?" 

Madison and Kero just looked at each other for a few moments, silently, before Kero finally sighed. He looked extremely sheepish. "Well, Sakura, you see, we were getting nervous out there. You had been in here for an awfully long time, and we couldn't hear anything, and we started to get worried, and......." Kero babbled. 

"You decided to press your ears to the door to see if you could make out what was going on?" Sakura asked dryly. 

Kero frowned and crossed his arms. "It's not like we could hear anything anyway," he muttered. 

"Well, obviously, everything's all right. Otherwise," Madison said, "Li wouldn't be up and walking around. Nor would he have his hand around your waist." Madison glanced pointedly at Li, then lowered her gaze to his still circling arm. 

Li blushed and removed his arm. A second later, though, Li said something that had all three laughing. "And who are you?" he asked Madison. 

Sakura, Kero, and Madison stared at him for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. Li looked at them like they were insane, and asked, "What?" 

It took a few moments before Sakura could get out, "It-it's Madison, Li." her laughter had died down to chuckles but now went back to full blown guffaws when she saw the look on his face after she'd said that, 

"She's Madison!?" he asked, completely taken aback. She looked so **_different_**. There was no **way** this woman could have been that gangly, long haired, annoying camera carrying, chatterbox that was Madison. No way. 

Madison, having gotten herself under control, posed for him. Grinning, she asked, "Like what you see?" and winked at him. 

Li blinked, taking a step back. "I, uh, that is, you, umm......" Li really couldn't think of a safe way to truthfully answer that. 

Madison gave Sakura a knowing look. "Yep, back to normal. What did you have to do to accomplish that?" 

Sakura blushed, making Madison even more curious. "Ahh,....I'm not exactly sure." she said, scratching her head and looking innocent. Before Madison could pursue her questions, Sakura quickly said, "Li has something he needs answered, and I think Kero might be the best one to go to." 

Kero mouthed "Clow cards?" 

Sakura nodded. 

They all filed out the door. Sakura and Madison took seats in chairs on either side of the couch. Kero took a perch on Sakura's armchair. Li sat down slowly on the couch, not at all comfortable in Madison's apartment. Kero was the first to break the silence, 

"So, Kid, what do you want to know?" he asked, already knowing, yet playing dumb so as to forestall the telling of bad news. 

Li cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat, his hands clasped in front of him. "Kero, a Clow card was controlling me." he stated. 

Kero nodded. 

"But all the Clow cards have been captured." he stated this as well, but when Kero didn't nod reassuringly, Li became nervous. "There are more Clow cards?" he asked faintly. 

Kero nodded. 

Li raked a hand through his hair. "How? Why?" 

This was the part Kero didn't relish, "Well, you see Kid, Clow Reed didn't just create the cards we have now, he also created more powerful cards, that could not be controlled." Kero proceeded to retell the story of the cards' creation, not leaving anything out. When he was finished, Li looked decidedly pale. 

"So, we have thirteen new Clow cards to capture?" 

Kero shook his head no. "Twelve. We have twelve to capture." 

Li just looked at him. He wasn't making any sense. 

Sakura held up a card in her hand and showed it to Li. He leaned in closer and squinted his eyes at it. It looked like a Clow card, but it seemed more elaborate, more detailed, more colourful. A power seemed to emanate from it, and he didn't recognize which card it was. The Hate card? 

Li looked at Kero. "One of the new cards?" he noticed how ironic that sounded, considering how old they were. 

Kero nodded again, "Sakura succeeded in capturing the Hate card. It wasn't an easy battle." 

Li studied the card again. "Have you come across any other cards?" he asked, almost absently. 

Kero was about to tell him about the Rage card, when Sakura spoke first, "We know the Insanity card has been controlling you, but we haven't come into contact with it yet." 

"Well, that makes sense, the Insanity card, I mean." he looked at her and narrowed his eyes. It felt like she was hiding something from him. "Anything else?" he asked. 

Sakura was silent for a moment, for some reason unknown to even her, she couldn't tell Li about Rage yet. "You'll find out in two days." was all she would say. 

Li looked at her, a little hurt that she wouldn't tell him whatever it was she wasn't telling him. He didn't press though, he figured Sakura would tell him, eventually. So, he'd wait two days, he could do that. 

All of a sudden, the room swam in Li's vision and a nasty headache formed behind his eyes. He squeezed them shut and brought his hands up to hold his head. Sakura, Kero, and Madison looked at him in worry. Was the Insanity card trying to force it's way in again? Sakura's hand covered her Clow wand, just in case. 

When the nausea had faded, Li looked up at the three with teary eyes. "I'm O.K.," he assured them. "I don't think I've been getting much sleep lately, but I can't remember. Is it all right if I go home now and get some shut eye?" 

Sakura looked at him uncertainly, worried. "I don't think you should be walking that far to your apartment, Li. If you're that tired that you're getting headaches, maybe you should sleep here?" Sakura looked to Madison for her approval. 

Madison nodded. "Sure. No problem. You could sleep on the couch if you're comfortable there Li, or you could sleep in the guest room, the one you were just in." 

Li nodded, appreciating this, he really didn't feel like walking home. "Thanks Madison." he got up slowly and made his way to the bedroom. He closed the door softly behind him. 

Madison watched Sakura. "Do you think he's all right?" she asked. 

Sakura smiled slightly, "You heard him, he just isn't getting enough sleep." then, under her breath, "I hope he's all right."   
~ 

A man in worn, tattered clothes, paced around a small live-in cave. He was muttering to himself and occasionally snarling at nothing in particular. His raven black hair hung about his face and shoulders in greasy locks. The ends were ragged where he had torn his hair with shears, to make it shorter. His long, white nails, had grown into sharp deadly points, and he was clicking them together as he paced. 

**_click click click_**

Suddenly, he turned and viscously picked up and threw an oddly shaped object across the small space. It hit against the wall and smashed into pieces. He flung his arms out from his long, torn sleeves and a round orb floated to him. 

"Damn that woman," he snarled quietly. "Damn her and her pure soul. It has invaded my subjects mind and I cannot make my way back in. She is blocking my power!!" he yelled. He quieted, though, as if the anger had never been there. "No matter. She will be the first to go when I come out of hiding. Yes, but, I need time to prepare, for it is foretold, she will not be alone. She will have four very powerful allies with her. Not as powerful as I am alone, but together? It is uncertain. I cannot see the outcome." 

He began chanting an odd, floating, rhythmic rune, his words floating like honey about the cave walls. The orb in his hands began to glow. His words soon turned bitter and sliced the edges of the rock walls. He began laughing. Yes! they would fear him! They would know what it is like to face Insanity!! 

To be continued.....   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Phew! Glad that's over. As I said, I wrote this whole thing on writer's block. I don't know, I think it turned out O.K. for all that. What do you think? So, our friend Insanity isn't happy, that was obvious. I hope I made him seem a little....eccentric? ^_^ We'll call it that. So, you'll just have to wait and see what happens next! Don't forget to review!! See you later!   
  
  
  
  
  
  



	10. The Return of An Old FriendCh9

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: I would just like to say that each installment of my chapters will be posted each **weekend**, and not before. This gives me plenty of time to type up the chapters, and you all happen to be on during the weekend ^_^ That's when I seem to get the most reviews. So, a chapter a week, one every Saturday or Sunday. ^_^;; Sorry if you were hoping for quicker installments, but, that's the way it works. Thank-you for having patience with me and thanks to all of you who have reviewed, I really appreciate it. Don't forget to review this chapter!! Ooh!!! I got such nice reviews for the last one!! I especially liked the ones with the questions!!! ;) There was one in particular that asked about the four strong people that would help Sakura when she battled Insanity. As I said, I can't tell you who they are(since that relates to future events), but, you're going to like it!! I know, because I do!! Ooh!! I can't wait until I get to those chapters! I'll have fun writing those ^_* (clears throat and coughs into hand) God I talk, write, way to much. Time to get on with what you came for to see........ Li dance!!!! 0.o;;; O.K,.....maybe that's what **I** want to see. He he. What I meant to say was....on with the fic!!! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors nor am I getting paid for this. Therefore, it would be unwise to sue me, seeing as how you wouldn't get any money, and I'd counter sue back!! ^_^;; 

**Cardcaptors: The Return of an Old Friend-Ch.9**

Sakura sat down in Madison's chair with a sigh. "You'll look after him, won't you Madison?" she asked. 

Madison smiled reassuringly, "Of course I will, Sakura, you can count on me. Just as long as he doesn't go crazy again." she joked half-heartedly. 

Sakura just looked at her. "That was sad." she commented. 

Madison sighed. "Yeah, well, you try making a joke when you look so depressed." 

"I'm not depressed." Sakura protested. Then she yawned. "I'm just tired." 

Madison looked at her incredulously. "How can you be tired?" 

Sakura closed her eyes, "In case you've forgotten, I've had two **very** busy days." she frowned. "Or was it three? I can't remember." 

Madison giggled. "You're hilarious when you're exhausted." 

Sakura's mouth twisted wryly. "Thanks Madison," she said sarcastically. 

Kero was staring at Sakura funny. Sensing that someone was watching her, Sakura cracked open an eyelid and was met by Kero's stare. "What?" 

Kero looked at her disapprovingly. "Why didn't you tell the Chinese brat about the Rage card?" 

That got Sakura's attention. She looked around guiltily. Her gaze settled on Madison, looking for support. She found Madison with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall with a slightly amused look on her face. Sakura sighed, she'd be getting no help from that quarter, it seemed Madison wanted to know the answer just as much as Kero did. She supposed she owed them, she felt guilty for keeping something from Li. 

Sakura slumped down in her chair. "Look, I just didn't want to tell Li anything about the Clow cards that might worry him, and trust me, telling Li that a Clow card helped me would not put his mind at ease. And besides, I don't think Li would have anything like a soft spot for the Clow cards now, not that he ever would have before, not after what Insanity did to him. I don't want him hurting Rage when he finds out about him." she finished. 

Kero flew to within an inch of Sakura's face. "And why ever not?" he questioned. 

Sakura reached up and plucked Kero right out of the air by his tail. "Hey!!!" he yelled, his arms going a mile a minute with his wings. Sakura set him on the coffee table and patted him on the head, like he was a pet, or something. Kero sat there fuming, steam coming out of his ears. "Why did you do that?!?" Madison started laughing in the background. 

Sakura gazed at him, an amused smile on her face. "Don't do that." she said. 

Kero practically had question marks circling around his head. "Do **_what?!_**" he asked frustrated. 

"Get that close to my face. It's irritating." 

Kero's jaw dropped. A frown formed on his chubby face. "Whatever happened to talking things out!? I've been getting bopped on the head and having my tail pulled!! My rights are being abused!!" he complained. 

"And why ever not what?" Sakura asked, completely innocent. 

Kero blinked, completely thrown for a loop. "What?" 

"You asked me, "Why ever not?", so why ever not what?" she repeated. 

Kero just stared at her. Then he shook his head. "This is going to drive me insane." he sighed and looked back at Sakura. "**_Why_** not let Li take care of Rage? It would be one less Clow card to worry about." he pointed out reasonably. 

Sakura looked down, twiddling her thumbs. How could she explain this to Kero so that he would understand? As far as kero was concerned, all of the new Clow cards should be captured, no matter what. How was she going to explain a......a feeling? to him? that she just didn't understand herself? It just felt as if, as if, she couldn't capture him yet. That she **shouldn't.** And besides, the thing that made capturing Rage even harder, was the fact that Sakura respected, even admired, him. Oh, she was still very much afraid of him, of what he might and could do, but she still respected him. Those few encounters she'd had with him had made her see just how honourable he was. And how was she going to explain all **_that_** to Li? 

"Look," Sakura began, "Rage has helped us. I'd think it'd be a little rude to turn around and capture him." 

"Well I don't!!" Kero exploded. "And what do you mean he helped us?! He didn't **_help_** us. The only reason he assisted with Li was because of his own personal gain. That and the fact that he probably enjoyed hitting the Kid over the head!" 

Sakura lifted a hand to her temple. "Kero, just....trust me will you. I know what I'm doing." 

Kero got the point and said no more, but he wasn't happy with the outcome, not at all. 

At that moment, someone knocked on Madison's door. Sakura looked at Madison questioningly. Madison shrugged, "I don't know. I'm not expecting anyone." she headed for the door. 

Sakura got up and headed for the kitchen. "Maybe I should go then? If you have company I'd hate to spoil it." Sakura said to Madison's retreating back. 

Madison gave her a funny look. "You don't spoil anything Sakura. Stay, I'll be right back." 

"I'll just get a drink from the kitchen." she called. As Sakura walked behind the little wall that separated the kitchen from the living room, she had a distinct feeling she was forgetting something. Or rather......someONE. Sakura poked her head out of the kitchen and looked on in horror at the sight of Kero munching happily on some walnuts he found in a small bowl. She saw Madison reach out a hand to twist the doorknob and Sakura made an all out dash for the coffee table and her troublesome little Guardian Beast. Bits of nuts came flying out of his mouth as Sakura forcefully grabbed him by the middle. He didn't have time to do anything but squeak as Sakura spun around the coffee table, nearly running it over, and ran back into the kitchen. 

Home run!! 

Sakura set Kero on the counter and bent over, puffing, more from anxiety than because she did any real work. She scowled over at Kero. "You baka! Someone's at the door!" 

Kero folded his arms over his chest, looking hurt. "Well I didn't know that! When I found the walnuts I kind of tuned you guys out!" 

Sakura sighed. "Sorry Kero." 

Just then, she heard Madison open the door and a second later, heard her best friend gasp. Sakura glanced in Kero's direction. He shrugged, indicating he couldn't see who was at the door from his position on the counter. Sakura didn't have to keep guessing long though, 

"Tory!" Madison exclaimed. Her heart began racing as she gazed up at her crush. Tory was decked out in a white t-shirt and tight blue jeans. He was wearing a black leather jacket and his hair was mussed from the wind. Madison could have fainted right then and there, straight into his arms. Hey,....that wasn't such a bad idea..... 

"Is Sakura here?" Tory inquired. He glanced past Madison curiously, he could have sworn he had heard someone running in here just before Madison had opened the door. 

Madison blinked. Oh, right, Sakura. She should have known that would be the only reason he was here. "Yeah," Madison was in a slightly less chipper mood, I guess you could say, "She's in the kitchen." Madison opened her door further and motioned him inside. 

Tory took the invitation and strolled into the living room. He stopped and looked down at the bits of nut strewn all over the floor. He straightened back up and turned to face Madison, who's back was to the kitchen, a slight frown on his face. 

Madison laughed nervously. "My......my gerbil must have gotten into these!" 

"I'm not a gerbil!" Kero hissed from inside the kitchen. He turned to Sakura, "Do I look like a chicken to you?" 

Sakura rolled her eyes and placed a hand over Kero's mouth. "Shh!" 

"Your....gerbil?" Tory asked skeptically. 

"Yeah! I just got the thing and it's always getting into things it's not supposed to." Madison lied quickly. 

Tory stood there looking at her for a few moments longer before finally shrugging. "Shouldn't it be in a cage?" 

"It needs it's exercise." Madison replied. 

The two lapsed into silence. Sakura watched them discretely from the kitchen. She could have smacked Madison. Why wasn't she making an effort to do something, anything? Why was she just standing there? Madison was staring down at her shoes, as nervous as hell. That was to be expected. But what caught Sakura off guard was that Tory seemed nervous as well. A normal person wouldn't be able to tell, but, Sakura had been with Tory since forever! He used to do this whenever he knew he was in for it with Dad. He didn't fidget, or bite his nails, or twiddle his thumbs,...........he ran his fingers through his hair. Not all the way through, just, lightly running his fingertips across the ends of the strands. Sakura perked up. That was a good sign, right? Why would he be nervous if he didn't care? Sakura grinned maybe this wasn't such a hopeless situation after all. 

"Sakura! Your brother's here." Madison called from the living room. 

Sakura glared at Madison. Was she a fool? She just wasted a perfect opportunity! Fine! She'd just have to do something herself. Sakura looked at where Madison was standing and an idea began forming in her head. She rubbed her hands together evilly. This was going to be good! 

Kero, who was now hiding behind the toaster, glanced fearfully at Sakura. Whatever she was up to, he did **_not_** want to be a part of it! 

Madison was just about to go get Sakura, not being able to stand being alone with Tory for another minute, when Sakura came tearing around the corner. Sakura bumped solidly into Madison, sending he reeling backwards, and into Tory. Tory's arms came up steady her. They both glanced at each other and blushed. Then Tory glared daggers at Sakura, 

"**What **were you doing?" 

Sakura had a big, innocent grin on her face and her eyes were lit up with stars. She looked for all the world like the cat who ate the canary. "I'm sorry Madison, I didn't see you." meaning, she had. 

Madison shrugged, "It's O.K, no harm done." 

Sakura's grin got wider. She glanced from Madison to Tory, and back again. "I know." 

Madison blushed and pulled out of Tory's hold. He let her go. 

"So,....." Sakura asked, completely proud of herself. "What are you here for Tory?" 

Tory blinked, the only indication that he'd heard her. Then, clearing his throat, he said, "You didn't tell Dad where you were going." 

Sakura crossed her arms. "What are you? My keeper? I don't always have to tell you where I'm going, I'm all grown up you know." 

Tory narrowed his eyes at her. "I know that, Squirt. But after what happened in the park we like to know where you're going." 

Sakura sighed. "All right, I'm sorry. Next time I'll try and tell you where I'm going, but don't bet on it." Tory opened his mouth, to protest no doubt. She held up a hand. "Take it or leave it. Now, that can't only be why you're here?" 

Tory shook his head. He headed for the door. "You've got to come home now." he said. 

Sakura placed her hands on her hips. "Excuse me?" 

Tory glanced back over his shoulder at her, his hand on the knob. "The reason why I'm here is at home. If you want to see the surprise, you've got to come with me, Squirt." 

Sakura perked up a bit. She loved surprises. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed Kero, very gently this time, so that he wouldn't feel 'abused' and headed back into the living room. "See you later Madison." Sakura hugged her best friend. As she did so, she whispered into her ear, "Don't forget about Li." and then she pulled back. 

Madison smiled and nodded. She waved to Sakura as she left. 

From the doorway, Tory said quietly, "Good-bye Madison." and he left. 

Madison blinked. "Bye." and she smiled.   
~ 

Sakura and Tory headed down the hallway to the elevator. Tory glanced down at Kero. "What is it with you and that thing? You carry it around like you were afraid it would get up and walk away when you weren't looking." 

Sakura glanced down at Kero who was limp and lifeless in her fist. "You'd be surprised." she murmured. The her head snapped up. "What's wrong with Kero?" she asked hotly, ready to defend her friend. 

"Well, for starters, he's a stuffed animal and you're a grown woman. Ever think about that?" he asked off hand. 

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him. "Yeah, your incessant teasing has driven me insane and now I am forced to rely on inanimate objects as friends for no one else will talk to me and it's all your fault." 

Tory raised an eyebrow. "Creative." he commented. 

Sakura grinned. "Thanks." they reached the elevator and Tory pushed the down button. "So what's the surprise?" she asked anxiously. 

Tory glanced at her. "Not what, who." 

Sakura was confused. "What do you mean 'who'?" 

The elevator dinged and the door opened. Tory looked into Sakura's eyes. "Yukito's back." and he stepped into the elevator. 

Sakura stood there, dumbfounded. Yukito was back. She used to idolize Yukito, and she loved hanging around with him. He was so easy to get along with, and he was always smiling. He was one of her closest friends. A year ago, her brother had written her, telling her that Yukito had gone to the deep forests of Japan, looking for 'priceless antiques' as he called them. Tory had said he didn't know when Yukito would be back, nor had Yukito, but Tory said he didn't think Yukito would be back for a while. 

She couldn't wait to see him again. But of course, there was something she was forgetting, 

Kero tapped her on the hand. She looked down at him and he mouthed one word, 

**Yue******

Sakura nodded. She stepped into the elevator. "Did he say how long he was staying?" she asked idly. 

Tory shrugged. "He didn't say. I got the impression that he isn't leaving tomorrow, if that's what you're asking." 

"No, I bet he's not." Sakura murmured. 

Tory gave her a sidelong glance. "It was weird though," Sakura looked at him nervously. Did he suspect something? "I mean, he's the same old Yukito, cheery, can eat for two, and kind as hell, but, he seemed most adamant in seeing you. I know he doesn't mind you, Squirt, and seriously, I don't know how he puts up with you," Sakura elbowed him in the ribs. "Oof! But," he glared her way. Sakura stared at the ceiling. "But, it seemed like he really wanted to talk to you. I can't imagine why." 

Sakura stared at Kero's reflection in the elevator door. He nodded the slightest bit. 

Yue.   
~ 

Sakura rushed past her front door and into her house. "Dad! I'm home!" she walked into the living room just as two men were standing up from the couch. One was her father, the other........ 

"Yukito," Sakura breathed. He looked very much the same as he had the last time she had seen him. Taller, yes, and he had gotten rid of those god awful clothes that he used to wear. You know, the ones that made him look like he was a boy scout? Other than that, he did look very much the same, but, a little older, more weathered if you will. 

"Sakura?" 

Sakura was across the room and into his arms before another word could be spoken. "It's so good to see you again." she said happily. 

Tory, who had come in right after Sakura, leaned in and whispered to his father, "How come we never got a greeting like that?" 

Mr.Avalon patted Tory's shoulder. "We're family, son. That changes everything." 

Sakura and Yukito parted, grinning at each other. He reached out and gently touched her hair, "Your hair, it's different. Longer." 

Sakura raised a hand self consciously. "Do you like it? I neglected to cut it for the longest time and then when I finally realized it needed cutting, I had grown to like it." 

"No, no it's very nice." he smiled that gentle smile of his. "You've changed quite a bit. I almost didn't recognize you." 

Tory came by and his arm 'casually' encircled Yukito's shoulders. "Come on, it's around dinner time. We can talk, catch up, while we eat." 

Sakura grinned as she watched them go.   
~ 

"Tory, help me clear the table." Mr.Avalon said. 

"Actually Dad, I'd rather not." Tory replied. 

Mr.Avalon gave him a look. "That wasn't a request." 

Sighing, Tory stood up and began clearing the dishes away. 

Sakura had her gaze fixed on Yukito, who was currently leaning back in his chair. He had eaten more than all of them had and if Sakura knew Yukito, he'd be asking for dessert soon. The whole family had talked during the meal, mostly talking about Yukito and his work. It appears that Yukito does some kind of excavating, but in old caves that were created a long time ago. He said he searched for clues from the past, whether they're artifacts or bones or fossils. He doesn't know why he choose to do do such a thing at first, but after a while, he grew comfortable with what he did. 

But he still hadn't explained why he was here. It's not like Sakura was complaining! because she wasn't, but, it just seemed a little odd that he would choose this point in time to have a visit, 

"Yukito?" 

"Yes, Sakura?" he asked kindly, a small smile on his face. 

"Why are you here? I mean, I'm glad that you are, just, why are you here **_now_**?" Sakura winced a bit. "I know that might have been a bit rude, but,........" 

Yukito quickly raised his hand. "No. Don't worry about it Sakura. You see, that's something I've been wondering at myself." Yukito leaned forward in his chair, which caused Sakura to lean forward in hers. "It's rather hard to explain, and when I saw you I thought I might be able to figure it out, but," Yukito shrugged, looking apologetic. "All of a sudden, on one of my digs, I had this strange urge to see you. I can't explain it. Every time I tried to push the feeling away, it would only get stronger. It was like something was drawing me back here, almost like someone was saying, "Go to Sakura, go to Sakura," over and over, non-stop." Yukito looked sheepish. "I know that probably doesn't make any sense." he apologized. 

Kero, who was back in the dreadful jean short pocket, poked Sakura insistently. 

"I know!" she hissed at him under her breath. 

"Get him alone!" Kero hissed back. 

Sakura smiled brightly. "Yukito? Would you like to go for a walk?" 

"A walk?" he echoed blankly, completely thrown off by the abrupt subject change. 

"Yes, a walk. I thought we could continue this in the nice evening air." Sakura stood up. 

Yukito hastened to stand up as well. "Yes, of course. That would be nice." 

Even though it was getting dark, Sakura didn't go for a coat. It was still summer and much too warm to be wearing jackets. Of course tell that to Tory, 

"Dad! Yukito and I are going for a walk! We won't be gone long!" Sakura called from the doorway. 

"All right, but don't be gone long." Mr.Avalon replied. 

Tory's head popped out into the hallway. "I think I'll go with you." he said. 

Sakura sweatdropped. Oh yeah, Tory. "Actually, Tory, I kind of wanted it to be just me and Yukito." 

"Tory! Let them go alone. You had time to talk with Yukito when he got here before dinner, give Sakura a chance." Mr.Avalon advised. 

Tory sighed. "Yes, Dad." 

Sakura grinned at her brother's distress, stuck home washing dishes. "Come on Yukito!" she said brightly. 

The two headed out into the evening, both for two different reasons. Yukito thought they were mearly going to talk, but Sakura had a very special destination in mind. The penguin slide. All of the kids would be inside by now and it should be fairly deserted. 

Perfect. 

They walked in silence for most of the way. Just when the slide came into view, Yukito asked, "Where are we going?" 

"Just up here. To the Penguin slide." she shrugged. "I find it relaxing." she explained. 

Yukito nodded, needing no more explanation, trusting her completely. 

They reached the slide and Sakura headed for a bench nearby. She took a seat and Yukito sat beside her. Sakura glanced down at her shorts pocket and mouthed "Now what?" 

Kero mouthed back "Sleep." 

It took Sakura a few moments to grasp what it was he meant. When she did, she immediately went to work. "Oh! Um...Yukito?" he looked over at her. "I seem to have dropped my earring back there somewhere." she seriously hoped he didn't notice the fact that she wasn't wearing earrings, or that her ears weren't even pierced. "I'm going to go look for it." 

Yukito began to get up. "Do you want any help?" 

Sakura quickly pushed him back down. "No, no that's all right. You just sit right here, I'll be right back." with that, Sakura began walking about the path as if searching for something. As soon as she rounded a corner, and was out of Yukito's sight, she pulled Kero out of her pocket. 

"You brought the Key of Clow with you didn't you?" he asked. 

"Of course I did. I haven't taken it off since I used it against Li." 

"Good. I want you to use the Sleep card and put Yukito asleep." Kero explained. 

"Why?" Sakura looked perplexed. 

"Because, Yue cannot transform when his other form is awake. If he tried, the process would be painful and extremely draining." Kero explained patiently. 

"Oh," Sakura said simply. She closed her eyes. "Oh, Key of Clow, Power of Magic! Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared in her hands. "Sleep card! Put Yukito to sleep! Release!" 

The little blue faerie of sleep quickly flew towards her target. Sakura rushed after her. By the time Sakura got there, Yukito was already passed out on the bench. She recalled the Sleep card. "Now what?" she asked Kero. "Do I just wait?" 

Kero shook his head. "No. You're his Mistress, Sakura, you have to call him." 

"Call him?" Sakura asked, not understanding. 

"Just repeat after me," Kero reassured, "Oh, Guardian of the Moon, I do so call upon thee, in my time of need, your help required. I, Sakura Avalon, Mistress of the cards, call thee forth." 

Sakura gulped. She had never done this before. Well, here it goes, "Oh, Guardian of the Moon, I do so call upon thee, in my time of need, your help required. I, Sakura Avalon, Mistress of the cards, call thee forth!" 

Immediately, the seal of the Clow cards appeared a little off to the right, just beside the bench. Yukito floated towards it, still unconscious. When he reached the centre, large white wings sprouted from his back and proceeded to envelope him in a glowing radiance. Sakura gasped, awestruck. She had only ever seen this once before, and she knew no matter how many times she did see it, she would never tire of it. 

The wings parted, and in their midst, stood a figure in white. The wings stretched out to their full height and quivered. The man with the long white hair opened his white, fathomless eyes, and peered straight into Sakura's soul, 

"Sakura.." 

"Yue.." 

To be continued!!   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Oh my god! It's done! I got this chapter done!! Yay! You see, I've been rather ill all week and haven't had a chance to do any typing. It's sad really!! Anyways, hope you like this chapter, the next one should be out around the weekend, hopefully. So, keep an eye out!! Remember to review!! Any questions, comments, or anything else, ANYTHING, you might like to add, don't hesitate!! See you all next chapter!!! 


	11. The Cold, the Flu, and Chickenpox, tooCh...

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Hellllloooo!!! ^__^ Phew! I **finally **got this typed!! This is a rather long chapter, compared to the length of my other chapters. I'm so glad I've finally got this up!! I really hope you like this chapter, it gets exciting during the end. Read and review!! Don't forget! I really LOVE feedback! Enjoy!! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or any of it's merchandise. I am not getting paid for writing this so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: The Cold, the Flu, and Chickenpox, too-Ch.10**

Sakura grinned triumphantly as Yue's wings settled comfortably around his lean frame. She had done it! She had summoned Yue! 

Yue got down gracefully on one knee and bowed his head respectfully. "Mistress." he said in that deep, flowing voice of his. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Do you remember the last time we spoke, Yue?" Sakura didn't give him a chance to answer. "I told you I wanted to be your friend, not your Mistress." she said, exasperated. 

Yue straightened up, gazing at Sakura thoughtfully. "So you did," he said, resettling his wings, his hands folded in front of him. 

Kero came forward, "Don't bother," he said in a rather good mood. He grinned. "Yue doesn't know how to be anything but formal. You've got to give him time to get used to it." 

"Kero Beros," Yue said warningly, but in greeting as well. 

Kero bowed his head respectfully. 

Yue fixed his penetrating gaze back onto Sakura. "The Clow cards," he murmured. 

"What about them?" Sakura asked, knowing he referred to _her_ cards, and not the present ones. 

"You do not have all of them." if Sakura hadn't known any better, she would have thought she'd detected a disapproving tilt to his voice. 

Sakura felt reluctant to tell him about what she'd done. Sakura's face screwed up in puzzlement. But why would that be? She hadn't done anything wrong. Sakura looked at him in determination. "I gave some of the cards back to Li, the one's he had possession of before." 

Yue frowned. "He does not deserve the cards, he did not pass the Final Judgement. You did. You should have all of the Clow cards." he _did_ sound disapproving. 

Kero gave his fellow Guardian a look. "Yes, Yue, she did pass the Final Judgement, and that means she **is** our Mistress, and the Mistress of the Clow cards. She can do with them as she pleases, she has that right. If Sakura thought giving them back to Li was the right thing to do, then it was." 

Yue studied Kero closely. He then bowed his head respectfully, conceding defeat. "You are correct, Kero Beros. I have no right to determine where the Clow cards will be put to use." 

Sakura glanced back and forth between the two Guardians, one of the Sun, the other the Moon. She laughed lightly, trying to break the serious atmosphere. It really was choking her, 

"Hey, don't worry about it. I mean, I can understand how you feel. For the longest time, the cards have been under your protection, until I came along, that is." she smiled to let Yue know she meant no offense. 

"Yes," Yue spoke quietly. "And now it is my duty to protect **_you_**." 

Sakura smiled sweetly at him. Then she sobered up as she prepared to get down to why she, and, she suspected, he, was here. "We have bigger things to worry about." she began. 

Yue glanced at Kero. "They have escaped?" 

Kero nodded solemnly. 

Yue looked even more serious as usual, if that was possible. "It is as I had thought. I had sensed a disturbance in the balance a year ago, and, having my suspicions, used my will to put the idea of going to Clow Reed's old laboratory in my other form's head." 

Sakura's eyes widened. "That's why Yukito went off on his excavation?" 

Yue nodded. "I was secretly trying to locate the prison the Forgotten were sealed in. I had failed to locate it in time." Yue looked around, frustrated. "Everything looks so different then it did centuries before." his eyes returned to Sakura's face. "I knew I had failed when, a week ago, I felt the seal break and the Forgotten escape. As soon as this occurred, and I realized in which direction they were headed and why, I immediately did all I could to get my other form to come back here." his cat-like gaze roamed the shrouded area around them, as if searching for the enemy. "I knew they would come after you, I knew that I had to arrive here as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I appear to have arrived in time. Have you come into contact with any of the Forgotten?" 

Sakura nodded. She couldn't help but wonder why Yue kept referring to the cards as 'the Forgotten'. "I've captured the Hate card." she held up the card for Yue's inspection. 

He spared the card but a glance. "Very good. I had not expected you to have any captured yet, but then, with as much confidence as Kero Beros has in you, I suppose I should not be surprised." 

Kero's chest puffed out in pride. 

"Have you come into contact with any of the other cards?" Yue asked. 

Sakura bit her lip. What would Yue think of this? "I-I've met Rage." she said quietly. 

Yue peered intently into Sakura's eyes. "You have.....**_met_**, him? And you,....have not captured him?" Yue exchanged a glance with Kero. 

Sakura fidgeted on the spot. "No." 

Surprisingly, Yue did not ask why. "Rage is very clever. An excellent swordsman as well, if I recall correctly. Yes, I fought him with swords once. He is quite good." 

Kero's mouth hung open. "You fought the Rage card? And you did not inform Clow Reed of this?" 

Yue shrugged. "It was not necessary." 

Kero drew himself up. "Like hell it wasn't! Any information on Rage's fighting techniques, his weaknesses! would have been extremely useful!" Kero argued. 

Sakura kept an eye on both Kero and Yue, nervous. Apparently, Yue had once fought with Rage, by sword, and hadn't told anyone, not even Clow Reed, about it. But why? 

Yue's eyes narrowed until he was almost glaring at Kero. "I **said**, it was not necessary." Kero opened his mouth, apparently immune to the almost death look Yue had sent him, to protest, but Yue turned away from him, completely dismissing Kero. He made sure he had Sakura's undivided attention. "Just be careful Sakura, you do not want to give Rage a reason to unleash his anger upon you." 

Sakura could only nod. 

Sure he had gotten his point across, Yue let a small smile grace his lips. He drew his wings close to his body. "If you shall ever need my assistance, Sakura, do not hesitate to call me. I will make sure my other self does not go far." 

Yue's wings began to close around him and Sakura knew that he was soon going to transform back into Yukito. 

"Yue, wait!" Kero rushed forward. "How did it end?" he asked anxiously, "How did your fight with Rage end?" 

Yue smiled, his wings almost completely shut. "It was a draw." and then the wings closed. 

Kero's mouth hung open. "A draw? Did you hear that?! It was a draw!!" 

"Not now, Kero," Sakura warned as Yue's wings began to part and Yukito became visible. Sakura quickly reached up and grabbed the shocked Guardian Beast and stuffed him back into her pocket. 

The wings disappeared and Yukito reappeared, lying motionless on the ground. Sakura quickly rushed over to him and knelt down just as his eyes opened. He looked around blearily, confused. "What happened?" 

"I'm not sure," Sakura made sure she sounded concerned. "When I couldn't find my earring, you got up to help me, and then you just...fainted. Are you all right?" 

Yukito sat up, then felt his head to make sure there weren't any bumps. Then, standing up, he smiled. "I guess I'm fine." 

Sakura stood up, too. "I found my earring." she offered in a small voice. 

Sakura and Yukito looked at each other. They each broke into smiles and then quiet chuckles. Yukito looked around. "I guess I just haven't been getting enough sleep lately." 

Sakura smiled sympathetically. No doubt Yue had kept the poor man up twenty four seven in order to get here as quickly as possible. "Maybe you should get back to wherever you're staying and catch up on some sleep?" she suggested. 

Yukito nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea, but I'll walk you home first." he told her. 

"That's really not necessary, if you want to get back you don't have to walk me first." 

Yukito smiled wryly. "Oh yes I do. If I let you walk back on your own, I'd never hear the end of it from Tory. 

They were both laughing as they walked arm in arm back to Sakura's house.   
~ 

Sakura was sitting on her bed, brushing out her hair after her busy day. Kero was up and pacing on air, muttering to himself. Ever since Sakura had announced she was retiring and had gone up to her room, Kero had been incessantly chattering about something, and Sakura had a very good idea of what..... 

"I can't believe he fought Rage!" Kero finally exploded. "It's not so much the fact that he fought Rage, it's that he didn't inform Clow Reed of this! I didn't even know Yue knew **_how_** to use a **_sword_**!!" 

Sakura sighed. "Kero? What does it matter? This happened centuries ago, it's over and done with. Why is it so important now?" 

"I'll tell you why it's important!" Kero flew up close until he was right in front of Sakura, "Neglecting to tell Clow Reed about this in the first place is a mystery in itself," he said quietly, "But what really could have been useful, and still can be now, is the fact that Yue didn't **_lose_**." 

Sakura thought she got the gist of what Kero was saying, but she didn't quite **_understand. _**"O.K." she said, for lack of better things to say. 

Kero sighed. "You remember I told you how much of a swordsman Rage is? He is simply the best. The fact that Yue wasn't cut to pieces is a miracle in itself, the fact that Yue has a skill close to Rage's is nigh impossible." 

Sakura knew what he was saying, but she just couldn't picture it. 

Kero sighed again. "No, I suppose you would have had to see it to truly understand it." Kero paused, thinking back. "On the battlefield, Rage is a veritable demon. He looks like a demon, he fights like a demon, he even acts like a demon." Kero's eyes flickered, picking out an unpleasant memory. "His hair shone like the moon's rays, his blade gleamed like the brightest of stars. The battle fever in his eyes was plain to see, it was blinding even if you were not anywhere near him. And his appearance, the splattering of crimson blood across his bone white face, his sword soaked with it, gave him an unholy cast. You were lucky if you saw him before he struck he was so fast." Kero's eyes flickered back to the present. "My point is, Rage has unnatural skill, it's the only explanation there could be for it. If Yue is skilled enough to fight with Rage and have the duel come out as a draw," Kero shook his head. "It's just a bit much to take in, especially when he just sprung it on me." then, Kero's mood seemed to improve considerably. "But, I suppose I should only focus on the fact that Yue might have a real chance of defeating Rage, although, I would still like the whole story." he added. 

Sakura supposed she should be happy. Yue might be the one who enables them to capture Rage. But, for some reason, she felt uneasy, like something bad was going to happen. 

Sakura shook herself and pushed the feeling away. She set her hairbrush on her night stand and settled under her covers. "Maybe Yue will tell you what really happened that day?" Sakura suggested, yawning. She turned out the light. 

Kero snorted, crawling up onto her pillow. "If Yue doesn't want to tell me, there's no way I'll be able to wheedle it out of him." Kero settled down and closed his eyes. "He'd probably just sit there and stare at me until I went away." 

Sakura smiled as she drifted off to sleep, but her thoughts were troubled.   
~ 

Sakura woke up to her phone ringing. Her head still under the covers, she reached out blindly for the phone. She found it, picked it up, and brought under the blanket and to her ear. Kero opened his eyes and stared at the mound of lumpiness before him. 

"Hello?" Sakura grated out, never the morning person. 

Madison's voice on the other end of the line, "Sakura, Li's gone." 

Sakura bolted upright in bed, the covers flung off of her head, "What!?" Sakura screeched into the receiver. 

Madison winced. Maybe she shouldn't have phrased it **_quite_** that way. "When I woke up this morning, I went to check on him, but he wasn't there. I started to panic and rushed into the living room to phone you, and that's when i saw the note." 

Sakura relaxed, a little. "Note?" she echoed. 

Madison nodded. "He left a note saying that he was going to his apartment." 

Sakura bit her lip, worried. Even though she knew Li could take care of himself, she just didn't think he should be out and about quite yet. "O.K. Madison, thanks for calling." 

"Hey, no problem, just thought you might like to know. So, you gonna go after him?" 

"I haven't decided yet. I'll call you back." 

All right, bye." 

Sakura hung up the phone. Kero was looking at her strangely. "Li's out of Madison's apartment and gone to his own." she explained. 

Kero nodded sagely, "Ah, the Chinese brat, should have known it had something to do with him." 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Would you stop calling him that? He has a name you know." 

"I know, but that kid annoys me." 

Sakura began getting dressed. "So, if you started to annoy me, I'd get to call you 'stuffed animal?'" 

"No." 

"Well why not? You do it to Li all of the time." 

Kero had that 'I'm better than everyone else' look on his face. "I'm Guardian Beast of the Seal. You **have **to address me by name." 

"Is that so?" Sakura headed for the door. 

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kero asked, floating towards her. 

Sakura looked back at him, exasperated. "I'm going down to breakfast. I'm coming back," she placed her hand on the knob, "And I won't forget to bring you back something." 

"Woohoo!! FOOD!!" 

His cheering was abruptly cut off the same time Sakura froze in her spot. She sensed something. Sakura looked over at Kero. He nodded his head slightly. 

Great, just what she needed, a Clow card. 

Sakura opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway, and came face to face with...... 

"Tory?" Sakura asked, concerned. He looked pale, and there was sweat glistening on his brow. When he looked down at Sakura, his eyes were distant and clouded over. "Tory?" Sakura asked again. "Are you all right?" 

Tory just stood there for a moment, saying nothing, then, "No, Squirt, I don't think I am." and then he began to topple. 

With a surprised cry, Sakura caught him, not an easy feat with a man of his size. "Tory? Tory!" no answer. Damn! 

Sakura began dragging him back to his room. She hefted him onto his bed, with quite a bit of effort, and felt his forehead. Sakura pulled her hand back quickly. Tory was extremely hot. "Oh," Sakura groaned. She got up and rushed to the bathroom. She quickly pulled out a wash cloth and thrust it under the tap. She turned on the cold and waited until the water got **_really_** cold, then she rushed back into Tory's room. She placed the cloth on Tory's forehead. 

Tory opened his eyes and they focused on Sakura. "Tory," she said urgently, "What's wrong?" 

"I-I'm not sure." he said confused. "I felt fine when I went to bed yesterday, and when I woke up this morning, but now," Tory frowned, trying to think. "I think I've got the flu." he stated. 

Sakura blinked. The flu? But, it wasn't even flu season! Tory's eyes began to close, 

"Tory? Tory!" no use, he was out of it. Sakura went back into the bathroom and got a barf bowl. She placed it beside Tory's bed, just in case. 

Sakura headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to tell her dad the bad news. But, to Sakura's amazement, Dad wasn't in the kitchen. No familiar cooking sounds, no smell of pancakes, and no **_Dad._**.......... 

Sakura headed back up the stairs in dread. She walked towards the end of the hallway, and to her father's bedroom. She knocked timidly on the door, waiting. 

"Come in." 

Sakura sighed in relief. Her dad certainly sounded fine. Maybe he'd just slept in? Sakura opened the door and poked her head in with a smile on her face. 

"Don't come too close, Sakura," Mr.Avalon advised. "It's contagious." 

Sakura's smile turned to a look of shock. 

Her father had the chickenpox!! 

"W-what......?" Sakura stuttered, at a loss for words. This was impossible! 

Mr.Avalon smiled for Sakura's benefit, but it was clear he was troubled. "I don't know Sakura, I just don't know." 

"But, but, you've already had the chickenpox." Sakura said quietly. 

"I know," Mr.Avalon sat up straighter in bed. "It's a puzzle to me. Maybe it's some new strain of the illness?" 

"Are you all right?" her brother, and now her father, and all in the same day. Something didn't smell right.... 

Mr.Avalon nodded. "I feel fine. I woke up this morning like this. I don't have a fever and, thankfully, I'm not itching. It may look like someone coloured on me with marker, but, for all of that I feel pretty good." he assured her. 

Sakura was only marginally relieved. "Tory's out cold with the flu." she stated. 

Mr.Avalon frowned, concerned. "That's odd, he looked well yesterday." 

"So did you." Sakura pointed out. 

"Yes, well," Mr.Avalon threw off the covers and got up. 

"What are you doing!?" Sakura asked, alarmed. 

"I'm going to make Tory some chicken noodle soup." Sakura looked at him like he'd gone mad. Mr.Avalon laughed. "Don't worry, I feel fine. If I start to feel dizzy or nauseous, I'll get back into bed." he promised. 

Sakura stood there, debating whether or not to let him out of the room. Finally, she just turned on her heel and ran back to her room. She opened the door and shut it quickly. 

Kero looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "Did you find a Clow card or something?" he teased. 

Sakura smirked. She couldn't wait to see his expression when she let this one go. "Yes, I found a Clow card." 

Kero's jaw dropped. W-what? When?" 

Sakura decided to stop teasing him. "Well," she began, thinking of Tory, "Dad and Tory suddenly came down ill this morning. The really weird part is, my Dad had the chickenpox." Sakura looked at Kero hopefully, if a Clow card was behind this, then that would mean that all of this was just temporary. If a Clow card wasn't behind this....Sakura didn't want to think about it. "Is there a Clow card that can make people sick, Kero?" 

Kero nodded. "But, are you sure what's happening to Tory and your father isn't normal?" 

Sakura gave him a look. "Kero, you don't just get sick like that. And besides, there is no way, under normal circumstances, that my Dad could possibly get the chickenpox. You see, you can only get them once , twice if you're really unlucky, and only when you're a kid." 

Kero sighed. "Well, we did just sense a Clow card," even though Kero knew they had to capture the cards as soon as possible, he just wished they would leave them alone, go into hiding, and not bother them. 

Ironic isn't it? 

"O.K.," Kero said, getting down to business. "There is one card that could do such a thing. The Disease card." 

"The Disease card?" Sakura questioned, needing more information. 

Kero nodded. "He is very arrogant. His power enables him to cause great pain wherever he pleases, sometimes it even kills. The power went straight to his head. He's one of the more selfish cards." he shook his head. "In the thirteen hundreds, the Disease card created the Bubonic plague, as a last ditch effort to spurn Clow Reed, to get even. That is an example of what the Disease card can do when riled." 

"You mean, we're going to have another plague?!" Sakura asked, aghast. 

Kero shrugged. "If he chooses." 

"But Kero! that's horrible! We can't let that happen!" 

Don't worry, as soon as the Disease card is resealed, all of the virus' will cease to be. So any damage he does can be reversed." 

"Well, that's good." Sakura said, relieved. "So, all we have to do is capture him." 

"Huh, easier said then done." Kero was silent, thinking. "The sooner we do this the better, but we're going to need some help." 

"Li?" Sakura suggested. 

Kero looked skeptical. "You're sure he's back to normal? I don't want him to turn on you during the battle." he explained. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Pretty sure." 

"All right then," Kero sighed, "But if this backfires, I will not be held responsible!" 

Sakura picked up the phone. She figured she'd better call Madison about this, lest she get a book to the head afterwards. Madison would hate to miss videotaping another card capture. 

"Hello?" came a rather nasal voice on the other end of the line. 

Sakura blinked, surprised. "Madison? God, you sound awful!" 

"Tanks." came the sarcastic reply. 

"What?" Sakura asked, not sure she'd heard Madison right. 

"Tanks." 

"What?" 

"Tanks! Tanks! Oh!" Madison cried, frustrated. Sakura heard a sneeze from over the phone, and then a sniffle. "I have a told." she explained. 

"A cold?" Sakura wanted confirmed. 

"Yes, a told, that's what I said." 

"Madison," Sakura said, frowning, "You were fine this morning." 

"I know, after I talled you, I dot a horrible head told. It sprang up at the last minute. It's weird." 

"Not you, too!!" Sakura groaned. 

"What?" Madison asked, completely clueless. "Do you have a told, too?" 

"No! And thank God! 'Cause if I did I'd be sounding like you!" 

"Hey!" Madison yelled, "Dat's not funny!" 

Sakura laughed, "Sorry! Joking, joking!" Sakura quit laughing. "Seriously, though, your cold isn't an everyday cold. A Clow card caused it." 

"A Clow tard!?" 

"Yeah, the Disease card. I was calling you to tell you about it, see if you wanted to videotape it. But, that's out of the question now." 

"Sakura........!!" Madison began protesting. 

"No!" Sakura quickly put her foot down, worried about her friend. "You're sick, you're not going! And if you disregard what I say this time Madison, I won't let you go along on any more card captures with me!" 

Madison was instantly cowed. "Fine! But dis is de only dime!!" 

"Good, I'm glad we understand each other." Madison grumbled something uncomplimentary under her breath. Sakura grinned. "I'm heading to Li's now, I'm going to check up on him and ask him to help me at the same time." more grumbling. Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'll make sure to tell you everything afterwards, O.K.? I'll see you later. Bye!" 

"Bye." 

Sakura hung up the phone. She looked at Kero, "Madison can't come, she's sick as well." Sakura stopped as a nasty thought occurred to her. "I hope Li isn't sick as well." 

Kero's expression darkened. "Me either. We need that kid." 

Sakura bit her lip and looked towards her bedroom door. "I hope Dad and Tory will be all right without me." 

Kero came up close and put a comforting paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry Sakura, they'll be fine, and the sooner you capture the Disease card, the sooner they'll get better." Kero reasoned. 

Sakura sighed. "You're right." she smiled reassuringly. "Lets get to Li's."   
~ 

Sakura knocked on Li's door. "It's a good thing I remembered how to get here." Sakura said. 

Kero grunted, "Yeah, after being lost for half an hour." 

Sakura smiled sweetly at him. "Shut-up. I got us here, didn't I?" 

"It could still be the wrong apartment." Kero replied smartly. 

"Ye of little faith." she murmured. 

At that moment, the door opened and Li was standing in front of them. "Sakura!" he said, looking surprised. A second later though, he blushed. 

Sakura looked at him in amusement. Was there a red tinge to his cheeks? Then, an awful thought occurred to Sakura, what if Li was getting sick, too? Maybe that was why his cheeks were flushed. "Are you feeling all right, Li?" she asked, concerned. 

Li looked at her in puzzlement. "Yeah, why?" 

Sakura shook her head, looking serious. "Li, I sensed....." she didn't get to finish. 

"A Clow card." Li interrupted. Sakura nodded. "I know. Is that why you're here?" 

That was strange, it almost sounded like he was disappointed. Sakura brushed the thought aside. "Yes, I know what card it is. It's the Disease card." 

"Is that why you asked my if I was feeling all right?" Li asked, that statement finally sinking in. 

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, Dad, Tory, and Madison are all victims of the Disease card's power. I-I came here to ask you for your help in capturing it." 

Li was silent. He wasn't debating whether or not to help her, he already knew he was going to help her. He was, rather, surprised. He just hadn't expected Sakura to act so.....nonchalent, around him. At least, not after she had kissed him. For Li, that's all he seemed able to think about lately, but, when he looked at Sakura now, it was like she'd completely forgotten about it. But that couldn't be possible, could it? Had the kiss really meant nothing to her? Had it just been a last ditch effort to bring him back to the world of sanity? He'd like to think it had been more than **_that_**. 

"Li?" 

Li snapped out of his trance and looked down at the worried face of Sakura. He realized that when he hadn't answered her, she must have thought he was going to say no. Li smiled slightly, as much as he was able to, reassuring Sakura. "Of course I'll help you." Li's face abruptly hardened, his eyes taking on an edge of steel. He didn't quite realize how much vehemence was in his gaze, nor did he see Sakura take a half step back. "Those cards need to be captured, Sakura, no matter what. They can't be permitted to roam free, to harm people and cause chaos." he whispered intensely. 

"Li," Sakura looked at him with worried eyes. "Don't worry, we'll capture them." she whispered. 

Li seemed to snap back to reality. He blinked once, then said, "I'll get my Lasin board," and disappeared back into the apartment. 

Sakura exchanged a glance with Kero. "Insanity must have really scarred him." Sakura said sadly. 

Kero nodded. "Yes, and now, he's just as bent on revenge of the Clow cards as the cards are of Clow Reed." Kero turned away, his expression troubled. "I just hope he doesn't let that revenge rule his life. Revenge can eat a person alive." 

Sakura stared at Kero's back, her expression grim. Li came back out of his apartment, now attired in his ceremonial robes, his sword strapped to his back. The Lasin board was clasped in his right hand. He stopped short, glancing back and forth between Mistress and Guardian. "What's wrong?" he asked. 

Sakura smiled what she hoped was a passable smile, and knew it was not. "Nothing." she turned and headed towards the stairs. "You coming?" 

Li stood there for a moment in bewilderment, watching Sakura and Kero's retreating backs. He shook his head and hurried to catch up. 

As the three of them stepped outside, they looked about them, uneasy. The area around them wa completely.....deserted. For ten in the morning, the streets looked like a ghost town, not a soul in sight. 

"It feels....dead out here." Li whispered. 

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, it was like this when we walked over here. I figure, mostly everyone is inside, sick." 

Kero nodded his agreement. 

Li's face turned solemn, "Lets get this card." 

"Kero, you keep telling me how powerful these cards are, and I know that to be true, since I've experienced their power firsthand, but, are they too powerful for the Lasin board to detect?" Sakura wanted to know. 

Li glanced sharply at Kero, also wanting to know the answer. 

Kero shook his head. "They're still Clow cards, Sakura, they still have the aura that Clow cards do, even though there's is a little different. The Lasin board will still detect them." Kero assured. 

Li nodded, relieved. "Then lets get going." he held out the Lasin board, "Force, know my plight! Release the light!" the Lasin board turned a direction before a thin shaft of light exploded from it. The light pointed in the direction of.... 

Sakura groaned. "Oh! Not the forest!! I've had just about all I can take of the forest!!" she wailed. 

Li looked at her strangely, not understanding what she meant since she had never told him about Rage. 

Sakura sighed, "Nevermind," she mumbled. She started walking, following the light, "Come on." 

Li followed closely behind her, silently, keeping his senses open, listening for any potential danger. He lost Sakura once, he would not do so again. 

"Li?" Sakura asked quietly. 

Li glanced at her. "Yeah?" 

She looked over her shoulder at him. "You **are **all right now, aren't you? You haven't been having anymore visions?" 

Normally, if someone had asked something like that of him, he would have either snapped back at them, or killed them with an icy glare. But this was Sakura, and he could never do such a thing to her. "No," Li answered. "I haven't had one single vision since you.....saved me." he paused. "In fact, I actually dreamed last night." 

Sakura smiled, interested. "Really? What was your dream about?" 

Li smiled slightly, "Cherry Blossoms." 

Sakura's face screwed up in puzzlement. "Cherry Blossoms?" she questioned, confused. 

Li just continued smiling mysteriously, not explaining any further. 

Sakura just shrugged and turned back around, following the light, as clueless as ever. Kero, however, was staring at Li intently, his eyes narrowed. Li, sensing someone was watching him, turned his head. He found Kero watching him, and had the uneasy feeling that Kero **_knew_**..... 

"There's something you should know about the Disease card." Kero spoke up, breaking his death glare on Li to look at Sakura. Li quietly let out a sigh. "The Disease card was never interested in magic overly much. The only magic he really has is his power to call upon diseases. He does have other magic, but, it shouldn't be that much of a problem, especially since he hasn't used it in over a century. He did, however, take a great interest in knives." 

"Knives?" Sakura and Li questioned in unison. They glanced at each other. 

Kero nodded. "Small, narrow, very sharp knives. Throwing knives to be exact. Be very careful," Kero warned. "His magic may be top notch, but his accuracy is superb. He never misses, unless he wants to. So move fast if he's got a knife out. He conceals the knives up his sleeves and you never know they're coming until you look down and find one embedded in your chest." 

"Great." Li muttered. He frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Kero, there are ancient texts, magical books, that have mention of you and the Clow cards, but I have never read anything about these cards." 

Kero cast him a critical eye. "That's because there **are** no records of these cards. The only records are up here," Kero tapped his head. "Clow Reed burned all of the books containing information on the cards. 

"Why?" Sakura asked. 

"Because, no matter how many warnings were put into those books, there would always be that one fool who would disregard the warning in his own search for power. Clow Reed was afraid of this, that the cards might accidentally be let loose when there was no one around to reseal them." 

"Then how is anyone supposed to get the information that might help stop the cards?" Sakura wanted to know. 

"That's what I'm for," Kero said, as if she should have known better. "Once the cards were released, the only way to get rid of them would be to seal them again. The only person who could do that would be a card captor, and if there was no card captor, no amount of information would help get those cards under control." Kero paused, his eyes narrowing, "We're getting close." 

Sakura bit her lip. "Maybe we should have brought Yue along." 

Li glanced at her sharply, "Yue?" he asked, not quite sure he'd heard her right. 

Sakura nodded. "I spoke with him yesterday. He said that if I needed any help all I had to do was call him." 

Li continued to stare at her. Then, blinking once, he shook his head. Apparently, he's ben out of the game for far too long. 

The trio came upon the King Penguin slide. They stopped just outside the perimeter of the sand that surrounds it. The Lasin board deactivated. The three glanced about them uneasily, "Something's not right here," Sakura whispered uneasily. 

Li nodded, trying to look everywhere at once. 

"Where's the Disease card? Sakura whispered, more to herself than anyone else. She walked towards the slide, trying to get a sense of the Disease card. 

"Be careful Sakura," Li cautioned. 

They stood there, tense, waiting. The sense of wrongness continued to permeate the very air around them, but the Disease card had yet to show himself. 

Sakura brought her hand down upon the penguin slide, frustrated. She leaned against it, crossing her arms. "Where is he?" 

Before Sakura quite knew what was happening, something thudded solidly into the slide beside her. Sakura turned her head slowly, staring with wide-eyed fascination at the small, silver handle embedded in the slide, just centimeters away from where her ear had been. 

"Oh, this can't be good." Sakura murmured. 

Li and Kero rushed over to her. "Are you all right?" Li asked anxiously, looking her over. 

Sakura nodded. "Oh yeah, I'm fine." she said, her gaze still on the knife. She turned her head in the direction she was sure the knife had come from. 

A man with short brown hair stood with his arms crossed. He was wearing the gaudiest clothing Sakura had ever seen. He had an amused smirk on his face. He lifted his left hand, which was decorated with rings, and the knife in the slide immediately flew to it and disappeared up his sleeve. 

"What have we here? Children trying to play adult games?" he questioned in a syrupy voice that made Sakura want to gag. 

Li unsheathed his sword. "We're not children." he growled. 

"Ooh, a sword, I'm shaking," his smile widened. "With laughter. Only one sword was ever able to best my knives." he said cryptically. "Now, why don't you two go on home. I have no quarrel with you. It's Clow Reed I'm after." 

"Are all of you this dense?" 

Disease glanced in the direction of the new voice. His eyes widened in surprise. "Kero Beros!" 

Kero crossed his arms, enjoying the look of astonishment on Disease's face. "In the flesh, and I'm no child. I'm older than you are." 

Disease stared at Kero for a moment before regaining his composure. He smiled. "Yeah, and you're also smaller than I am." 

Kero turned several shades of red before finally exploding, "Oh! Just you wait! When I'm able to change into my other form, you'll be sorry!" 

Disease laughed. "Even in your true form, you are no match for me." he stopped laughing abruptly. "Now, where's Clow Reed? I can sense him nearby." 

Kero rolled his eyes. "Clow Reed is dead." by the look on Disease's face, Kero could tell Disease didn't believe him. "Focus, you idiot. That's not Clow Reed you're sensing." 

Disease's eyes narrowed. He stood there for a moment, opening his senses and latching onto Clow Reed's aura. Eventually, his eyes came to rest on the two card captors. He raised his arm and pointed an accusing finger at them. "You two, you both have the sense of Clow Reed." his gaze switched to Sakura. "But you, more so than him. But how can that be?" 

Kero leaned in close to Sakura. "Remember when I said all of the cards were smart? I think there might be an exception." he gave his full attention back to Disease. "Clow Reed is dead." he said slowly, as if addressing a child. "They are his descendants, and they will be the ones to seal you again." 

Disease lowered hi arms until they rested loosely at his sides. "Is that so? Well, obviously, they really do want to have a go at me. Fine, if Clow Reed isn't going to show himself," Kero rolled his eyes, " then let us see how long the children will last. Disease's hand twitched. 

It was no more than a slight movement, but, having, witnessed this before, Kero knew exactly what the twitch meant. "Down!" he yelled urgently. 

The panic in his voice had the desired effect, Sakura and Li both hit the dirt. No sooner had they hit the ground did two knives fly over their heads. They both scrambled to their feet. "Li," Sakura said urgently, "Give me a few seconds." 

Li nodded. "Dash card! Release and dispel! Dash!" Li quickly sprang at Disease, his sword coming out of it's sheath. Disease quickly released two more knives at the oncoming Li. 

While Li was distracting the Disease card, Sakura made the most of it. "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic! Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared and Sakura gripped it tightly in her hands, watching Li desperately try to dodge Disease's knives, even with Dash's added speed. "Kero, why isn't Dash helping Li?" she asked. 

"The dash card is helping him." Kero said. "If it wasn't, Li would be dead by now. The Disease card himself may not be able to move that fast , but he can throw a knife that fast." 

Disease threw a knife and it narrowly missed going into Li's arm, tearing the cloth of Li's robes. Li looked at Disease disbelievingly. Disease smirked. "Amateur." he drew back his arm, a knife at the ready. 

"No!" Sakura drew the Clow wand back and brought it forward with as much force as she could upon Disease's shoulder blades. 

Disease stumbled forward, dropping his knife. He turned around angrily and glared at Sakura. Another knife appeared in his hand. "Big mistake," he growled. 

"Time card!" Li began. Disease whipped around and released his knife at Li instead. "Release and dispel! Time card!" time around them froze, but to Li's complete surprise, the knife kept on coming. It hit the Time card and sent it spiraling out of Li's hand. 

"You ignorant, little fool!" Disease laughed. "That card has not the power to immobilize me!" he turned back to Sakura, grinning. "For that, you get to watch her die." he let loose a knife. 

Everything happened at once. 

Li rushed forward, screaming, "No!" knowing that could never reach her in time, Kero doing the same. Sakura closed her eyes, knowing that she was in for it next time. As she thought this, she suddenly sensed another Clow card. Her eyes snapped open in time to see Rage deflecting the knife with his blade, sending it flying into a tree. 

Everyone froze. Disease's eyes widened, and he took a step back. Sakura could have sworn he was frightened. "Rage." he whispered. 

Rage looked at Disease indifferently, but his voice practically dripped venom. "Disease, you are still as much a coward as you were centuries before." 

Disease licked his lips nervously. "Nice to see you again, Rage." 

Rage looked upon him condescendingly. "God, you always were a lapdog." 

"Are you going to move out of the way?" Disease questioned hesitantly. 

Rage lifted his left hand. "No, I'm not." 

Disease's eyes widened in terror, "No," he whispered. 

A stream of white magic exploded from Rage's hand. As the liquid came into contact with Disease, it spread over his entire body until he was a frozen block of ice. 

Rage had frozen him, his power that of Ice. 

Sakura stood there, gaping at the block of ice that had been Disease, a look of terror captured on his face. 

Rage glanced at Sakura. "Are you waiting for him ot melt?" he questioned. 

Sakura blinked. She looked at Rage, then back at the Disease card. She lifted her Clow wand, "Disease card, return to your power, confined! Disease card!" 

A card appeared before the Clow wand and Disease was slowly sucked into it. After the card was sealed, Sakura quickly put it away, not wanting to look at it, fearing that that same look of terror that had been on his face would still be there. 

Rage stood there, gazing into her face intently. "Are you all right?" 

Sakura nodded. "I'm fine." 

"Well, I'm not." 

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at Li, and wanted to groan. His eyes were blazing with anger and Sakura knew that he sensed that Rage is a Clow card. She glanced back at Rage to find anger coming to life in his own eyes. 

"Clow card," Li snarled. 

"Spawn of Clow Reed," Rage said quietly. 

Then, they were at each other, their swords coming together, producing a clanging that echoed through the park and a shower of sparks that glittered around them. 

To be continued.....   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Ooh!! What outcome will occur between Rage and Li? Will one of them die? And why did Rage save Sakura and help her seal one of his fellow cards? Find out next chapter! See you then! And don't forget to review! :)   
  



	12. Friend or Foe Ch11

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Ok, I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen this chapter, so I'm just going to sit back, type, and see what happens. Before I start I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, especially you guys who reviewed the last chapter, I loved reading those reviews ^_^ Well, on with the fic!! *psst*.....read and review!! *_^ P.S. Sorry this is so short, the next one won't be, I guarantee it!! ^_* 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or anything in relation to it. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: Friend or Foe?-Ch.11**

Sakura watched in horror as Rage and Li went at it, both dead set on killing each other. "Kero," she cried desperately, "How do I make them stop!?" 

Kero flew close by, his arms crossed over his chest, the very picture of a calm, collected Guardian Beast of the Seal, but his wings were fluttering nervously, "Why would you want to, Sakura?" 

Sakura just stared at him. "Because Rage is going to kill Li!!!" she finally yelled into Kero's ear. 

Kero winced, rubbing his head, "How can you be so sure?" 

Sakura gave him a look, "Don't be an idiot, Kero. You know Rage is a better swordsman than Li is." 

"So why don't you help him?" Kero suggested. 

"Help who?" 

Kero stared at her. "The Kid of course!!" he exclaimed, his arms moving up and down faster than the eye could see. "Who did you think I meant? Rage?!" 

Sakura looked back at the two. Li was on the attack, giving everything he had, but no matter how hard he tried to get through Rage's defense, he just couldn't. No matter where his sword was, Rage's was there to meet it. Li's forehead was glistening and Sakura knew he must be tiring. Rage, however, looked as cool as an Autumn day. And he was smiling. Sakura shivered, she got the sick feeling that Rage was merely toying with Li, that, at any moment, if she didn't do anything, Rage would run Li through and that would be that. 

"Well, he hasn't really done anything wrong, yet." Sakura said. 

Kero looked at her incredulously. "Are you defending him?" 

Sakura looked around, "No, it's just,....." Sakura sighed. "I just don't want to see anyone get hurt." 

Kero looked at her for a long moment. "That's commendable, Sakura," he said quietly, "But, I can't say the same." 

Sakura couldn't believe this. Kero wasn't going to help her! Sakura frowned, becoming angry. "Fine!" she snapped, surprising Kero. "If you won't help me, I'll just stop them myself!" Sakura walked forward slightly, towards the fighting. She raised the Clow wand, "Windy! Release and dispel! Release!" Windy exploded out of the card and headed towards the two. 

Li, hearing Sakura release Windy, looked up at Rage and smiled slightly, thinking that while Windy had him distracted, he would go in for the kill. Li only had a few seconds to think about this before he realized, in disbelief, that Windy was heading for **him**, too. Now Rage was the one smiling. 

Windy reached them at the same time. She slammed into Li, encasing him in a bubble and immobilizing him. No matter how he tried to break free, he could not. Rage jumped up quickly, but Windy followed him. He sliced **_through_** Windy with his sword, and Windy retreated. Rage landed gracefully on the ground. He looked over at Li, smiling evilly. He started towards the trapped Cardcaptor, his sword held out in front of him. 

Sakura marched up, placing herself in Rage's path, placed her hands on her hips, and **_glared_**. "Stop!" she demanded, angry that Li had been foolish enough to tangle with Rage, and angry at Rage for showing up at all. "If you want to harm him, you'll have to go through me." Sakura told Rage. 

"Sakura! What are you doing?! Let me out of here so that I can finish this!!" Li ordered. 

Sakura looked over her shoulder at him. "Shut-up Li, your big mouth is what got you into this in the first place." Li reared back, shocked. Then a hurt expression crossed his face. Sakura began to feel guilty, and with the guilt, her anger began to fade away. She really shouldn't have snapped at him.....Sakura mentally shook her head. No. If she was going to do this, she **_needed_** to be angry, her anger gave her strength. 

Sakura faced Rage once again. She really didn't expect him to stop, in fact, she expected him to plow right over her. She even had a Clow card at the ready, just to be sure. She knew it wouldn't stop him, but it would give her and Li some time to get away. And so, it was to her great astonishment, that Rage stopped. 

Rage lowered his sword slightly and looked into Sakura's angry face. "Move, or I shall move you." 

Sakura blinked. What? No death threat? Wasn't he going to kill her? Her, the descendant of Clow Reed? Sakura frowned. Apparently not, or he would have already. Well, why not? Which brings her to the question.....why did he save her from the Disease card? Sakura became confused, and her confusion fed her anger, which, in her opinion, was a good thing. The angrier she was the easier this was. 

Sakura's glare intensified and she took a step forward. Rage blinked, surprised. "Why don't you just go through me?" Sakura asked quietly, angry. "Why don't you just run me through with that big sword of yours and be rid of me?" she questioned. 

Rage looked down upon her, the same question going through his head. Why hadn't he killed her? "My word," he said quickly. He knew that was the reason why he hadn't touched her, yet, but, he sensed it wasn't the only reason. 

Sakura's green eyes glimmered, and Rage couldn't help but be captivated by them. "Oh?" Sakura said. She placed her index finger on her lips and pretended to think about what he said. Then her gaze snapped back to him and she stopped pretending. "Is that so? I guess that makes sense, seeing as how you're so honourable," she began moving forward in a fury, "But that didn't compel you to save me from Disease, did it? You could have let him kill me, that way, I'd be dead, one problem solved, and your word would have been kept, problem two solved. So why did you do it? Why save me? And why couldn't you have just waited the extra day, and shown up then!" she yelled. "Then, you could have killed me yourself! I might still have been alive." 

Rage's back slammed into the penguin slide. He glanced over his shoulder slightly, surprised. Had he been......backing away form her?! A woman who was half his size? Impossible! And yet, apparently, very possible. He had been dazzled by her temper, what a feisty wench! And her eyes had held him spellbound. He had been thrown off his stride, and by a woman no less. Why? Sakura's own question rang through his mind. No matter. Rage's eyes narrowed. He would not let this.....woman, push him around, he would not give her any power over him, no matter how beautiful she was. With that thought, Rage's mind began working again, 

He sheathed his sword and folded his arms in front off himself, trying to get back his composure. "It is no concern of yours why I chose to save your life," he informed her. 

Sakura's mouth tightened. "Like hell it isn't!" she hissed at him. She took two more steps towards him, and Rage couldn't help but be consciously aware that he had nowhere to go. Sakura jabbed her finger into his chest and glared menacingly up at him. "It's my life and I have a right to know why my **_enemy_**, would dare to save it." 

Rage's eyes narrowed, "I should think it was rather obvious," he countered. 

"Well it's not to me." Sakura snapped. 

Rage smiled slightly, that infuriating smile that told Sakura nothing. "You **_are _**my enemy," he said slowly, "And descendant to Clow Reed," he hissed the sorcerer's name, "So, naturally, **_I_** would want to be the one to kill you. I am but one day away from accomplishing my goal, so why would I give you up to Disease when I am so close?" he reasoned. 

Sakura looked at him skeptically. "That doesn't make sense. Why not just let him kill me, it would have been easier," Rage opened his mouth and Sakura held up a hand. She shook her head, "Right, right, you're no coward, I know. But why kill Disease then? He was a fellow card, or a brother, if you will." 

Rage laughed, he couldn't help it. "A brother?!" he questioned incredulously. "He was no brother of mine! He is a card, and therefore, has **_something_** in common with me, but, that is where the similarities end. If I had had enough time and a good enough reason centuries before to get rid of him, I would have. Disease is a snake, he even looks like one, and he has the morals of one. He possesses no honour, and some of the things he has done....." Rage stopped himself, realizing he was giving too much away. He shrugged, "I was simply removing some competition." he pointed out calmly. 

"Really?" Sakura questioned, something told her he wasn't telling her the whole truth, and what had he been going to say before he stopped in mid sentence?....... 

"Do not believe me, it is no concern of mine, but that is my reason." Rage said stiffly. 

Sakura stood there, contemplating, her anger draining away. "So, we're back to that now are we? You trying to kill me?" Sakura sighed. "It's just too bad you weren't on our side." she said almost wistfully. 

Rage's eyes widened in shock, "What do you mean by that?" he asked, in almost a whisper. 

Sakura looked at him curiously. "Nothing, it doesn't matter. Why?" 

Rage shook his head slightly. "Nevermind, you are correct,......it does not matter." 

Sakura smiled, not knowing why, "So I'll see you tomorrow then." 

Rage glared at her, but his mouth twitched. "You will not live past that day, I do not know why you look so happy about it." 

Sakura shrugged. She turned around, the thought that Rage might attack her never entering her mind. "Windy, return to your power, confined! Windy!" Sakura resealed Windy, letting Li out of his little bubble. "If you're coming Kero, let's go." she said, still angry with him for refusing to help her stop the fight between Rage and Li. She began walking out of the park, a sullen Kero following her dejectedly. 

Rage stood, watching her go. "She is beautiful when she is angry." he commented. He turned to face Li, who was eyeing him warily. "Don't you think?" 

Li glared at him, "It doesn't matter what I think, and you have no right to be thinking anything of the sort." he snapped. He lowered his voice until it was at a dangerous pitch, "I don't know what your game is, Clow card, but I'm going to find out. You may have fooled Sakura but you can't fool me." 

Rage smiled that half smile of his. "Run along, boy, she did not go through that much trouble to have us start up again." then his voice lowered as well, "But keep in mind, she cannot protect you forever. I **_will_** have my revenge, and she will not stop me." 

Li stood there a moment, wondering why Rage sounded like his revenge didn't extend to Sakura. Finally, he called the Time card back to him, sheathed his sword, and with a last glare at Rage, hurried to catch up with Sakura. 

Rage stood, leaning against the penguin slide, thinking. A single pink cherry blossom drifted down in front of his face, distracting him. He reached out a hand and let the delicate flower fall into it. Closing his eyes, he lifted it to his face gently and inhaled the sweet fragrance. Opening his eyes once more, he glanced up into the clear blue sky, and whispered, "Sakura......"   
~ 

Li quickly caught up to Sakura. He grabbed her arm and turned her around roughly. "What was that?" he asked, his own temper getting the better of him. 

Sakura looked down in shame, feeling guilty for lying to Li. "What?" she asked in a small voice. 

Kero shook his head, he knew this would happen, 

Li's eyes narrowed. "Don't play dumb with me. Is this the thing I was supposed to find out in two days, tomorrow?" 

Sakura looked up at him. "Li, I was going to tell you I swear, I just didn't know how you'd react." she said desperately. "I didn't know how you would take it." 

Li threw his hands up in the air, "What!? That you were on friendly terms with a **_Clow card!?_**" 

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest defensively, but she tried producing a wobbly smile to make light of the situation. "I wouldn't exactly call our relationship friendly, he does want to kill me after all." 

Li just stood there, staring at her for so long that Sakura started fidgeting. Finally, he said, "He's a Clow card Sakura, doesn't that mean anything to you? Whatever he said, whatever he did, to gain your pity, or sympathy, or, whatever, forget it. H e   
l i e d." 

Sakura's gaze became heated. "So what if he's a Clow card? What is with you two?" she cried, looking at Kero as she said this. "He has feelings, as you've pointed out more than once, Kero, he may have been created out of magic, but in every other sense of the word, he is human." 

Li and Kero stared at her. "He's killed countless people, Sakura.Why are you defending him?" Li asked. 

Sakura threw up her arms. "I don't know!!" she cried, frustrated. "I just feel like I must! There's something about him that makes me think he is not what he seems, but I can't put my finger on it." she looked up at Li pleadingly. "Look Li, please, just trust me, I know you don't like the Clow cards, and that's understandable, but you can't let your hatred for them rule your life. It will destroy you, and it might destroy others as well. Just let it go, let me try and understand this odd sense I'm having to try and protect Rage. I promise, if I'm wrong, I'll do everything in my power to stop him." 

Li stood for a moment, gazing off into space, not moving an inch. He turned around suddenly, and walked away. Looking over his shoulder, he said quietly, "It may be too late by then." and he walked off. 

Sakura's shoulders slumped. "What am I going to do now?" she asked herself, desperate. She turned and looked at a very sullen looking Kero. "Kero, you believe in me don't you?" she asked hopefully. 

Kero looked upon his Mistress sadly. He shook his head, "I'm sorry Sakura, but you're going too far. You can't trust these cards, especially the Rage card." Kero flew off, leaving Sakura alone. 

Sakura collapsed to the ground, crying silently. What had she done? What had she done? 

To be continued.......   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Ooh! *sniff* What have **I **done!? *watery smile* Find out what happens next chapter! It'll be good. I don't know when I'll get it, hopefully it'll be before the weekend, out so watch for it. Don't forget to review.   



	13. The Wisdom of LoveCh12

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Hey you guys! Out before the weekend, like I promised, and longer as well. ^_^ Enjoy!! Don't forget to review!! And if you have any questions, anything you don't understand, I'll be happy to answer them for you. I just want to clear up one thing concerning the titles of my chapters. They are just that, titles for my **chapters,** not my entire fic. If you want to put a title to that, then just use the original Cardcaptors, because that is there in every chapter. I don't know, I just couldn't seem to come up with a title that suited the whole fic, and, besides ^_^ I like giving names to each of my chapters. Anyways, sorry for the confusion ^_^ and on with the fic...... 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or anything in relation to it. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: The Wisdom of Love-Ch.12**

Sakura sat there, in the middle of the park path for she didn't know how long, crying. She was also angry with herself, how could she have let herself think the way she did? Doing so had caused a rift between her and Li, not to mention Kero. They probably thought she was out of her mind, trying to help a Clow card. They were both obsessed with capturing them all and no amount of arguing or reasoning on Rage's behalf would convince them to believe anything she had to say. 

Sakura had no intention of getting up. She really didn't feel like going home. She knew she should check on Tory and her father, but, with the capture of the Disease card, they should be back to normal. Besides, if she tried to see them now, they would know something was wrong by her puffy eyes and tear stained face. 

All of a sudden, Sakura heard footsteps coming up behind her. Sakura scrubbed at her face ineffectually, trying to erase the evidence of her sorrow. She realized that she had yet vanish the Clow wand, and if she wanted to remain a Cardcaptor in secret, then she had better do so. Sakura stood up after turning the wand back into the key and moved off of the path slightly, not wanting to get in the person's way. She bowed her head as well, trying to look as if everything was all right, and at the same time, trying to hide her face. 

The footsteps got closer and Sakura thought she recognized the familiar gait, the steady pace. She glanced up curiously as a man came into view, as he got closer, Sakura's eyes widened as she realized who it was,   
~ 

A man sat by a brook, sitting on a rock and sharpening a sword. His white, silk shirt was unbuttoned at the top and his long white hair fell about him in disarray, hanging over his shoulders and down his back. He held the sword between his knees, sharpening it with a stone, until the edges were deathly sharp. 

Rage glanced up at the sky, temporarily stopping in his work, to admire the baby blue view. He had come here shortly after Sakura had left, the very same clearing in the park's forest where they had first met. To take his mind **off** of Sakura, he had set himself the task of getting his beloved sword back into tip top shape. However, as he sat there and gazed up into the clouds, he found himself dwelling on her courageous bravery once again. 

Rage shook his head slightly, trying to get these unbefitting thoughts out of his head. He went back to sharpening his sword. He knew he shouldn't be thinking such things, and yet, he couldn't seem to help it. The more he saw her, the more he wanted to be around her. And the damnable thing about it was........he couldn't. She was Clow Reed's descendant, never should he forget such, and therefore, not, under any circumstances, attainable. Although, he had stopped feeling any sort of vengeance for the small, green-eyed beauty, these thoughts, these very thoughts that he was thinking now, had stopped making him angry altogether. He still knew he shouldn't be thinking them, but he didn't get angry over them any more, as he should. That, he supposed, should have scared him. 

He put the stone he was using down and picked up his sword with his left hand. He smiled slightly as memories came rushing back. His sword masters, if they could be called such, Clow Reed, and his fellow cards, all could never understand how it was he could have gotten to be as good as he was. Especially due to one specific fact...... 

He was left handed. 

To get the best performance out of a sword, so every knight, warrior, or knave believed, you had to be right handed. History proved as such. Rage wanted to laugh. He had proved them wrong, hadn't he? But then, his thoughts turned down a darker path. The fact that he was left handed in the first place suggested he was.....different. The opposite of what he should have been, the oddball. Mayhaps that should have been a sign to everyone else then, including himself, what path he would decide to take back then..... 

Rage shook his head again. He must stop thinking of such things. Those were over and done with, in the past, and there was no changing them. But he would make up for it now, oh yes, he most certainly would. And he would do so by killing that annoying boy who had been with Sakura. Killing Clow Reed's descendant would settle the score. 

Rage drew his thumb along the edge of his sword. The blade was so sharp that it sliced his thumb. Rage smiled, satisfied. He brought the injured digit up to his lips and sucked the crimson blood away. When he took it back out of his mouth, the small cut had already closed. Rage smiled a small smile, his kind always healed fast. 

Rage stared at his sword absentmindedly, his thoughts already turning back to Sakura. What was he going to do about this? He knew that she should be included in his revenge, but, the thought of hurting her, for some reason, didn't sit well in his stomach. He still didn't know what these thoughts and feelings meant, having never experienced them before. But one thing was clear in his mind, he could never let her know, never let her gain any leverage over him. If she knew his weakness, and he was sure it was that, then she would surely use it against him, use it to her advantage as much as she could. That thought did not sit well with him. But maybe, maybe, he was wrong? 

Rage mentally shrugged. He would never give her the chance to let him find out. It was better this way, he convinced himself. He glanced up at the sky once again, his eyes sad. It was better this way. 

Behind Rage, a shadowy figure crouched low to the ground. The cover from the trees and the sunlight from up above provided such a mix of light and dark, that it was hard to distinguish that much about the figure. But there was enough light to tell the figure was male, with brown hair. At his side rested a sword. He was careful not to move it too much in case it caught and reflected the light, therefore, alerting Rage to his presence. 

When he was sure Rage was sufficiently occupied in his work, the man began to creep forward silently. He kept his energy down to a minimum so that Rage would not sense him. His breathing calm and even, he snuck up to within a few inches of Rage's back, still undetected. The man raised his sword and without a second thought, brought it slicing down to cleave Rage in two.   
~ 

"Yukito," Sakura whispered. The person who had been coming up the park path had been Yukito. 

Yukito stopped and stared for a moment. "Sakura? What's the matter?" he asked concerned, well aware that she had been crying. 

Sakura scrubbed at her face again. "Nothing," she lied. Then, looking up into the calm, concerned eyes of Yukito, Sakura abruptly burst out in tears again. 

Yukito came forward quickly and cradled Sakura to him gently. "Shh," he soothed, handling her as she were the finest china, as if she would break in his arms. "It's all right. What's the matter?" he cooed. 

Sakura clutched onto Yukito's shirt as if it were a life line. "Li h-hates me-e!!" she wailed into his chest, still enough in control to remember not to mention Kero. 

Yukito looked down at the top of Sakura's head, puzzlement now mixing with concern. "Now, I'm sure whatever happened, Sakura, that Li doesn't hate you." Yukito said matter-of-factly, because he honestly believed what he said. There was something between those two, even though it seemed as if neither realized it. 

Sakura raised her head and looked up into Yukito's eyes, her lips quivering and her eyes huge and shimmering. "You, you think so?" she questioned in a small voice, sniffling. 

Yukito smiled gently. "Of course I do." 

But Sakura's lips began quivering all the harder. "But how can you be so sure?" she cried. "You don't even know why he hates me." 

Yukito sat down slowly on the grass, taking Sakura into his lap with him. He took her chin into his hand and made her look into his eyes, "So why don't you tell me about it?" he suggested quietly. "It might help." 

Sakura nodded her head jerkily. "We, we h-had a fight." she said slowly, trying to figure out how she could best tell him what she needed to tell him without saying anything about Rage. "He had gotten into a fight with another guy, and, and I separated them. But when it was over I-I kind of took the other guys side over his and now he's mad at me!!" she finished, feeling like she was going to burst into tears again. She started hiccuping. 

Yukito rubbed her back in a soothing manner, trying to quell her tears and her hiccups. "Well, there you go," he said, as if everything made sense now. Sakura looked up at him, puzzled. Yukito smiled back reassuringly. "You said that Li was **_angry_** with you. Anger and hate are two completely different things altogether. I know, that no matter what happened between you two, that Li could never **_hate_** you." Yukito shrugged his shoulders. "You two have been friends for a long time, you two don't have it in each other to hate one another. I'm sure that Li will forgive you in time." Yukito assured her. 

Sakura looked down at her hands, which were bunched up in Yukito's shirt. "I don't think he will." she said quietly. "He really doesn't like this other guy." 

Yukito looked at her like she should have known better. "He will forgive you Sakura, trust me. He cannot stay angry with you forever now can he?" 

Sakura glanced up at Yukito's kind and caring face, then back down again. "I guess not." 

Yukito patted her on the back. "Of course not. Do you feel like you could stand?" he asked gently. 

Sakura nodded. Yukito stood up, still holding onto Sakura, just incase. 

Sakura glanced once again at her fingers and Yukito's now mangled shirt. She smoothed the fabric down awkwardly, trying to get the wrinkles out. "Sorry," she murmured. 

Yukito smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You're more important than this shirt. I'm just glad I found you when I did." 

Sakura looked up at him. She smiled as much as she could. "Yeah, me, too." she said. Then she frowned as something occurred to her. "Don't you have work to do today? Not that I'm complaining, I'm just curious, but, why are you here instead of doing whatever it is you have to do for the excavation paperwork?" 

Yukito pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, thinking, "You know, that's a good question." then he grinned, closing his eyes. "I felt like there was something wrong. So I told everyone I was going for a walk, and somehow, I end up here. Weird, huh?" 

Sakura peered intently into Yukito's eyes for a moment, then, in a whisper, she said, "Thank-you Yue." Yukito's eyes flickered, and Sakura thought that, for a moment, it had been Yue looking out at her from behind those eyes. 

"What did you say Sakura?" Yukito questioned. "I didn't quite hear you." 

Sakura smiled. "I said, I'm glad you're here. Wanna walk me back to my house?" she questioned. 

Yukito bowed gallantly. "It would be my pleasure." and off they went.   
~ 

The sword came slicing down but ended up bouncing off of the rock where Rage had been sitting not moments before. The man whirled around quickly, knowing that he had to keep Rage in his sights at all times if he wanted to have any chance at winning. 

Rage stood just behind him, a slight smile on his face but steel in his eyes. His sword was held loosely at his side in his left hand, and he raised it now in a salute. "You almost had me, my friend, but you are far too slow." 

The man regarded Rage with determination in his own eyes, "It is not that I am slow, it is that you are far too fast for your own good." he raised his own sword. "I have been looking for you," 

Rage crouched down, ready to strike like an ever patient leopard. "And now you have found me." 

They both sprang at each other. The man brought his sword across quickly, bringing it into contact with Rage's sword that had been on a downward arc, straight for the man's head. The man jumped back from Rage and tried a few quick cuts and parries. Rage blocked each of the man's attempts. The man made a quick lunge for Rage's right side, which he had thought to be unprotected, but had soon found out otherwise. He soon found himself on his back, his sword knocked out of his hands. He tried to get back up quickly but found Rage's sword tip resting against the edge of his throat. 

Rage looked down upon his prey with annoyed eyes. "I should kill you for that pathetic attempt. You did not even last five minutes." he said accusingly. 

The man on the ground held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm rusty. Cut me a break. Besides, if you killed me, who would you have to keep testing you like I do?" 

Rage stood there a moment, a smile tugging at his lips. Finally, giving up, he let the smile loose. He sheathed his sword and extended a gloved hand, saying, "Mayhaps I should kill you. Your puny attempts to best me only end up wasting my time." 

The man on the ground took the offered hand and hauled himself up and off of the ground. Keeping his hold on Rage's hand, the man looked Rage over. Apparently satisfied about something, he grinned showing his teeth. "Rage," he greeted warmly. 

"Love," Rage greeted back, just as warmly. 

Then they were embracing and patting each other on the back. When they pulled apart, Love said, "It is good to duel with you outside of that cave. I was hoping that, perhaps, you might have given me a fighting chance this time?" 

Rage gave him a look. "The day I **_let_** you win will be the day hell freezes over. How are you supposed to learn anything if I let you win our battles?" Rage shook his head sadly. "I keep hoping you'll learn something one of these days, but, I fear that, alas, I may be wrong. 

Love went to pick up his sword. Sheathing it with a wry smile on his face, he said, "You know, you could have a little more faith in me. One of these days, I just might surprise you." 

Rage crossed his arms over his chest. "Not bloody likely. Face it, you know your abilities never lay with swords. Your abilities are better put to use with the ladies." 

Love smirked. "Ah, yes. The women, how I do miss them so." he said wistfully. 

Rage sat back down on his rock. "I'm surprised you haven't found some sort of tavern that they have these days and surrounded yourself with women, like you always did." 

Love grinned. "Yes, well, I figured I had more important things to do. Finding you for one." Love brushed a strand of his long caramel hair out of his eyes. His hair was exactly as long as Rage's and exactly the same except that the colour varied. He was also the same height as Rage was. In any woman's standards, he was handsome, very, and he had boyish good looks to compliment that fact. He was just as beautiful as Rage was, except he lacked the maturity and heavy responsibility that Rage possessed. 

"You know," Love continued, putting his hand under his chin and looking for all he was worth like he was pondering the most important thing in the world. 

Rage held up his hands in self defense. "No, do not start this again." 

Ignoring him, Love said, "You could be very popular with the ladies yourself." Rage groaned. "No, really. If you would just smile every once and a while, and I don't mean those pathetic attempt at smiles that you always assume, I mean real smiles. The ladies love that. Of course," Love said frowning, "As soon as you open your big mouth you end up scaring all of the gals away. I wonder why that could be?" Love looked pointedly at Rage. 

Rage stood back up and walked towards him. "Look, I've told you before, no matter how hard you try, you will not turn me into the rogue that you are. I want nothing to do with those type of women that fall all over me, they're disgusting." 

Love peered at Rage. "God, you're picky." he stated. "But that still doesn't explain why it was that way back when, if I recall, you ended up making a girl cry." 

Rage glared at him. "How many times are you going to bring that up?" 

Love looked at the sky. "Oh, as many times as I can. Why?" 

Rage sighed. "Look, she was following me around. I swear I don't know what I did that gave her the idea I was remotely interested in her, I didn't even exchange two words with the tramp." 

Love tsked. "You don't have to. A simple look from you in their direction will have them hooked." Love winked. "Believe me I know." 

Rage sighed again. "Well, put it this way, I could have run her through, god how I wanted to. But instead, when I got the chance, I pulled her into a side alley and told her just what I thought of her. How was I supposed to know I'd send the lass into tears?" 

Love shook his head at a lost cause. "Look Rage, just because you have power over the ice, doesn't mean you have to include that ice into your personality. Drop the mask for once, and let someone in." 

Rage turned around. "I tried that once, remember? and it blew up in my face. I'll never do so again." 

Love regarded his long time friend sadly. "I wasn't talking about that, Rage." he said quietly, apologizing. "I meant, open up to a woman. They can provide comfort when you're feeling low." 

Rage looked over his shoulder. "You mean sex?" 

Love shrugged. "If it suits you." 

Rage looked up into the sky, laughing harshly. "Unlike you, who is supposed to be all about love yet went horribly astray somewhere, I have never been able to get that close to a woman who I have not....." Rage trailed off. 

Love looked at him curiously. "Who you haven't felt something for?" Rage didn't reply. Love shrugged. "You don't have to get close to them to have a good night, if you know what I mean." 

Rage turned around suddenly, what looked like anger shining in his eyes. Love took a nervous step back, confused. As fast as the anger appeared, it disappeared. Rage's eyes went blank and his mask of ice reinserted itself. "I could never do that Love, and I'm sorry to say, but what you do sometimes disgusts me." especially now, he realized, thinking of Sakura. 

Love might have looked a bit guilty. "I know you're not like that, believe me, it didn't take me a century to figure that out. But sometimes, I just think that you'll be lonely forever Rage." he confessed. "And I know that you are. Lonely, that is." 

Rage kept his face absolutely blank. How Love could be so perceptive about things like that he'd never know. Even though Rage knew it was Love's job to be that perceptive, Love just didn't act like it. And as to being lonely, well, he supposed Love was right for all that. He had always been alone, and he figured he probably always would be. He thought of Sakura, and what it would be like to be with her, and found that his loneliness dispersed somewhat at the thought of her being bound to him in some way. He wanted to sigh, if only things could have been different. Why did she have to be that dratted sorcerer's descendant? Couldn't things ever work out for him? 

Rage's mind snapped back to the present as Love suddenly strode up to him and gripped his shoulders. Rage tried to pull back but found that Love had a pretty tight hold. "Love, what are you doing?" he asked, taken aback. 

Love didn't reply. He just stood there, his hazel eyes staring intently into Rage's ice blue ones. Rage was getting a bit nervous, something that didn't happen too often, and felt the urge to push Love away. What did he think he was doing? 

Suddenly, Love released Rage, and he stepped back, his eyes wide. "I don't believe it." he whispered. 

Rage looked at him warily. "What?" 

Love's look of astonishment changed to one of amusement. "You, my friend, are in love. Who is she?" he asked slyly. 

Rage just stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. Finally, he exploded, "I'm not in love!" 

Love nodded, grinning like an idiot. "Oh, yes you are, you most definitely are." he scratched the back of his head as a second option to laughing his head off. He figured if he did that, Rage would kill him. But he couldn't resist keeping his mouth shut, "I must admit though, I never thought I'd see the day some broad caught your eye. So what's so special about her that sets her apart from the others?" 

Before Love quite grasped what was happening, Rage had him by the throat, "Be careful of what you say." he advised quietly. 

Love held up his hands and wheezed, "I'm sorry, did I say broad? I meant wonderful, spectacular, beautiful, gorgeous, woman." Rage snorted and released him. Love started coughing, but through his coughing he was still grinning. "And that proves you feel something for her." he concluded. 

Rage stood and let everything sink in. It did make sense, that would explain the intense attraction and the need to be around her so much, and, of course, the thing that should have tipped him off in the first place, the fact that he couldn't kill her. Rage slumped down on his rock and groaned. "What am I going to do?" 

Love looked at him, half amused, half bewildered. "Do? You sound like it's the end of the world, man! Just go up to her, tell her how you feel, assuming your big mouth doesn't get in the way, and she should take to you immediately! What girl wouldn't?" 

Rage looked up at him with what looked like pleading in his eyes. Love, having never seen anything remotely like that in Rage's eyes before, started to worry. "You don't understand." 

Love crouched down in front of him. "What is it? Is she dying or something? Is she married? You could always kill off the husband you know." 

Rage looked at him with dead eyes. "No, worse. She is Clow Reed's descendant." 

Love fell flat on his ass. "Eeh! You can't be serious!!" he exclaimed from his position on the ground. 

Rage nodded. He felt like killing something. "Completely and utterly serious." 

Love started laughing. He really couldn't help it. Through half closed eyelids, Love saw Rage's eyes narrow dangerously, and he knew that if he didn't stop laughing soon, he was going to get it. Trying to calm down, he said, "Don't do anything **_I'll_** regret!" he said in-between guffaws. Finally, when his laughter had died down enough where he could speak successfully, Love said, "It's just, when you finally do find love, you find it with the girl of your sworn enemy. But then, with you, I shouldn't be surprised. You always have to do things the hard way." and then he started laughing again. 

Rage fought the urge to skewer his long time friend. "If you were in my position, you wouldn't find this so funny." 

Love stopped laughing and grinned the grin he was so fond of grinning(^___^) "Ah, but, you see, I would never be in your position because I have taken great care to not get involved with any one woman. But, I can see you didn't seem to have a choice, did you?" 

Rage sighed. "Oh, would you stop laughing, you idiot, and take this with the proper seriousness it deserves. What am I going to do?" 

Love stopped grinning, with effort, and considered. "Well, you could kill her, as I'm sure you had planned to do at first, or, you could not kill her and, ah, join her, or, tell her how you feel." he suggested. 

Rage glared at him. "That doesn't help. And join her? I could never. Not after what happened before. It is absolutely out of the question." 

Love looked at him, a little sympathy creeping into him. "You know," he said gently. "History doesn't always repeat itself. Maybe, just maybe, things would work out right." 

Rage looked at Love, amused. "I'm due to fight her tomorrow." he said. 

Love smiled wryly. "Well, that helps the situation immensely." he said sarcastically. "So, why don't you just.....not fight her?" he suggested. To him, it sounded perfectly reasonable. 

To Rage, it was out of the question. "Impossible. I gave my word, I must fight her." Rage's eyes turned to a mournful blue, "And if it is her time to die tomorrow, then it will be." 

Love snorted. "Gad, you're such a moron." Rage glanced sharply at him. "Look, oh, just, nevermind. I forgot. Honour is everything to you. You never go back on your word. Well fine, fight the girl, but if you ask me, it's a big mistake." he grinned again. "And, if you ask me, I say, you won't be able to finish her off." 

Rage glanced at him briefly. "Well, I didn't ask you now did I?"   
~ 

Sakura had been lucky. After Yukito had dropped her off at her house and gone back to his work, Sakura had found out that Tory was at work and so was her father, so she was able to enter her house without anyone noticing or asking questions. 

She headed up the stairs to her room, dreading to face Kero but knowing that she had to. She opened the door and prepared herself for anything, but, Kero wasn't there! Sakura looked about the room frantically, searching for her little Guardian Beast, but not finding any trace of him. 

Sakura sat down on her bed dejectedly. She knew that wherever Kero was, it was her fault that he wasn't here. He must be must be more disappointed in her then she had thought. Sakura sighed. Well, she'd just have to wait until he decided to come home. 

So Sakura waited, and waited, and waited. Even when she had gotten into bed and had turned out the lights, Kero still hadn't shown himself.   
~ 

Sakura woke up the next morning not wanting to get up at all. There was way too much she had to do today, namely, trying to confront Li and Kero, and fighting Rage. She rolled over in bed, deciding she was going to stay there until she was eighty-two, not caring a wit what anyone else said. She opened her eyes a bit and glanced around. What she found startled her sufficiently enough for her to snap wide awake. Right beside her, on her pillow, was Kero, staring at her. 

Sakura sat up and looked at him nervously, not sure how he felt at that moment. "Hi Kero," she started off lamely, "Where were you yesterday?" 

Kero shrugged. "I was out, thinking." 

Sakura spoke quietly, "What were you thinking about?" as if she didn't know. 

Kero glanced up at her. "I was thinking about your decision, about your crazy idea to try and make friends with a sworn enemy." Kero sighed. "I've come to a conclusion," he stated. "You're the card Mistress, whatever decision you make is your responsibility, and, and I will support anything you decide to do." 

Sakura looked down at him sadly, "But you still don't approve." she said quietly. 

Kero shook his head. "No, I don't. In this, I think you're making a terrible mistake, but, if you think it's right, then so be it." 

Sakura smiled, even though this still wasn't exactly what she wanted. "I am right Kero, you wait and see." she got up and quickly grabbed up some clothes. 

"What are you doing?" Kero asked. 

"I'm getting ready to leave." she informed him. "I figure, Rage is going to come looking for me no matter what, right? Well, I would prefer that he come looking for me somewhere that wasn't my house for the obvious reasons." 

"You're going to go do this **_now!?_**" Kero asked incredulously, panicking. 

Sakura nodded. "I'd rather have this over and done with as soon as possible." then, she secretly thought, I'll know once and for all if Rage is really all he appears to be. 

"You're insane." he informed her. 

Sakura grinned. "That's not the first time I've heard that." 

To be continued......   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Ok, I know that's an absolutely horrid place to end it, but, what can I say? I wanted to leave the duel until the next chapter. So you'll all have to suffer ^^ Ok, here's where I act like that dumb narrator at the end of each episode of DragonBallZ, *ehem*   
What will happen next chapter? Will Sakura die in the duel? Or will Rage spare her? Or will something else happen? And will Li ever forgive her? Oh, and what is troubling Rage so? Something from his past is haunting him, but what? Guess, no, you'll never guess. It's just too great!! You will never guess. ^_^ But you're welcome to try. You can put your guesses in your reviews and I'll have fun laughing over them because.....you'll never guess. ^_^a If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you should go back and read chapter eleven and this one especially, because I've dropped enough hints. Oh, and be sure to tell me what you thought of the Love card ;) Not exactly the personality you'd expect from Love, is it? All right, enough gabbering, you've all been lucky this week, considering how it's March break, because if it hadn't been, you wouldn't have gotten so many chapters this soon. Now that March break is almost over, you probably won't get another chapter until next weekend, and if you're unlucky, after. So, keep an eye out if you really want to see what happens!! Thanks for putting up with me and I'll see you then!! ^_^ Bye!!   
  
  



	14. The Coming of The StormCh13

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Ok, here we go! I just want to thank all of you kind reviewers!! You've all been so nice! Especially in your reviews for the last chapter!! So insistent! Well,.....at least I know I'm doing a good job! *_^ And I even drew a few more readers into my midst!! Yay for me! Everybody be happy for me.....0.o;; 

Anyways, on to things that you really need, or want, to know. Since you've caught me in an exceptionally good mood ^____^, I've decided to answer your questions! Yes! Even the ones that have to do with ~*future*~(very important *_^) chapters! Well, ^_^;; I'll answer them as much as I choose to. Don't want to give too much away now do I? ^_^ 

Ok, first off, in response to Akuma Shinzuka's review, your first question will be answered a few paragraphs down because what I have to say in relation to the whole Rage, Sakura, Li thing will concern everyone, trust me! and you'll see why in a minute. As to your question about a death scene, well, I've already got such a scene worked out in my head, but(evil grin), I'm not going to tell you whether it's fake or not, who dies, or when it happens. ^_^ Sorry! 

For Celestial's review, well, I'm not really sure how long this is going to be! I mean, Sakura still has **_eleven_** more cards to capture! and I haven't even introduced them all yet. So, there might be a lot of chapters! ^_^ And, as I said, the S+S thing will be looked at in a minute..... 

And Shevey, ^________^ I **_love _**you!! I'm sorry, I don't mean any offense, and I'm not mocking you, well, maybe just a little in a good fashioned sort of way ^_*, but, I can safely say, your guess was waaaaay of the mark. ^_^ Thanks for guessing though! I really mean that, you're the only one who did, so far! (glares at everyone else) Thanks again! 

Ok, now, the big thing I'm sure everyone's been wondering about, if your reviews are anything to go by,...........Will Rage get Sakura? Or will Li? Well, frankly, at first, I was going to make it S+S, no doubt. But now, I don't know, I **_really _**like what I've done with Rage. I figure, though, if I didn't make this S+S, some people would be seriously angry with me, 

So here's the deal, 

**_You_** decide what happens. ^_^ Aren't I nice? And this is very important!! I don't want to disappoint you, and frankly, I really wouldn't mind going either way. So write your answer in your review, because I need to know! before this progresses any further and I limit my choices! 

Speaking of which you have three, choices, that is,   
a) Rage gets Sakura   
b) Li gets Sakura   
0r c) **_no one_** gets Sakura, which would probably be the simplest of all three options for me ^_^;; 

So pick one of the three and only one of the three. If you decide to put another pairing, that's fine, but it probably won't be put into the story. So please, it won't kill you to pick(and be sincere!) it will certainly help me! 

All right, sorry to have put you through all of that torture, and without further ado, here is the fic..... 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or anything in relation to it. I am not getting paid for this in any way so please do not sue me. 

**_Cardcaptors: The Coming of the Storm-Ch.13_**

Sakura picked up the phone and dialed Madison's number, 

The phone rang once, twice, 

"Hello?" 

"Madison, it's me, Sakura." 

Madison rolled her eyes, "I know it's you, Sakura," she said, exasperated. She would be able to identify Sakura's voice under any circumstances. 

Sakura shook her head, exasperated as well, "Glad to see you're back to your witty self again," Sakura said dryly, "You might want to get dressed and grab a cam corder quick," Sakura advised, "and meet me at the King Penguin slide as soon as possible." 

Madison's brow furrowed slightly. What was going on? "Why?" 

Sakura shrugged. "I just thought you might like to catch what could be my last battle on film," she informed her calmly. 

Madison's eyes widened. "What!?" she demanded, completely thrown off stride. 

Sakura sat down on her bed and idly twirled the phone cord around her fingers. "Well, you remember when Rage gave me those three days to rest up a bit? Those three days are over and I'm going to go fight him now." 

Madison's eyes just kept getting rounder and rounder, "What!?" she finally shrieked into the phone, again. "You can't be serious!! I don't know that much about Rage, and I've only seen him once, but I don't think it's such a great idea to be going out and....." Madison paused in her ranting as something occurred to her, "You don't sound worried. You aren't worried. Why aren't you worried?" she asked in quick succession. 

Sakura shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I am nervous. I don't exactly know what's going to happen, but I feel pretty sure that Rage won't kill me." _pretty sure....___

Kero rolled his eyes. 

"And how can you be so sure? The last time I checked, you were **_enemies!_** Did something happen while I was sick?!" 

Sakura stared out of her bedroom window, watching the breeze play softly with the branches of the trees. "I, just have this feeling, that's all." she said quietly, wondering if Madison would react the same way that Li or Kero had. 

After a few tense seconds, Madison shrugged on the other end of the line. She frantically began throwing clothes on and getting her cam corder ready, "Whatever you say, Sakura. I trust your instincts better than mine. But I still think this isn't such a good idea. Just be sure you're **_sure_**," she cautioned. 

Sakura sighed, greatly relieved. Madison always had such faith in her. "Thanks, Madison. I'll meet you in the park soon." 

"See you then." 

Sakura hung up the phone. Kero shook his head sadly, "I still don't think you should be doing this," he told her again, the fifteenth time that morning. 

Sakura grabbed her Clow cards, and then Kero, and headed for the stairs. "Relax, Kero. Everything will work out just fine." at least, she hoped it would. Even though she thought what she sensed about Rage was the truth, things are never sure.   
~ 

Sakura sat, waiting patiently by the King Penguin slide, for Madison. Kero was sitting nearby, tapping his foot against the bench they were sitting on, trying to hide his anxiety. 

After a little while, he looked up at Sakura, "Why couldn't you have done this later?" more a rhetorical question then anything else. "Why not just avoid the Rage card entirely?" this was directed at Sakura. 

Sakura rolled her eyes, having heard this already, "Because Kero, even if I avoid him, he'd probably come looking for me. And besides, I don't think I could avoid him completely, he'd know where I was as soon as I battled another card." she sighed. "Besides, I want this over with quickly. I need to **_know._**" she said fervently, something only she understood the meaning of. 

Kero's breath whooshed out of him. "If only the Rage card had appeared later, after the Four Brothers were captured." 

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean? Four Brothers?" she inquired. This was all new to her. 

Kero nodded. "Do you remember what happened after you captured the final element card, Earth?" Kero asked. 

Sakura nodded. How could she not? That had been a great accomplishment for her, capturing the last Clow card. And there was no way she would **_ever_** forget the Final Judgement that had come afterwards. 

"Well, after you sealed Earth, I was able to regain the last of my magic and transform back into my true form." Sakura nodded to convey that she was still with him. "After the Final Judgement was over, I transformed back into my false form and my magic was resealed since it had served it's purpose. But now that the new cards have escaped, my magic was reborn in the Four Brothers like it was with the Element cards. For me to transform back into my true form, you need to reseal the Four Brothers. That is why I said I had hoped Rage would have waited until later to appear, after you captured the Four Brothers, so that I could transform and be prepared to better help you fight him." 

"So that's what you meant when you spoke with Disease. When you said you'd get him when you transformed , but that you couldn't yet. I was wondering at that but hadn't gotten the chance to ask you about it because things had rapidly spun out of control after that," meaning the argument over Rage, "but it makes sense now." Sakura paused, her face scrunching up as she thought. "But, who are the Four Brothers? Which cards are they?" 

Kero leaned back, resting his arms behind his head. "Well, as individuals go, they are formidable as one. But, together," Kero trailed off, "Have you ever heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?" 

Sakura's eyes widened. "Yeah, but, those are just myth." 

Kero shook his head. "Not myth. The Four Horsemen were not created by someone with a fanciful imagination, no, they are very real. Together, they created such havoc that their reputations were known worldwide." Kero looked up solemnly. "As to **who** they are, well, you've captured one so far," 

"The Four Brothers are the Disease card, the Famine card, the War card, and the Death card." 

"That's not too reassuring," Sakura muttered under her breath. She brightened a bit though, "But, I've already captured the Disease card, I've reduced their strength by one. So, that's good, right?" 

Kero shrugged, "It is, but if the other three decide to form an alliance again, we're in big trouble." Kero frowned. "Those are the only cards we have to worry about as far as alliances go at least. None of the other cards would care to forge an alliance due to the fact that they either hate each other too much, or they don't want to share the glory." 

"Well, I suppose that's one good thing," Sakura leaned back and tilted her head up, looking into the morning sky, "War, Famine, and Death," she murmured. "A scary combination under any circumstances." 

Kero nodded. "You're telling me. I've watched them at work." 

The two sat in silence for a while. Finally, Sakura sighed, impatient, and sat up straight. "What's taking Madison so long?" 

Suddenly, Sakura heard footsteps coming towards her. She glanced to her left, thinking it was Madison, but all she could see was green foliage. She stood, waiting, Kero at her side. 

A few moments later, a person emerged from the forest path, but it wasn't Madison,.... 

It was Li, in full battle regalia, a sword strapped to his back over his green ceremonial robes, the Lasin Board securely tied to his belt, and his trademark sterness-he really did look more grim than usual-was in place. 

"Li," Sakura said, surprised. "What are you doing here?" she really hadn't expected him to show up. 

Li scowled. "Did you really think I'd let you do this alone?" 

Sakura backed down from the ferocity in his face, but the simple fact that Li was here meant something, didn't it? Maybe, he wasn't quite as angry with her as she had thought. "Does, does that mean that you,.....forgive me?" she asked quietly, naively. 

Li had a shuttered look in his eyes. "I came here because I knew I had to protect you from your own foolishness." Sakura frowned, not liking that statement one bit, "I think what you're doing is incredibly stupid. I'm here to make sure you stay alive so that the world has a hope of surviving these Clow cards." 

Sakura crossed her arms and gave Li a look, "I'll take that as a 'no.' " she said dryly. 

At that moment, Madison came rushing into the park. Her shirt was on backwards, her hair looked like it had been through a hurricane, and a cam corder hung from her wrist by a strap. "Don't start without me!!" she huffed, skidding to a stop in front of the two-and one Guardian Beast-wide-eyed Cardcaptors. "I got here as soon as I could! But I couldn't find a blank tape! The fights not over already, is it?! I would absolutely hate to miss this one!!" 

Sakura bit her lip, trying not to laugh, "Um,....no, it hasn't started yet." 

Madison blinked. "Well, then what are we waiting for?" 

Sakura just stared at her. 

Li stepped forward, "How can you approve of this? Shouldn't you be trying to stop her?" he asked angrily. 

Madison stepped forward herself. She poked Li in the chest with her index finger, her eyes flashing. Sakura covered her eyes with her hand, not wanting to see who's horns broke first from butting their heads together the way they were. "Of **_course_** I don't approve of this! But what am I supposed to do about it? She's not going to listen to me! She's already made up her mind!" abruptly, Madison's eyes filled with tears and her lips started quivering. Before Li quite knew what had happened, Madison had thrown herself at him, arms about his neck and face nuzzled under his chin. Li's gaze darted about in panic, looking like a deer caught in headlights. "If only she would listen to me!" Madison wailed. "I don't know what she's so confident about! Rage could kill her, for Kami's sake!!" Madison pushed away from Li, a fierce scowl on her face. "Well, I'm not going to let that happen!!" she declared, apparently done crying, "And she's got you to protect her. Come on, Sakura! Let's go kick Rage's butt and show him what girl power's all about!" Madison turned on her heel and marched back into the forest, head held high. 

Three pairs of eyes followed her but no one moved. Li, who looked decidedly harried, was blinking owlishly, waiting for his world to return back to normal. He looked at Sakura for an explanation, the two were best friends after all. 

Sakura shrugged, her eyes filled with amusement but a touch of sadness as well, "Madison tends to get...irrational, when she's worried." Sakura started off after the distraught photographer. "Come on, we'd better find her before she finds Rage."   
~ 

After recovering Madison, who seemed to have calmed down considerably, they called a halt. 

"Tell me again how you planned to find the Rage card when you had no idea where to start looking?" Kero inquired. 

Madison glared at the teasing Guardian Beast. "Shut-up, I was on a roll." Madison informed him huffily. 

Kero snickered, "Yeah, but I don't think that's all you were on." 

Madison smacked him. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Would you two knock it off? I'm trying to concentrate." 

Madison remained silent, looking innocent. Kero was picking himself up off of the ground, glaring at her and muttering something Sakura chose to ignore. She closed her eyes and tried to focus. Almost immediately, she got a sense, but within moments, it was gone. Sakura frowned, wondering at the short burst of energy that had quickly vanished. It was either there or it wasn't, right? 

Sakura opened her eyes and looked at Li, "Did you sense anything?" she asked. 

Li shook his head. "No, why? Did you?" 

Sakura glanced about her, "I'm not sure," she whispered. She quickly smiled though when Li and kero gave her funny looks. "No, no, I don't sense anything." at least, not now, she amended. 

"So, what do we do now?" Madison asked. "Go home?" 

Sakura shook her head. "No way. I came out here for a reason and I'm not leaving that easily." Madison sighed, exasperated. "Well, if we can't sense him, we'll just have to find him the old fashioned way." 

"But how? He could be anywhere!" Madison pointed out. 

Sakura shook her head, thinking, "No, no, he's here somewhere. We just have to go about this logically." she reasoned. 

"And how do you propose we do that?" Li asked, not understanding why Sakura just wouldn't leave. 

"Well," Sakura considered. She smiled. "Why don't you try the Lasin Board?" she suggested. 

Li grumbled to himself. He hadn't wanted to mention it because he wanted no part in helping Sakura dig her own grave, but since she had suggested it, he couldn't very well say no. "Force, know my plight! Release the light!" 

To Li's astonishment, not to mention everyone else's, the Lasin Board....didn't do anything. 

"That's impossible," Kero said, not believing his eyes, "There's no way...." 

Li stared at the Lasin Board, trying not to panic. His magic had never failed him before. He shook himself, regaining his composure. He put the Lasin Board away and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, obviously, this just means there isn't a Clow card anywhere near here." he pointed out reasonably. 

Sakura shook her head, getting over the shock herself. Even though she would have preferred to believe Li's explanation rather than believe the magic had failed, Sakura knew better, "No, he is here somewhere, and he can't be too far away," the others stared at her. Sakura fidgeted nervously. "Well, think about it, why would he all of a sudden just leave? Especially when he feels he has to fight me?" Sakura's eyebrows drew together, "He's somewhere close, he wants to fight me, and he probably knows I'm looking for him. So where would he be that he'd know I knew to find him?" she asked herself out loud. her eyes widened as a thought struck her, "Of course! It's so simple! Where have I seen him twice? At that secluded little clearing where I first met him!" Sakura exclaimed, sure she had figured it out. She started off in the direction of that clearing. 

As she passed Li, however, he reached out and took hold of her wrist. Sakura looked up at him in surprise. "Are you absolutely sure this is where he is?" 

Sakura nodded. "There is no where else." 

"There is still time to back out of this, to turn around and head back. If the Rage card wants to battle you so badly, let him search you out." 

Sakura gently pulled out of Li's grasp. "You don't understand. I have to do this, This will prove something to me once and for all." she began walking again. 

Li and Kero both shook their heads and followed after her, Madison trailing behind, turning the cam corder on and recording the beginning of what she knew would be a harrowing battle. 

Sakura walked towards her destination without error, having already committed the way to memory, knowing she would be going there again. 

There was silence until they were almost there, but a few feet away from her destination, Sakura froze as she suddenly sensed something, the doors in her mind suddenly flung wide open, and what she sensed was **_not_** reassuring. She looked at Li and Kero, wide-eyed. "Do you two sense that?" 

Li and Kero exchanged glances. Kero shook his head and Li said, "I don't sense anything. Do you?" 

Sakura nodded. "I was right, Rage is here, I can feel him now, but, there's something else. Kero, there are two Clow cards in that clearing." 

Kero's eyebrows shot up then abruptly came crashing back down. "Two?" he echoed. "Are you sure?" 

Sakura nodded. "Oh, yes, there are definitely two of them in there. I thought you said, besides those four, that none of the others would form alliances." she accused. 

Kero held up his hands. "Maybe they're fighting?" he suggested. 

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "If they were fighting, their energy levels would be spiking. They seem pretty calm to me. **_Very_** calm." 

Kero glanced past her shoulder then back at her. He shook his head. "I don't know, Sakura." he said helplessly. 

Li automatically unsheathed his sword. He knew the Rage card couldn't be trusted. 

Sakura took out the Key of Clow uncertainly. She really didn't think Rage would be so conniving as to bring in someone to help him fight against her. It just wasn't like him. But she did sense two cards in there, "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic! Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared and she gripped it tightly in her hands. Taking a deep breath, she said, "It's now or never," and walked forward. 

Sakura's attention immediately fixed itself on the tall figure facing her. She never even noticed the other figure sitting with it's back to her. 

Rage smiled politely as she stepped forward, but his smile soon took on a brittle edge as Li and Kero appeared behind her. Madison he completely ignored. "I knew you would come." he said idly, his fingers resting under his chin. "I knew you were not the sort to run from a battle, no matter how hopeless." 

Sakura gripped the wand tighter, her gaze darting around, focusing on anything but that burning blue gaze. That was when she noticed the man that was still seated, facing Rage. She took a cautious step back, and her gaze flew to Rage's, even if she would prefer otherwise. "Yes, well, I knew if I didn't come you'd just come looking for me. I figured I'd just save us both some trouble." 

One eyebrow rose. "Is that so? How considerate of you." he replied. 

At that, the figure started chuckling. Rage glanced down at him, annoyed. He looked back to Sakura and said dryly, "Forgive my lack of manners. This rather annoying pest, is Love." 

Love stood up and turned around. He grinned his most charming grin and Sakura's jaw dropped. He had to be the most beautiful man she had ever seen! His long brown hair shone in the sunlight and his features were far too innocent and honest than any mans had a right to be. Unfortunately, his eyes weren't blue, they were hazel, and he looked rather rakish and wild, not quite mature enough. And his hair wasn't quite right, it should be lighter..... 

Sakura blinked. One of the hottest guys she's ever seen was standing right in front of her and she was picking out his faults? Sakura began to wonder if there was something wrong with her. She didn't get to wonder about it for long though, for Love-and as the name came to her, Sakura realized he was indeed a Clow card-came forward and took her hand and bowed over it in a dashing manner, placing a kiss in her palm. Sakura blushed slightly, surprised and confused. 

Love looked up and into her eyes, his sparkling with mischief, and Sakura got the impression that he had done this exact same thing countless of times before. Still, not letting go of her hand, he said, "You are as beautiful as the finest of red roses and you smell of them as well. You do not disappoint my expectations, everything he has led me to believe about you is true."  
  
  
Before Sakura could puzzle out that strange comment, the air around them suddenly chilled. Sakura watched, perplexed, as her breath puffed out in a white mist and the trees and ground around them was suddenly coated with frost. 

"Love," Rage said ominously. 

Sakura glanced at him and found that his eyes had gone cold, like the frost around them. 

Love hastily let go of Sakura's hand and backed away. He turned towards Rage with a grin on his face. "No need to get annoyed." he said quickly. "Just getting aquainted with the lady." 

Rage stood and glared. He didn't even notice the cold that had seeped out of him and into the very air around him. He did, however, notice the frost that covered the trees. He blinked, surprised. He hadn't even realized he had done this. When he had seen the effect Love had had on Sakura though, something inside him had just begun to burn. And when Love had kissed her hand, that cold rage had just boiled over. He reflected on this strange development and came to the oddest conclusion. He mentally shook his head though. It was preposterous. He did not show such petty emotions as this. 

He. Was. Not. Jealous. 

But as he looked at Love again, and saw the grin on his face, Rage knew that the baka knew exactly what was going through his mind, and he knew it must be true. 

As suddenly as the cold had appeared, it disappeared, and the group looked about them curiously. Rage stood there and let them, still brooding over the fact that the fool Love could coax him into a jealous rage. He never would have had a chance in hell of doing such a thing before, and Rage knew by the look on Love's face that he would never hear the end of it. 

Rage shook his head. His gaze snapped back to Sakura. These emotions, these feelings, had to stop. They were hindering his ability to act logically. Love already knew about them, how long would it be before the others found out? and used it against him? He **_had_** to get rid of her. It was the only way, 

Trying to get his thoughts into order, he snapped, "What are **they** doing here?" meaning Li, Kero, and Madison. He knew his voice had come out harshly but he really couldn't help that. 

Sakura blinked, surprised at his sudden mood swing. Then her eyes narrowed as she said tartly. "They came because they wanted to make sure you didn't set a trap for me. Speaking of which, why is **he **here?" she fired back. 

Love assumed a hurt expression. He turned to Rage and said, "I do believe this is the first time a woman has ever resented my presence. What do you think Rage? am I losing my touch?" 

Rage didn't bother to answer, he just glared at him with his 'don't be an ass' look. He turned his attention back to Sakura. "I am shocked that you would think such a thing as that. If Love were to try and help me defeat you in any way, I would gut him myself." 

Love nodded, confirming what he just said. "Ain't that the truth. He's tried before, only succeeded in stabbing me in the rib though." he grinned at Sakura's appalled expression. "You see, when your life is on the line, you move fast." he explained. 

Sakura just stared at him. Rage brought her attention back to him though when he asked, "Well, what are they doing here?" 

Sakura switched her attention back to him. She tried to become annoyed with him again but that comment from Love completely threw her. "They're just here to watch as well." she said. 

Li stepped forward, frowning, "Just just wait a minute!" he began to protest. 

Rage and Sakura both looked at him, their gazes annoyed. Sakura said, "You will not help me, Li. Promise me. I have to do this on my own, and besides, if you fight with me, it wouldn't be fair." she commented. 

Li threw his arms up in the air. "Who wants to be fair?!" he exclaimed. 

Sakura placed her hands on her hips and **_glared._** "Promise me." 

Li stared at her helplessly, the 'look' working just how it was supposed to. "Fine," he snarled finally. "I'll let you two go at it! But if it becomes apparent that you're not going to come out of this alive, I'm stepping in, and there's no one that can stop me." 

"Oh, I think I could." Rage said ruefully, too quiet for Li to hear. 

Sakura nodded, satisfied. She turned back to Rage, a sudden quiver running through her body as she realized what was about to take place. "Are you ready?" 

Rage smiled. "Oh, I'm more than ready." he said quietly. He stepped forward, away from the trees and towards Sakura. Love moved off of the battlefield to give them more room and Li, Kero, and Madison reluctantly did the same. 

The two combatants faced each other. One set on killing the other to rid himself of a weakness, the other set on proving a point that might end up getting her killed. 

To be continued.....   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

I know, I know, you all hate me. But **_trust _**me, if I hadn't ended it there you never would have gotten this much!! I've been extremely preoccupied but I promise that their fight will be in the next chapter. So stay tuned and find out what happens. And don't forget about the little quiz thing!!!!! Put your choices in your reviews or there will be hell to pay!!! ^_^;; Well, maybe not. See you then!!   



	15. Rage's DecisionCh14

Cardcaptors14 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Heh, heh,.....I know it's been a little while, and I'm sorry for that. Oh! and, I guess I should tell you who I'm going to be pairing with Sakura.....or should I? No, I figure, you're already angry enough with me, so, I'll tell you. Drum roll please........it's Li!!! Well, you hard core S+S fans got your wish. *sniff* Poor Rage. Now, one last thing, even though this has been decided, DO NOT expect it to happen right away, because I can guarantee you....it won't. I need time. 0.oa I'm not too good at this whole romance thing, at least, **_I_** don't think I am. *sigh* say bye-bye to my self confidence. ^_^ Well, I'll just have to gain it back now won't I? Well, read and enjoy!!! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: Rage's decision-Ch.14**

Sakura planted her feet nervously. She had no desire to kill Rage at all, didn't want to, but she couldn't just stand there and do nothing,....for it was quite obvious Rage intended to fight. She just hoped he realized he didn't want to kill her either. The strange sense Sakura has been having about Rage is still there, and she would stake her life on it. 

Rage unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and methodically rolled up each sleeve. "I'm rather pleased you found me," he said, amused, although, Sakura couldn't imagine why, "Are you planning to fight in that?" he asked suddenly. 

Sakura looked down, confused, but she couldn't find anything wrong with her sky blue t-shirt and jean shorts. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and more out of reflex and blind luck rather than anything else, Sakura jerked to her right and rolled. After coming back to her feet, she looked over her shoulder, quickly, to see what had been coming towards her. 

Rage stood where Sakura had been but moments before, an amused smile on his face, "Never lower your eyes to an enemy." he said quietly. Sakura stood up straight and couldn't help but glare at him. Rage laughed quietly, "What did you expect? Gun fire announcing the beginning of the duel?" 

Sakura grumbled under her breath, "Would have been nice." she pulled out a Clow card. _Something only to catch him, not harm him, _Sakura thought. "Wood card! Release and dispel! Release!" Wood exploded out of the card and made it's way towards Rage. Sakura hoped to use to use Wood against Rage much the same way Yue had used it against her in the Final Judgement. 

Rage's eyes sparkled and he smiled as Wood came towards him anticipating resistance, if he knew Wood. Wood rushed him and tried to wrap a branch around his arm, caging him. Rage moved nimbly out of Wood's way, and a safe distance from the encircling limb. In one smooth move, Rage had his sword unsheathed and in a backward arc, brought the gleaming blade down upon Wood. Wood shrieked in pain and anger as the blade imbedded itself in her branches. With a heave, Rage sliced through the rest of the limb and Wood let out another shriek as her branch thudded to the ground. 

Sakura winced at the agonizing sound as it reverberated of of her bones. It was like she could feel the Wood card's pain as if it were her own. She made a quick decision, "Wood card! Return to your power, confined! Wood!" Wood immediately retreated back into it's seal. Sakura put the card away and stood tensely, trying to think which card she should use next, 

Rage watched her thoughtfully, "You sent Wood against me,......how interesting," he commented. Sakura watched him warily. "So, you do not plan to kill me? only capture me? Why is that, I wonder? It would be far simpler to be rid of me. What is it you hope to accomplish?" he asked quietly, more to himself. He began circling her slowly, thinking, waiting for her answer. 

Sakura shifted on her feet, trying to keep Rage in sight, "I don't want to kill anyone." she informed him heatedly. Her voice and expression both softened with her next statement, "Besides, I **_know_** I won't need to kill you." 

Rage halted. "Is that so?" he asked, one eyebrow raised, "And why is that?" 

Sakura shrugged nervously. She hadn't really meant to say that, but, now that she had, she might as well follow through, "I-I have this...feeling. I know killing you would be a big mistake. I feel as if I have to....keep you safe." 

Rage looked like he was choking on something. "Keep me....**_safe?!_**" 

Sakura nodded. "There's something about you, that just isn't right. There's something....good in you, I know it." she said quietly. 

Rage stood stock still as he stared at her, his sword hanging at his side, apparently forgotten. Love stood off to the side near Li, Kero, and Madison, with one hand covering his face, shaking his head slightly. Li and Kero both had disapproving looks on their faces, but there was shock in their eyes. Neither could actually believe what Sakura had just said. Madison had her face carefully glued to her cam corder, not wanting to miss what was going to happen next. 

Sakura stood waiting for Rage to make a move. She became a bit worried when he continued to just stand there, staring at her. Well, he wasn't exactly staring **_at_** her, more like, **_through_** her. His gaze was fixed on her face, but his attention seemed to be somewhere else. His iris' were dilated and his eyes distant. Sakura wondered what he was thinking. 

All of a sudden, Rage blinked. His winter eyes filled with ice and his expression became intense. "Safe? You think I'm safe?" he asked quietly. 

Sakura stared at him. He really was making a habit of having mood swings, "Umm...." Sakura said nervously, "Sort of, it's hard to explain...." 

"You think there is something good in me? That I will not harm you, mayhaps?" Rage's voice rose. "That you can **_trust_** me? Is that it?" he growled low in his throat as he pointed his sword towards Sakura, "Never again! Those days have long since past. I owe you **_nothing! You_** owe **_me!_**" he sprang at her, dead set on ending this now. 

"Jump card!" Sakura cried desperately. Little white wings appeared on her shoes and she took off into the air. She wondered what she could have **_possibly_** said that could have set Rage off. 

She landed lightly in the willow tree and turned to face him. She eeped in surprise and jumped out of the tree quickly, narrowly avoiding the edge of Rage's blade as it sliced through the branch she had been standing on. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who could jump so high. She landed ungracefully on her back on the ground, just happy she hadn't broken her spine. With a groan she peeled herself up and of of the ground. She crouched low with her Clow wand held defensively in front of her, 

"Earth card! Release and dispel!" she called out as Rage landed a few feet away from her. 

The ground began to shake violently and Li and Madison grabbed onto nearby trees to keep from falling. Kero, who was in the air, had no such problems, but he could feel Earth's power vibrating through his bones. Love just picked his feet up off of the ground and sat cross-legged, on air, with his hands under his chin. 

Rage planted his feet and held his ground the best he could. Not quite sure what Sakura was planning, he glanced at her, but he could pick up nothing from her facial expression but determination. He began to feel that pull towards her again and ruthlessly suppressed it, converting and using it to fuel his anger. He took a step forward, as best he could, toward Sakura. The ground in front of him suddenly exploded upwards, blocking Sakura from view, and he stood there shocked for a moment before he realized what was going on. He turned quickly, trying to make his escape, but another wall of Earth exploded behind him, rising up into the air, and then to his right and his left, until he was completely surrounded. 

The shaking stopped and Li and Madison carefully untangled themselves from the tree trunks they had been holding onto. They both stared at the prison of Earth for a moment before turning their gazes-and, in Madison's case, her cam corder-to Sakura. Realizing she had won, Li let the first hint of a smile grace his lips in her didn't know how long. Kero began leaping up and down in the air, cheering, "You did it! You did it!" over and over again. He stopped suddenly though as rational thought returned to him. "Go ahead, Sakura! Seal him!!" Kero advised cheerfully. He was extremely proud that HIS mistress had sealed Rage. 

Sakura looked away from the wall of earth and glanced at Kero. She raised her Clow wand hesitantly. She hoped Rage hadn't been hurt. Sakura glanced sideways again, suddenly uneasy. Love just sat there staring at Rage's imprisonment, a smile playing about his lips. Wasn't he the least bit worried? Sakura figured Rage and Love must at least be able to tolerate each other, otherwise, they wouldn't have been together when she had gotten here,.....so why wasn't Love doing anything? 

That's when she felt it, a steady building of a card's energy. Sakura looked at Love quickly, but when he found she was watching him, he just smiled and then went back to watching Earth. 

It wasn't him. 

Sakura looked back at Earth quickly, and felt another sort of vibration. That's when the cold hit her and her eyes widened. If Rage was generating enough cold to be felt on the other side of six feet of solid earth.....then how cold was it in there? With a sudden sense of urgency, Sakura lifted her Clow wand, "Rage card! Return to your-" 

The wall nearest to her exploded outward, little chips of frozen earth flying about her. Sakura hit the ground with a cry and covered her head with her hands as the brittle chips rained down upon her. Kero ducked behind a tree and Li ran to Madison and threw a wind shield around them both, protected. Love continued to sit, but a slight, pinkish colouring surrounded him and none of the frozen pieces of Earth touched him. 

Sakura lifted her head off of the ground slowly. She looked at her poor Earth, scattered all over the ground, everywhere! frozen and lifeless. The fine wall it had been was now reduced to a few jagged pieces, sticking up but a foot from the ground, and in the center of these, was Rage. Sakura swallowed, and prayed to God she hadn't just signed her own death warrant. 

Rage stood, a cold, thin, white mist surrounding him and leeching out, covering the trees and ground with frost as it went. His face was hard, blank, expressionless, but his eyes,...his eyes were what scared Sakura the most. They were the most chilling thing she had ever seen, and at the same time, they were burning hot. Sakura didn't take the time to wonder at the contradiction as those two burning blue eyes focused on her and her soul nearly froze. Somewhere behind her, she heard Love tsk and murmur quietly, "Now you've done it, you've gone and pissed him off." and Sakura didn't need that little statement to realize she was in serious trouble, 

And then Rage was coming at her, quickly and resolutely, his sword coated in ice. Sakura stumbled to her feet, her eyes still locked with his, ignoring the throbbing in her arms from the dozens of tiny cuts and trails of blood that slowly seeped out and trailed down her arm. She didn't know what to think of that sense of hers now, it sure had gotten her into a pickle, and she figured if, by some miracle, she got out of this, that Rage was just about mad enough to to kill something else. She took out a Clow card. Maybe, maybe she still didn't have to hurt him, maybe, she could talk some sense into him? Yeah, and she knew how well that worked the last time. Okay, she'd....just have to buy some time, until she could think of something. She could do it, she could pull it off. Sakura whimpered silently. 

"Sword card! Release and dispel! Sword card!" the tip of her Clow wand transformed into a sword point. 

"No! Not a sword, Sakura! Anything but a sword!!" Kero cried out. 

But there was nothing she could do about it as Rage reached her and immediately engaged her in combat. What happened in the next five minutes, was the most terrifying, exhausting thing Sakura had ever had to do in her life. Each time Rage hit her sword, her whole arm went numb for a few seconds and she felt like crying out. But she didn't, and each time Rage beat her back her arm just kept getting weaker and weaker. Even when Sakura stopped defending and went on the attack, she couldn't manage to get through Rage's defense. 

With a mighty lunge, Rage hit the Clow wand once again, and sent it flying right out of her hands. The force of the blow sent Sakura flying flat on her back. 

"SAKURA!!" Li stepped forward, every instinct in his body cried out to help her. It didn't matter about the fight they had before. He would BEG her forgiveness if only she would live! However....he found his way blocked. 

Love stood with his arms crossed, his expression more serious than usual, but he still had that 'devil may care' look about him, "I thought we had a deal?" he asked mildly. 

Li glared at him. "Screw the deal, I never agreed to it in the first place.....I have to help her." 

Love tilted his head sideways and his eyes got a strange, distant look, like there was something about Li that he just couldn't figure out. "Now, going over there would just result in you getting killed anyways, so what's the point? Besides," he said quietly, "If you go over there, I'll have to join in, too. Do you really think you can handle two of us?" 

Li was becoming desperate. He had to save her, she meant everything to him. If he had to risk his life to save hers, then so be it. With that thought, he brushed roughly past Love. 

Love's hand shot out and gripped Li's elbow. Li's eyes snapped up to Love's and found that Love's full attention was already focused on him. His eyes still had that strange look to them and Li, finding that he couldn't break free or tear his gaze from Love's, became uneasy with the intensity coming from this card. In a way, it was almost as bad as Rage was when he got that intense look. 

Suddenly, Love's eyes returned to normal and he eyed Li with great interest. "You love her." he stated. 

Li had no idea how he had known, but there was something in the way Love said it, like he was pleasantly surprised and greatly amused about something, that had him bristling. "So?" Li gritted out. 

Love smiled. Before Li quite knew what happened, he found himself incased in some sort of pink bubble. He floated a few feet off the ground and stopped. Realizing he was trapped, he beat desperately on the bubble and even tried using his sword to pierce it, but no matter what he did, he couldn't break through. "Please!" he cried, looking down at Love who was looking up at him. "Please! I **_have_** to help her. Don't take her from me!" he didn't care that he was begging, he would have done, said, anything to get out of the bubble. 

Love continued to look up at him and a hint of sadness creeped into his eyes as he looked at the distressed warrior. "I am sorry, I cannot. I would never betray Rage, but do not worry," he said, turning away to watch the battle, "Everything will turn out just fine." he murmured, almost too quiet for Li to hear. 

But he had, and he eyed Love strangely, unable to figure out what he meant by that. Of course things weren't going to turn out alright, Sakura was going to die, and so was he. 

Meanwhile, Sakura hadn't had time to wonder what happened to Li after he had cried out, because Rage's sword was coming towards her fast, and she rolled to the right, narrowly evading the sword as it thrust into the ground spreading frost outwards from it. Without looking back, she half crawled, half stumbled towards her Clow wand, going as fast as she could. She was just inches from it now and she thought she had made it, but it was quickly swiped out of the way by Rage's boot. Sakura looked up at him, and came face to face with his blade. She fell back onto to her back again, knowing that there was no way out. She lay flat, staring up into his rage filled eyes, and wondered, how she could have been so horribly wrong. Well, there was no sense worrying about it now,... huh, she wouldn't have to worry about anything in a few moments. But there was one thing that nagged at her, even now, 

Sakura narrowed her eyes and tried to look as menacing and as intimidating as she could. In nothing more than a hissed whisper, Sakura gritted out, "Leave Li, and Kero, and Madison out of this. After you kill me, you won't have anything to worry about and your revenge will have been taken care of," with her eyes shooting off sparks, Sakura narrowed her eyes even further, "If you hurt them, if you harm one hair on their heads, I will come back and haunt you from my grave. You will never be rid of me." with that said, she continued to glare at him for a moment more, then she abruptly closed her eyes and said, "Do it, get it over with." 

Rage stood, staring down at Clow Reed's descendant, and had every intention of doing exactly what she said, but,....he couldn't seem to get his sword to move. He continued to stare at her, her little speech replaying itself over in his mind. He couldn't help but mentally smile. Sakura seemed to be as even tempered and sweet as a person got, however, when her friends were suffering, or if there was a chance that they might be in danger, she came on like a wild cat, hissing and clawing. And the look in her eyes could rival that of Death's itself. There was something about her, something so....pure, and no matter how he tried to convince himself that **_no one_** could be that righteous, that green-eyed gaze came back to haunt him. Rage's sword arm began to waver ever so slightly and he stared. Never had anything like this befallen him before, and he couldn't understand it. 

Sakura opened her eyes, wondering why she wasn't dead yet. She looked up and found Rage staring at her. There was something unnerving about his stare, something new that had never bothered her before. It was like...it was like there was some sort of caticlismic struggle going on within himself. A new hope began to build inside Sakura. Maybe, just maybe, she hadn't been wrong after all. 

Rage took one look into those shining eyes and was lost. "I can't do it." he whispered, half amazed, half dejected. He dropped his sword to his side. 

Love, the only one who had heard Rage's confession, smiled gently. Seeing Rage's sword drop, Li was flooded with relief. He didn't realize it, but a single tear escaped his eye. Kero and Madison let out relieved sighs. 

Sakura stood up on shaky legs. She glanced at Rage who had his head bowed, she couldn't see his face. "Rage?" she asked quietly. 

Rage's head snapped up. He made a quick, split decision,.....he could either reveal his feelings, announce that he would never hurt her and join her, or! ....he could leave now, and without any reason to fight her, never see her again. Both possibilities were quite out of the question, so he made up a third, 

His face regained it's icy quality and his eyes went blank, revealing nothing. His voice, when he spoke, was slightly raised, "That was absolutely pitiful." he said, putting as much contempt into his voice as he could manage. Sakura blinked, surprised, she hadn't expected this, "You are no challenge to me, why did you not use your sorcery? Why did you not do everything in your power to stop me?!" _why couldn't you let me kill you?!___

Sakura stared at him for a moment. "What powers? I don't have any sorcery, I only have the Clow cards." she said quietly, his line of questioning completely confusing her. 

Rage's eyes widened for a moment. "You do not know how to use Magic? Real Magic?" he asked incredulously. 

Sakura shook her head. "I don't have any Magic inside me." she ducked her head a bit with her next statement, "I've never been able to use any Magic, not even when Kero tried to help me." she said dejectedly. 

Rage just stood there, but a plan quickly began forming inside of his head. He assumed his mask once again and replied sharply, "As I said, you are pitiful," Sakura's head snapped up. "You were not worthy enough for me to finish off. You will not be any trouble in the future." he turned as if to leave. 

Sakura frowned at him, "You're just going to leave me here? No revenge, no getting back at Clow Reed? Why?" she asked suspiciously. 

Rage smirked a bit, seeing she was hooked. He quickly covered up the slip though as he turned to face her, "Why would I need to finish you off? It goes against my honour to defeat a one such as you when you are too weak to even scratch me." 

Sakura glared at him, "I'll scratch you alright," she muttered under her breath. 

"However," Rage said suddenly, as if something had just occurred to him. Sakura eyed him warily. "If you knew how to use your Magic that you inherited from....Clow Reed," he seemed to have trouble saying the sorcerer's name, "then you would be much more of a challenge." he said reasonably. 

Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest, then uncrossed them again as sharp stabs of pain laced through her arms, "Well," she replied tartly, "We know that'll never happen." 

Rage tilted his head to the side. "Is that so?" he nodded towards Li who was still in the bubble, looking furious. "**_He _**can use his Magic, he is a descendant of Clow Reed. So why can't you use Magic?" he studied her. "It's there, inside you, whether you know it or not." he stopped and looked as if he was thinking over something important, then, "I can teach you." he said quietly. 

"NO!!" Li and Kero both yelled. 

Sakura ignored them and studied Rage's expression, even though she couldn't make anything out. _Could he really do that? Could he really teach me how to use Magic?_ Ever since she had met Li and seen how he could tap into his Magic the way real sorcerer's did and use spells, Sakura had always been envious of him. It hurt whenever she saw him use his powers, knowing that she had none of her own. Sure, she may be the only one who can seal and control the Clow cards, she may be Mistress of the cards, but, she had always been convinced that was just a quirk anyways. Come on, if she was really meant to be the Clow Mistress, why couldn't she use any other Magic? 

Sakura looked into Rage's eyes, trying to see a lie if it was there, "You can really teach me? You can teach me how to use my powers?" she asked hopefully. 

Rage could have let out a cry for joy....he had her. What he had said hadn't been a lie, he really could teach her, well, he could teach her as much as she was willing to learn. Clow Reed, when he had taught the thirteen of them how to use Magic, had said that "Only you, can teach yourself the art of Magic. It is inside **_you_**, and no none else. But, you can be...**_guided_** along the way." so, he would **_guide_** her as much he could, and take lessons from what the sorcerer told him. _Hmm,....whoever thought I'd want to remember anything he had ever told me. _And of course, there were two added bonuses,....1) if he could teach Sakura anything, it would help when she battled the other cards and she would have a greater chance of surviving-which was great in his book-and 2) what he had been going for in the first place, a chance to spend time with the lovely sorceress without having to fight her and pretend he wanted to kill her. 

"Yes," he said, "I can teach you." 

Sakura searched his eyes for a moment, trying to decipher if he was lying or not, but all she saw was truth. Sakura allowed herself to smile hesitantly. "Okay, deal." she held out her hand. 

Rage grasped it firmly and finally let a smile loose. To keep up his charade, though, he tightened his hold and put steel into his eyes, "When I judge you worthy enough, we shall fight again." 

Sakura smiled ruefully. "Now, I knew you'd say that." she realized, though, that she wasn't the least bit frightened. She removed her hand from Rage's and wondered why, but she couldn't find an answer. She looked over her shoulder at the gang, a smile ready, but the smile was forgotten as she blinked owlishly before her eyes widened to the size of saucers. 

There was Li, floating four feet above the ground, encased in a bubble, looking furious. She glanced at Love to find him smirking slightly and watching her. She frowned at him. "Would you put him down?" not realizing how stern she looked. 

Love held up his hands defensively. "Okay! Okay! No need to get huffy!" Sakura did huff at that statement. Love fought down a grin. "Your wish is my command, My Lady." Love snapped a finger and the bubble disappeared. Li tumbled to the ground unceremoniously. Sakura glared at Love. He smirked back. "You didn't say **_how_** you wanted wanted him down." 

Sakura was about to tell him just what she thought of that, when both Rage and Love's heads snapped upwards. Sakura looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering what had their hair standing on end. She glanced in the direction they were looking at, but all she saw were a bunch of trees. "What's going on?" she asked warily. 

Rage didn't move but Love glanced in her direction. "Someone's coming, someone powerful." and he turned back to continue watching the trees. 

Li stiffened and held his sword at the ready. _No! We'd just gotten out of one mess, sort of, and now we've got something else to deal with!? I don't think my heart could take another show of danger towards Sakura again._

Sakura glanced back apprehensively. Was it another Clow card? What would Rage and Love's reactions be if it was. Would they aid the card? or turn and leave? Sakura waited. 

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard, coming quite rapidly towards them. Madison switched her view to the trees, wondering who was coming. Kero tensed until his tail was sticking straight out, but then his ears twitched and he seemed to be focusing on something. Then the tension drained out of him and he folded his arms over his chest and smirked. He looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary. He waited as well. 

The footsteps kept getting closer and closer and Sakura's heartbeat kept getting faster and faster. Whoever it was was indeed running, sprinting more like, and it was quite obvious that he/she was coming **_here._****__**

At that moment, the person broke the tree line and came to a skidding halt. Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. "Yukito?!" 

Yukito stood rooted in place as he took in everything around him. He looked positively harried. His shirt was on backwards and inside out, and his pants were wrinkled beyond recognition. Whatever had drove him out of the hotel, it had been something big. And Sakura had a dreadful feeling she knew exactly what it was as she saw something flickering behind Yukito's eyes. He took in the Clow cards, Sakura's Clow wand lying on the ground out of her reach, Rage's scowl, and finally the scratches on Sakura's arms. That's when the light began to engulf him and the wings surrounded his form. 

"Yukito! Wait!!" Sakura yelled, knowing that this wasn't good. But too late, the wings parted and out stepped Yue. He looked rather pale(well doesn't he always? ^_~) and Sakura attributed it to the fact that he had changed without the spell from her that enabled him to. Worse, he had a sword in his hand that gave off a blinding white radiance if looked at too long. Sakura had no idea where it had come from, but she didn't think circumstances could get any worse. 

Rage took a step back and looked just about as shocked as Sakura had ever seen him. "Yue." he whispered, something unknown stirring in his eyes. 

Yue raised his sword and pointed it at Rage. But he didn't say anything as he stared at Rage. Something invisible, and feathery soft, picked Sakura up and moved her out of the way. She was set down near Madison. She tried to run back and explain that there was nothing to worry about now, but her feet wouldn't move. She watched in trepidation as Yue spread his wings fully and took a fighting stance, 

"I am sorry, Rage, but I must protect my Mistress." he said, no emotion in his voice whatsoever, but his eyes seemed unbearably sorrowful. 

Love stepped forward and towards Rage, his face set in an angry expression, all traces of playfulness gone. But Rage held up his right hand without looking in Love's direction, and Love froze in his tracks, looking incredulous. But he backed off. 

Rage lifted his sword and took his own fighting stance. "I understand, Yue." and that was all he said. 

Sakura watched as they squared off and hoped to God they didn't kill each other. Sakura had never seen Yue fight like this, hell, she'd never even seen him with a sword in his hand before, but from what Kero told her, this was not going to be like it was when she fought Rage, even though she had used the Sword card to aid her. No, this was going to be much worse. 

Kero came over and floated by her head, watching the scene with intense eyes and a smile on his face. "Now we'll see. Now, Rage just might permanently done plaguing the world." 

Sakura looked at him in horror, but he didn't see her, he was so focused on what was about to take place. She looked back at the two, one an angel from heaven, and the other possibly from hell. No matter what Rage had done, to her or anybody else, she wasn't going to let him be hurt this day. And besides, it might not be Yue that is victorious, Rage might cut him to pieces. Sakura couldn't that that happen either. No matter what.....she was going to **_stop_** this. 

To be continued...   
___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

;P Another cliffhanger, I must be addicted to them or something. Anyways, in the next chapter, we get to see some things I've been meaning to wrap up. I can't tell you what they are...because that would ruin it and you'd know how things between Rage and Yue would turn out. I would have put the next stuff in this chapter, but, if I had, it would have been a really, really, long chapter, and I didn't have time for that. So, until then! 


	16. Conflicting EmotionsCh15

Cardcaptors15 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: I must warn you, I am so VERY bad with sword fights. I LOVE swords and any kind of blades but I have to admit that I know nothing about fighting strategies. So, if I happen to make a blunder, or if this really sucks, ignore it, 'kay? ^.^   
Oh, and my sincerest apologies to Starlight Princess who seemed to be very distraught over the fact that Rage and Sakura didn't get together. ^_^a Hope you didn't have a heart attack or something. And I would like to say sorry to the rest of the RagexSakura fans. And sorry to Kyla, who wanted Li all to herself. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: Conflicting Emotions-Ch.15**

A sword slashed through the air and the battle had begun. 

Sakura stood in indecision. What was she going to do? She couldn't just run in there and stop them that way. That would result in her own death, and then, after she was gone, what was to stop them from continuing their battle? Yue would fight to avenge the death of his Mistress and Rage,.....well.....Rage would fight for whatever reason he would be sure to come up with. Sakura had to admit, she didn't know him that well. 

Yue's sword came flashing down towards Rage's head. Rage dodged quickly to avoid it and brought his own blade up to counter the thrust. Yue tried a different approach, he used quick cuts and slashes, trying to fool Rage's eye. Sakura had to admit, with Yue's wing span, he was more graceful and on balance than she would have expected. But Rage wasn't fooled by any of it. He kept parrying and dodging and Yue couldn't get through. However, as Sakura watched the two fight, something suddenly became glaringly obvious. She glanced over at Li and saw the confusion and puzzlement in his eyes and knew that he must have seen it as well. 

Rage wasn't fighting back. 

Sure, he was in there, his blade flashing in the sunlight, but he was fighting a completely defensive battle. No matter how many times Yue lunged for him or slashed at him, he never took the opportunity to counter. He just blocked. But why? Why wasn't he fighting back? It was almost....almost like....Sakura narrowed her eyes and tried to grasp the thought that was floating around in her head. Then her eyes widened. It was almost like Rage was afraid to hit him. Like he was going out of his way to make sure he didn't injure Yue. Sakura didn't know what to make of that, but she knew, that if Rage didn't start fighting back soon, then Yue would get a hit in. 

Love stood leaning against the willow tree, his lips pinched. He had realized from the first that Rage was declining to take the offensive. And he was, to put it lightly, pissed. If Rage was going to act so foolhardy from the beginning, he should never have agreed to fight this....angel....in the first place. What Rage was doing had a word, and it was a very simple word. Stupid. What he was doing was stupid. And what made Love even angrier was, he hadn't the faintest idea WHY Rage was doing what he was doing. If Love had had even the slightest hint-or if Rage had just told him!-then he might have been able to understand this. Love crossed his arms over his chest and his face assumed a blank expression, hiding the anger that he felt. _If Rage gets hurt, I'm going to kill him, _he thought. 

Sakura and company could do nothing but stare at the fight in progress. And then, it happened. Whether it was because Rage was tiring, or Yue found a chink in his armour, Yue's blade whistled through the air and imbedded itself in Rage's shoulder. You could see the bloody tip of Yue's blade where it peeked out of the back of Rage's shoulder. Sakura and Madison gasped as Rage stumbled back, his pupils dilating with his pain. But he didn't make a sound. Yue withdrew his sword and an angry red gash appeared where the sword had been, crimson immediately soaking the white silk shirt. His mouth tight, Rage lifted his sword in front of him, waiting for Yue's next move. 

Yue went for his left shoulder, attacking Rage with a single-minded determination, forcing Rage to protect his wounded side and keep it moving, causing him pain. The left side was his sword arm. 

Sakura couldn't believe how callous Yue was being. She watched as he continually slashed away at Rage and that shoulder, driving Rage back. She couldn't stop thinking how much pain Rage must be in by now, and she couldn't help but think that Rage was surely going to die. 

Yue took a mighty swing at Rage and Rage moved to intercept it. As steel glanced off steel, Rage's arm began to shake. 

"Stop." Sakura whispered. 

The blood flowed freely from Rage's wound now, his adrenalin getting his blood pumping. Little droplets began spotting the grass beneath the warrior's feet. If he lost too much blood..... 

"Stop." she whispered again, taking a step forward, but Sakura was still too quiet and neither combatant heard her. 

Again and again and again, same attack, same side. Rage seemed to be having trouble keeping his sword arm steady, but he still managed to clumsily block Yue's attempts to kill him. However, it didn't last long. With a last downward arc, Yue sent Rage's sword skittering across the ground to land ungracefully beside Love's foot. Rage stood unarmed, hands at his side, waiting for Yue to slay him. 

Yue drew his sword back. Looking up into Rage's dull, blue eyes he whispered, "I'm sorry," and thrust his sword forward. 

"**_NO!!_**" Sakura finally found the voice that had been eluding her moments before. "YUE!! I order you! As Mistress of the Clow! to STOP!!" 

Yue's arm froze, the tip of his blade a centimetre from Rage's abdomen. 

Sakura walked towards them, worried, angry, and ashamed of herself at the same time. She was angry that they were fighting at all, and worried about Rage. She was ashamed because of what she had just done to Yue. When they had fought in the Final Judgement so long ago, Sakura had claimed that she didn't want to be Yue's Master, but rather, his friend. What had her order to him just proved? It proved that she had gone back on what she had said, and that, at this moment, she was not his friend, but indeed his Master. Yue's wings quivered and Sakura knew he was thinking back to the Final Judgement just like she had. She hoped he would be able to forgive her. 

"Yue, put your sword away." an order. Yue did it without question. But instead of sheathing the glowing blade, it just disappeared into thin air. Sakura blinked. Then she shook herself, she'd wonder about that later. She stepped up to Rage and couldn't help but glance at the wound. Sakura's paled a bit, watching as slow streams still coursed from it. But the paleness of her skin was nothing in comparison to Rage's, whose skin was already white to begin with, and was even whiter with loss of blood. 

"Rage, are you all right?" Sakura asked. She knew it was a dumb question, especially since he'd just been stabbed with nearly a metre long sword. 

"Oh, I'm just fine." he said reasonably, not a trace of pain evident anywhere in his voice. Sakura just stared at him. 

Returning her attention to the wound, Sakura said quietly, "I don't know how to take care of a cut that big, and it doesn't look like the blood is stopping. It'll probably need stitches, but I don't know how to stitch." she looked suspiciously close to tears. 

"I can help." 

Sakura turned around and saw Love, his face still that blank mask. It was a bit unnerving, seeing his face like that after having that devil-may-care smile on his face present ever since she'd met him. 

Seeing Sakura staring at him, he smiled as gently as he could, if you could call water scraping across rocks gentle. "I have the gift of healing." he said, as if that should explain everything. 

It didn't of course, but it sounded to Sakura like Love knew how to help Rage, so she stepped aside and moved back, wondering how Love was going to stop the sickening amount of blood from continuing to seep into the grass. 

Love stepped up to Rage and placed his hand on Rage's shoulder. "Lie down." he said in a no nonsense tone. 

Rage glanced up into Love's eyes, his own still dilated, "I'm fine the way I am." he said calmly. 

Love's hand tightened minimally. "I said....lie down." he growled. He squeezed Rage's injured shoulder with enough force to bruise it. 

Rage gasped. He felt his legs come out from beneath him and then he collapsed. Love quickly put his hand behind Rage's head to gentle the fall a bit. Rage stared up at Love, eyes wide, astonished at Love's behaviour. 

Love crouched down and tore open Rage's white silk shirt, exposing his pale chest and the red gash on his shoulder. He glanced up into Rage's eyes and said quietly, "I don't know if I can do this. You were impaled with a soul sword[1], I don't know if my powers will work." 

Rage stared into Love's eyes for a moment, then nodded, understanding. He closed his eyes and waited. 

Sakura, who had inched closer, heard the exchange between the two and wondered what it had meant. She figured, though, that the gist of it was, that Love might not be able to help. Whatever the reason behind that was, and whatever a soul sword was, she sincerely hoped Love would be able to save Rage. 

"Relax." Love whispered. He placed his hands over the wound, left hand first then right, and applied gentle pressure. Rage's lips thinned but he remained silent. Love closed his own eyes and began breathing deeply. 

Everyone stood silently and watched, not exactly sure what it was Love was doing, but knowing that it was intense. Sakura had her hands clutched in front of her, watching the silent melodrama play itself out in front of her. She glanced at Madison, who looked a little sick to her stomach, 

"Do you...do you think, that Love can, can save him?" she asked quietly. 

Madison looked at her friend sadly, knowing that Sakura needed her right now. But, damn, why did she always have to be the one to offer support? The truth was, she didn't know any more than Sakura did, probably less, so how did her friend expect her to answer? On this line of thought, the only answer she could give was, "I don't know." 

They both glanced back to the two men. 

Suddenly, some unseen force seemed to go through Love and enter Rage. They both tensed, and Love's brow creased in concentration. A soft, light pink glow began to surround and envelope Love's fingers, and then his hands. The light slowly changed from light pink to a more yellowish colour, like the light from an angel's halo. Love's breath came more quickly and his brow drew together even more. Cold sweat droplets appeared on Rage's forehead and dotted his arms and chest. The light continued to change, this time from light yellow to a white, and the light seemed to take on a palpable, almost solid form now. They were both breathing heavily. Rage's dove white hair clung to his face and his eyes were squeezed shut as tightly as they could be. 

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The tension abruptly went out of them and Rage went limp. Love lifted his hand away from the wound........and only pale flesh greeted the stunned eyes of the cardcaptors and group. Sakura's eyes were locked on the place where the wound used to be. Even though she was seeing it for herself, she still couldn't believe it. There wasn't even a scar. 

Love opened his eyes. They were distant and his pupils were almost non-existent, only hazel showing. He wavered slightly where he crouched and Sakura thought he just might collapse on top of Rage. He quickly shook himself though, and his eyes returned to this world. Shaking himself, he glanced down at Rage and smiled faintly, noting the absence of the wound. 

Sakura rushed over and hovered anxiously behind Love and beside Rage. She glanced from Rage to Love, and then back again. Licking her dry lips, she asked, "Is he unconscious?" 

Love opened his mouth to reply but was beaten to the punch. "I am not unconscious." Rage said, his voice only slightly off. "Just abominably tired." 

An uncomfortable silence settled on the group. Rage remained on the ground, eyes closed, apparently oblivious to all and everything around him. Love remained crouched, his head bowed and his hair falling about his face; it was impossible to determine his expression. Madison and Kero shifted their feet uneasily, one on the Earth the other in the air. Yue had remained silent and still since Sakura's order, his arms resting at his sides, his face in his usual blank expression. Li stood glaring between the two Clow cards, but his eyes kept shifting back and forth, not sure exactly what to make of this situation. Sakura was still situated near the two men, chewing on her lip. The silence was making her nervous. Just when she thought she was going to go mad, Rage opened his eyes, 

His gaze immediately went to Yue, and he asked, "Are you going to kill me now? Or are we going to be able to leave without further bloodshed?" 

Yue didn't answer. 

Sakura took the opportunity to speak up. "Of course you can leave," she said reassuringly. She observed his prone form. "Umm....do you need some help?" she asked hesitantly. 

Rage shook his head. Picking up the remains of his tattered shirt, he began to stand up stiffly. Looking back at Love, who was still crouched down, he frowned. Leaning over slightly, he grasped Love around the arm to help him up. Immediately, Love shook off Rage's grasp, angrily, if Rage read him right, and refused to look at him. 

Refraining from saying anything, Rage looked back at Sakura, "If you would still like those lessons, then meet me back here. No matter what time of day or night, I will be here." 

Rage closed his eyes and he suddenly dissolved into a white mist. Love soon followed, shimmering into the shadows with a pink afterglow. 

Sakura stood there, silent. There was a numbness permeating her thoughts, and all she could see in her mind was that angry sword wound in Rage's shoulder. Her head felt a bit fuzzy, and she wondered, detached, if that wasn't a good thing. She'd seen cuts and such before, hell, she'd had enough of them herself, but she didn't think she'd ever quite seen anything as bad as Rage's shoulder. She wasn't particularly queasy when it came to blood either, far less than what she would have been five years ago, but for some reason, seeing a **_Clow card_** bleeding.....she just hadn't been prepared for it. 

Suddenly, everything that had happened in the last, what? half hour? couldn't have been more than that, came skidding back into her fragile world with a hardy BOOM! The argument she'd had with Li before she'd come here, her anxiety and fear when she faced off with Rage, the pain she'd felt at Wood's brutal treatment, and the anguish she'd felt when Earth had exploded around her. Sakura felt tears threatening,.....could she even call Earth back? Was her beautiful element card gone for good?........the wounds on her arms, although they seemed inconsequential compared to her emotional anguish. The certainty of her death when Rage had been poised above her, ready to strike her dead with a thrust of that terrifying, dangerous blade. And then the short lived relief when he hadn't. The hope when he claimed he could teach her magic. And lastly, the sickening dread when Rage and Yue had fought one another, certain that one would surely die. And the shame, oh, the shame of her betrayel of Yue's trust. 

Sakura doubled over, clutching at her stomach. The emotional upheaval, the soul shattering anguish. Too many emotions had run rampant through her head recently, and Sakura felt as if her head would explode with them. 

She felt a warm hand settle on her shoulder and a worried voice by her ear. "Sakura? Sakura! What's wrong?" 

Ah,....good old Syaoran. She really should answer him.....she hated it when he was worried. 

"Lay her down," a cultured voice ordered. 

Yue. Sakura tried to open her mouth, tell him she was sorry, but her mouth didn't seem to be working properly. Sakura felt like giggling, fancy that. 

A face suddenly appeared in her line of view and Sakura squinted, trying to make out who was leaning over her and blocking her view of the wonderfully blue sky. 

"Sakura? Sakura, can you hear me?" Madison asked urgently. Sakura's eyes crossed as she waved some fingers in front of her face. "Sakura, how many fingers am I holding up?" 

"Come on kiddo, don't quit on us now." Kero said, standing beside her ear and stroking her hair. "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings, right?" 

Sakura tried to nod, to reassure him, but the edge of her vision began fading to black, and then she couldn't see or hear anything anymore.   
~ 

Love and Rage 're-materialized' in some other area of the forest, well away from the former battlefield. Rage immediately set his shirt down on the lush, green grass, and his sword, sword belt, and sheath followed suit. He sighed wearily and stretched. Turning back to Love, he said, "I don't expect they'll......" 

Rage didn't even know what hit him. One moment, he was saying something, the next, he was down on the ground, one hand over his aching abdomen, gulping in huge gusts of air through his tortured lungs. Once he had his breath back, he gazed up at Love's furious face and only had a moment to realize, in astonishment, that Love had punched him, hard. 

Love's hands were still balled into fists and in the next instant he was blasting into Rage, "You bloody fool!! What the hell is the matter with you!?!" he railed. "Did you PLAN to die out there? Was it a suicide attempt? Because I'd sure as hell like to know!" Love began pacing back and forth in front of the fallen Ice Prince, but he never took his burning hot glare away from the stunned gaze of Rage. "Is there something I should know about that angel? I've never seen him before, but obviously YOU have. Why wouldn't you fight back, Rage? Why didn't you just kill him?" Love came down on top of him, placing his strong arms on either side of Rage's head, pinning him there. He brought his face to within inches of Rage's, and said quietly, "Let me tell you now, whatever your reason is, it had better be a damn good one, because if it isn't...." Love shook his head, "If you think I'm angry now, you just wait." he lowered his voice even more and he hissed out, "Don't EVER do something like that again. If you're so foolhardy to put your life on the line like that, then I might as well just kill you now, because if you do do that again, I WILL kill you." 

Levering himself off of Rage, Love turned his back and went back to pacing, trying to rid the rest of his anger without actually killing anything, preferably Rage. Rage propped himself up on his elbows slowly, eying Love with astonishment and confusion. Observing Love's tense shoulders Rage frowned, 

"I don't understand," he said slowly, "Why are you angry? It was my decision, and whatever my reasons, I assure you, they are justified." 

Love raked a hand through his tousled hair and gave out a short burst of laughter that sounded more like he was choking, "Of course you don't understand. You're sculpted from ice and there is no part of you that isn't as cold and unyielding as that very same ice. I suppose it's too much to expect that you might actually understand why I...." Love cut himself off shaking his head slightly. He glanced over his shoulder at Rage's still puzzled expression. His anger diminishing somewhat, a small smile appeared on his face and he shook his head ruefully. "Nevermind. Just forget it. It doesn't matter." 

Rage, the fool that he was, believed him. 

Shrugging his shoulders slightly, Rage stood up and walked over to a tree. Lowering himself down again, he rested his back against it and stared up into the sky thoughtfully. Finally, glancing back down at Love, who didn't seem to have moved, he asked, "What was it you did?" 

Love sighed, giving up the rest of his anger as it was pointless anyways. He plopped down where he was and rested his hands on his knees, giving Rage his full attention. "I told you, I didn't know if my healing gift would work. Normally, I'm not sure doubtful of my own abilities," he said grinning cheekily, "But that angel DID use a soul sword, so I wasn't sure." Love shrugged. "I've only ever heard of the soul swords. When we were first made and Clow Reed was teaching us sorcery, he told us the myth about the incredible power of the soul swords. I remember him saying how only the most pure and dedicated could produce that gleaming blade, reaching down to the depths of his soul and extracting the deadly blade, full of one's own life force," Love shook his head slightly, getting his head up and out of the clouds. He grinned sheepishly. "I guess it wasn't a myth." Looking down then back up again, Love continued, "I knew that it would take a strong amount of energy to counter the damage done by the angel's soul force, so I…..I pulled extra energy from myself, hoping that it would be enough." 

Rage eyed Love with a degree of curiosity and suspicion. "Where did you get the extra force needed?" he questioned. 

Love rolled his shoulders. After a brief hesitation where Love had his face hidden from Rage's penetrating gaze, he said quietly, "I countered the angel's soul energy with my own." 

Rage stared at him. "What, exactly, do you mean?" 

Love glared at him defiantly, as if he expected to get scolded for something he had been forbidden to do. "I pulled the needed energy from my own soul, I used the….feelings, there, to help me heal your shoulder." 

Rage's eyes widened. "You soul searched?!" he asked incredulously. [2] 

Love shook his head. "Nothing quite like that. I didn't delve into myself to find knowledge that I needed. I, well, I'm not quite sure what I did." He admitted. He looked slightly embarrassed. "I…uh…think it was something similar to what the angel did in order to produce the sword. All I really know, is that I took a part of myself, and used it to heal you." he finished. There was so much more he could say, and he could have explained further, but, he couldn't bring himself to tell Rage exactly **_what_** part of his soul [3] he had used to heal him. 

Rage continued to eye him skeptically. "You mean, you don't **_know_** what you did?" 

Love shrugged, but he was becoming angry again, thinking that Rage was going to reprimand him. "Look, I didn't use a spell, if that's what you mean. I had meant to, I had meant to use my healing spells, but, when I saw how much damage had been done, felt the power still emanating from the wound, I just,.....reached out." he shrugged helplessly. "And what I was looking for was there." 

They continued to stare at each other, then Rage frowned, "What you did was dangerous," he began, "Back when,....when..... Clow Reed," Rage gritted the name out, "Was teaching us the basics, he specifically said not to mess around with spells, because if you didn't know what you were doing, you could end up blowing something up. He didn't go into too much detail about Soul Magic, probably on account of the fact that he didn't think we HAD souls," Rage said bitterly, "but from what he did say, Soul Magic is the most tricky and difficult Magic out there. Only the most experienced sorcerers knew how to manage it, and even then they declined to use it because it was so dangerous." Rage looked Love in the eye with a firm stare, "Don't do anything like that again." he said simply. 

Love just sat there, fighting the urge to let his jaw drop. Who did Rage think he was? Love fought his outrage, he knew it would get him nowhere. _Huh, _he thought, with much of his good humour returning, _I think all that time he spent fighting the war between the sorcerers and us gave him an attitude. _Love shook his head. So, he said the only thing he could, "Of course Rage, I wasn't thinking." and he hadn't been, but, in his opinion, thinking wasn't always a good thing. Besides, if he had to go and do that again, he would. 

Rage nodded, satisfied. Running his hand through his gritty, sweat soaked hair, he grimaced. "Come on, let's find a pond, there must be one somewhere in this wood. I hesitate to think what I might look like." 

Love grinned. "You could always go back to the little brook by the willow tree." he said slyly. 

Rage gave him his ice glare, "I think not." was all he said. He pushed himself up and began walking. 

Love followed him still grinning, "You know, you could always create your own pond." he suggested. 

Rage glanced back at him, "But where would the fun be in that?" he asked sarcastically. 

Love gasped. "FUN?!? I didn't know that was in your vocabulary!" 

Rage ignored him. "Besides, I don't want to draw anymore attention to us by releasing anymore energy. God knows that little display back there probably alerted any of us that was in a fifty mile radius." Rage sighed. The he muttered, "Besides, I'm tired." his pride would never allow him to say that any louder. 

Wisely, Love bypassed that statement, but only because he had bigger game in mind, "So, Rage," he said slowly. Rage glanced back at him, his eyes narrowed, wondering what Love was thinking now, and knowing that it couldn't be good, "I couldn't help but notice that everyone came out of this relatively unscathed, well, almost everyone," he grinned. 

Rage's eyes narrowed. "Do. Not. Say. It." he bit out. 

Love continued to grin until it nearly split his face. As soon as Rage turned back around, Love said, "I told you you wouldn't be able to kill her."   
~ 

Sakura woke up feeling very groggy. There was something hard poking into her back and she frowned, wondering why her mattress was so lumpy. Sakura opened her eyes and blinked at the green canopy above her head. Staring at it for a couple seconds, Sakura suddenly remembered where she was and why. 

Sakura sat up and groaned. Immediately, she was assaulted by three very worried voices. 

"Sakura! You're awake! Are you okay?" 

"He~y!! She's aw~ake!! I KNEW you'd pull through, kiddo!" 

"Sakura! Do you feel all right? Can you get up?" 

Sakura blinked some more as three faces appeared in her line of vision. Madison, Kero, Li,..... 

Sakura bolted upright, "Where's Yue?!" she asked, panicky. 

"I am right here, Mistress." 

Sakura turned her head and saw him, Yue, leaning against the willow tree, his wings hanging stiffly at either side of his lean frame. Sakura quickly scrambled up, or tried to. She found that she couldn't go anywhere because Li had a firm hold of her arm. She looked up at him and frowned, confused, 

"Li, let go." she said, tugging ineffectually on her arm. 

Li shook his head. "I don't know why you fainted Sakura, but let's not make a habit of it." 

Giving up, Sakura sighed, exasperated. "I'm fine now," Li didn't let go. Sakura huffed. "Fine!" she turned back to Yue. "Are you okay, Yue?" she asked concerned, referring to any emotional wounds rather than any physical ones. 

Yue looked at her, puzzled. "I am fine, Mistress, but I am not the one you should be worrying about. You must be exhausted." 

Sakura looked at him, her eyes going all misty. "Yue," she whispered. She gulped back a little cry and bowed her head. "Please, Yue, I don't want to be your Mistress. I told you, I want to be your friend." she looked back up at him, her eyes shimmering, "I know I didn't act that way today, but, you have to understand! I didn't want anyone to die!" in a whisper, she said, "Please, Yue,....I want you to know I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" 

Yue stood stock still for a moment, torn between the betrayel, and the crystalline tears he could see threatening in her eyes. Obviously, she was sorry for what she had done, and even though he had to admit that her order had hurt, it had been for a noble cause. Besides, it would have been a shame to kill Rage, 

Yue nodded his head slightly, "There is nothing to forgive. Do not worry." he had to refrain from calling her Mistress, not because he was still hurt, but because no matter how many times Clow Reed's descendant claimed to be only a friend, he was far too much in touch with his past still. Calling her anything but Mistress just felt too foreign to him, too wrong. Kero Beros had assured him that it would get easier, but Yue hadn't seen any evidence of that as yet. 

Yue was startled out of his musings when Sakura suddenly launched herself at him, somehow escaping Li Syaoran's hold, and wrapping her arms around him in a big bear hug. Looking up into his face from the vicinity of Yue's chest, Sakura beamed at him, 

"Really!? You forgive me? I really am sorry you know!! I felt so ashamed! But I didn't know how else to stop you from hurting him! I want you to know I'll never, ever do that again! I know you probably still don't COMPLETELY forgive me, but at least I know you're not mad at me. I'll try to do everything I can to make it up to you. I promise!!" 

Madison was suddenly behind her and looking up at Yue's cornered expression sheepishly. She pried Sakura's arms from around Yue and said ruefully, "Come on Sakura, we don't want Yue to fly away and never come back now do we?" 

Sakura frowned at her friend. With her ever present Sakura cluelessness, she asked, "Why would he want to do that?" 

Madison rolled her eyes. 

Li, ever the voice of reason, asked, "Why DID you faint, Sakura?" he asked because he was concerned, but for some reason unknown to him, it earned him a glare from Madison. 

Sobering, Sakura looked to Li. Completely calmed down now, she said, "I had too much going on in my head. There was too much to deal with and i was feeling so many things, that I guess, my mind just shut itself down." 

Patting Sakura's back reassuringly, Madison said, "We would have taken you to the hospital, but we were afraid to move you. Since we didn't know what was quite the matter with you, we thought it would be safer if we didn't move you." she explained. 

Sakura nodded. "That's all right. I'm fine, really. Aside from these cuts all over my arms, I'm really not hurt. Besides, I want to ask Yue some questions that have been bothering me for the past couple days, and some others that have been bothering me just recently." Sakura stopped suddenly though. She looked so forlorn, that Kero, Li, and Madison all asked her what was wrong. Glancing about her, Sakura said brokenly, "I think I've lost Earth." 

Kero and Li immediately understood. They glanced at each other uncertainly, not sure what to tell Sakura and unable to reassure her as they were uncertain if Earth could ever be put back together again. it only took a few moments for Madison to get what she meant, and then she was rubbing Sakura's back, sad for her friend. Yue, who hadn't been there when Sakura and Rage were fighting asked, "What happened to Earth?" 

Sakura regarded him sadly. "Rage literally shattered Earth, broke it to pieces." hope suddenly filling her eyes, she asked, "Do you think I'll be able to get him back?" 

Yue gazed at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes, "I truly do not know, Mistress," he said, unaware that he had reverted back to the formal address, "The only way to find out would be to call the Earth card back to you." 

Sakura's face crumpled a bit, but she nodded, she really hadn't expected him to tell her anything else. Kero handed her her Clow key, which had reverted back to it's smaller form after Sakura blacked out, and gave her an encouraging grin. 

Closing her eyes, she wasted no time in evoking the chant that would transform the key into the wand. "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic! Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared in her hand. Taking a deep breath, and silently praying to God or the ghost of Clow Reed-Sakura didn't know-she called the Earth card to her, "Earth card! Return to your power, confined! Earth!" 

Nothing happened. 

Sakura lowered the Clow wand, her lip quivering. Li came up beside her and whispered gently, "Try again." 

Looking up at him sniffling, Sakura nodded. Raising the Clow wand again, Sakura closed her eyes, concentrating. Putting as much heart into the chant as she could, thinking about how much she cared about the Clow cards, HER cards, Sakura called Earth again, "Earth card! Return to your power, confined! Earth!" 

Again, nothing happened. 

Feeling as if she was going to burst into sobs, Sakura gripped her Clow wand to her, clutching it protectively against her breast. 

Before any of the others could move to comfort her, there was a slight rumble in the earth. Sakura glanced down at her feet and frowned. The rumble came again and Sakura shushed everybody, a desperate hope fluttering throughout her body. Standing completely still, she tried to open her senses and feel the rhythmic moving of the earth. It happened again and Sakura suddenly felt like laughing. "Come on, I'm right here," she whispered. 

The small rumbling steadily increased until the very earth was shaking. Small brown chips began vibrating on the surface, and Sakura watched, holding her breath. Suddenly, those small brown chips exploded up from the earth, coming together from every direction imaginable. Sakura watched in awe as those pieces began coalescing, twirling above the groups' heads. They began drawing together faster and faster and faster, the pattern on the Clow book appearing beneath them. Then, with a flash of light! and the most amazing display she'd ever seen from a Clow card yet, the pieces came together and the pattern disappeared. 

With a trembling hand, raised her fingertips, and Earth came gliding towards her. As soon as the card touched her fingers, Sakura could have sworn she felt joy coming from the card, but, of course, that was impossible. Turning back to the group, she raised the card as if showing off the greatest of things, "It came back." she whispered. 

Caught up in the moment herself and smiling a watery smile, Madison glomped her friend, throwing her arms around Sakura's shoulders. They both began laughing through their tears. Kero began cheering enthusiastically and Yue smiled, his eyes soft. Li let a small smile grace his lips, feeling a warm fuzzy feeling at the display of happiness coming off of Sakura. 

After the joy had simmered down a bit, and the girls stopped crying, Sakura managed to stop fawning over the Earth card and put it away. Wiping the last bit of tears from her eyes, she smiled apologetically, "Right, now, down to those questions." 

Everyone settled themselves down in a circle, Sakura, Madison, Yue and then Li. Yue had a bit of trouble, he didn't quite know what to do with his wings. Finally, after much frustration and helpful suggestions, Yue spread his wings out behind him, the tips fluttering far out to the side of him on account of his large wingspan. Trying not to laugh at Yue's former predicament, Kero settled himself in Sakura's lap. 

"What is it you wish to know?" Yue asked calmly. 

"Well, first, why wouldn't Rage attack you? What was so important that he would risk his own life before yours?" Sakura leaned forward. "What's so important about his past?" 

Yue had a slightly pained expression on his face. "If only it was any question but that, Mistress." Yue drew himself up, determined to stay true to his beliefs, but bracing himself to deal with his Mistress's disapproval. "I cannot tell you about Rage, and about what took place centuries before. I am sorry, but, if you want to know about Rage, you must ask him yourself." 

Sakura smiled reassuringly at Yue. "Don't worry about it, I won't ask you to betray something you believe in." she had to admit though, she was disappointed. She thought she was finally going to learn just what was behind that icy exterior of Rage's. Well, she guessed she'd just have to wait. And she might have to wait a while, because, somehow, she didn't think Rage would tell her about himself if she just went up to him and asked. 

Moving on, Sakura asked, "When I first saw you after you came back, when we had the discussion about the Clow cards, you kept referring to them as the Forgotten. Why?" 

"I do not call them Clow cards, because, well, they are not." at the confused looks he was receiving, Yue explained, "Clow Reed may have created them, but as soon as he gave them a personality and feelings, he gave them a sense of self, and they ceased to belong to anyone but themselves. After Clow Reed had sealed them in his alcove, he did everything to ensure that everyone forgot about the cards, except for the select few, of course." he said, meaning Kero and himself. He shrugged. "The Forgotten is a much more appropriate name for them, don't you think?" 

Sakura thought about it. "I suppose." she placed her hand underneath her chin. "After meeting and talking with Love, and especially Rage, I couldn't even THINK about them BELONGING to someone, being ordered around." sighing, she stood up. Everyone followed her lead and gave her questioning glances. "I think I should go put some peroxide on my cuts now." she explained." she turned around but then turned back as something apparently occurred to her. "Oh, and I'm going to need someone to meet me here tomorrow morning." 

Everyone glanced at each other. Finally, Kero asked, "Why?" 

Sakura gave them her best game but unsure smile. "Tomorrow, I'm going to have my first lesson in sorcery!" 

To be continued....   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

[1] Ever seen Devil Hunter Yohko?(I don't know what that translates to in Japanese) Well, if you have, then you know what a soul sword is. If you haven't seen it, well, think about it......**_soul sword_**.....pretty self explanatory. 

[2] Soul searching is something that my unique imagination came up with all by itself. ^___^ I don't know if there really is such a thing as soul searching, but if there is, MY soul searching has nothing to do with it. Anyways, soul searching is something only the most qualified and experienced sorcerers did. Soul searching is where you delve deep into yourself, into your soul. If you are able to reach that level, then you are able to search your soul for knowledge(that's what Rage thought Love had done. Found the knowledge needed to heal him in his soul) and possibly be able to see things that will happen. (Kind of like in Dune with the Bene Gesserits and the Spice ~.^) Ever read the Dune series? Well, if you haven't, you should. It's very good! 

[3] Love used a part of his soul to heal Rage, Soul Magic. It's the most difficult and hardest to reach Magic there is. I'm not going to tell you what he put into his soul that let him counter Yue's damage, because that would give something very important away, and I'm not ready to talk about that just yet ~_^ 

Okay, that was chapter fifteen. Hope the sword fight wasn't too bad. Hope you liked it! Don't know when the next chapter will be out, but we get to see Rage try and teach Sakura Magic! ~_^ It'll be something to see, trust me. Until then!! 


	17. Strange VisionsCh16

Cardcaptors16 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Okay, I got one reviewer that was not happy with Li. Apparently...I make him seem like a weakling, or something like that. I'm sorry if he comes off that way...but...Li is NOT the main character of this story. Never will be. So, I haven't been focusing on him as much as maybe I should. I'm sorry if this doesn't please you *shrug* but I don't really care. I'll change Li if I change Li...that's all I can say. Hope that wasn't rude... 

And thank-you to everyone who has been reviewing and has stuck with me. ^______^ You all get a super big grin!! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me! 

**Cardcaptors: Strange Visions-Ch.16**

After doing some pretty nifty James Bond sneakiness stuff(wow...what a sentence! ^_^a) Sakura managed to sneak back into her house yesterday without any problems. However, she was beginning to think the sneaking **_in_** part had been the EASY part... 

"Sakura? Where are you going so early in the morning?" 

Sakura mentally sighed, half exasperated, half nervous, as she turned to face her brother. (Oi!...haven't seen him in a few thousand chapters!) 

Tory(God how I want to write Touya!) stood with his arms crossed, a seriously I-am-your-brother-and-I-will-know-what -you-are-doing-and-where-you-are-going look on his face. 

Sakura scratched the back of her head nervously, "Ummm......I was going to the park. I have to meet Li, I mean Madison! there this morning!" she smiled her best smile at him. 

Tory stood ready for the ceiling to come crashing down on his head. "Uh-huh." he said in a monotone. He tilted his head to the side and looked at Sakura in the way he knew made her nervous. "You seem to be going out a lot lately." 

"Yeah, well," Sakura laughed nervously. "Can't I go out and be with my friends? Geez, Tory! you're not my keeper!" 

Tory continued to stare at her. "I may not be your keeper, but I couldn't help but notice that you avoided coming down to breakfast this morning...waiting until AFTER Dad left." 

Sakura gave him what she hoped was a blank, innocent, look, "Why, Tory, whatever do you mean?" his eyes narrowed. Sakura hastily continued in a much more Sakura~ish fashion, "I didn't WAIT for Dad to leave, oh dolt of mine," Tory gave her a smirk and Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, "I just slept in. Sheesh! You'd figure I'd be able to get my needed twenty hours of sleep per day! But NO~OOO!!" 

"And what are you doing carrying that raggedy stuffed animal around with you....again?" 

Sakura nearly missed the question it was such a change in topic. However, she was still fast enough to grab Kero from her sweater pocket and clamp a hand over his mouth before he could blast the ignorant Tory for his rude comment. Making the hold she had on the Guardian Beast look as if she was only showing him off, she said, "Like you said Tory, I've got issues." she grinned cheekily at him. "Well, if the interrogation's over, I'm gonna go now." she turned to leave. 

"Just one more thing," Tory asked. 

Sakura turned back around. 

"Why are you wearing a damnably long sleeved **_sweater_** in summer?" 

Sakura mentally winced. _So you wouldn't have a break down and freak out once you saw my arms._ she thought wryly. "I was cold this morning." 

"I see." he said in that voice that meant he didn't. 

Grinning nervously, Sakura backed out the front door. "See you later Tory!" 

Unfortunately, Tory-being as suspicious and over protective as usual-didn't believe her. Waiting a good five seconds, he threw on a light jacket and re-opened the front door. Trying to act inconspicuous, Tory discretely followed his younger sister to the park.   
~ 

Sprinting past everyone on the park path, Sakura raced to the King Penguin slide. Kero, having been previously in Sakura's pocket, now flew by her ear. "Sakura, tell me again why you think you need to be faster than a speeding bullet?" Kero asked dryly. 

Huffing and puffing, Sakura replied, "Because, I said I would meet Li at eight o'clock. Since I woke up late, and was then deterred by Tory, I am what they refer to as 'fashionably late.' I don't want him to think I'm not coming." 

"That's probably exactly what he would like to think." Kero muttered, still uneasy about this whole business. 

Coming up on the penguin slide, Sakura stopped near a bench, doubled over slightly, and put her hands on her knees, concentrating on breathing. "Sorry...I'm late...slept in..." she huffed, not looking up. 

"We kinda figured that Sakura." an amused voice said. 

Sakura looked up in surprise. "Madison!? What are you doing here?" something off to the side caught her eye. "Yue!?!" Li was there, just like he said he would be, however, it appears he decided to bring reinforcements. "Wha'...?" all Sakura could do was stare dumbly at the group. No one had bothered to inform her of this! 

Madison grinned. Scratching her head, she said, "Weeellll.....I know Li said he was going to be here, but, I decided to come along too, just in case anything went wrong." seeing the glare Li was aiming her way, Madison quickly held up her hands. "Not that anything WOULD happen with you here, that is!!" lowering her hands and placing one beside her mouth so that it was hidden from Li in a blatant move that suggested he wasn't supposed to hear, and then speaking loud enough so that he COULD hear, Madison winked at Sakura, "I expect Yue's here for the same reason." she whispered loudly. 

"I suppose there's no talking you out of this?" Li stated. Not a question. 

Sakura shook her head. "I really want to learn Li." she said, looking into his eyes. "You don't understand. You've always had your magic, you were trained how to use it, at a very young age. But I've never been able to use Magic, REAL Magic! I want to know Li, I want to know what it feels like." she finished. 

Li shook his head slightly. Sighing and looking up into the sky-whether it was to ask God for patience or someone else he didn't know-Li said grudgingly, "I suppose I can understand that, Sakura." looking at her with a suddenly intense stare, he finished, "But I still don't like the fact that you could be in danger. You can't trust those Cl...the Forgotten." 

Sakura smiled slightly, touched that he was worried about her welfare. "Don't worry Li, everything will be fine! I have you, and Kero, and Yue, and..." Sakura stopped mid-sentence, furrowing her brow. Then, grinning, she said, "And Madison! Who will photograph Rage and Love to death if they try anything!" 

Madison stuck her tongue out. 

Sakura had to cover up her laughter so that Madison didn't smack her. So, as a second option, she removed her sweatshirt-it really was too warm for long sleeves. Underneath, she had on a white spaghetti strap shirt. Sakura looked up in time to see Madison wince and Li narrow his eyes. Looking back down she observed the scabs scattered all over her arms. The larger, deeper cuts she had wrapped up in bandage. Shrugging and hiding her own feeling about her poor arms, Sakura grinned, "What? You didn't expect me to wear something like that did you? God! I'd boil!!" 

Madison smiled slightly, willing to pretend that was all she had been interested in. Li just continued to stare at her as if to say, "Those are your fault! You never should have even considered fighting Rage at all!" 

As the silence continued, Yue abruptly steeped forward and then past the trio, his wings rustling behind him. Looking over his shoulder he asked, "If you intend to do this Mistress, I suggest we get going. Rage will have already sensed you and Li Syaoran." 

Shrugging, Sakura followed after Yue. Madison quickly followed her, chattering a mile a minute in order to forget about certain nasty thoughts that were circling in her head. Li followed more slowly, his hands in his pockets, thinking. Kero abandoned his post near Sakura and rushed on ahead to float beside Yue. 

Sakura kept her head turned towards Madison, making sure that she had half an ear on the conversation, but her eyes followed Kero and Yue. She knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but, as soon as Kero began talking quietly with Yue, Sakura strained to listen. 

"I can't believe you're going along with this! Encouraging her!!" Kero whispered furiously. 

Yue continued to keep his eyes on the trail. "And what would you have me do Kero Beros? She is my Mistress and I her guardian. I cannot order her not to go. Further, I am not encouraging her." 

"Oh? And what would you call going along with this without so much as a complaint?" 

Yue turned his head slightly this time to regard Kero, "If you are so upset about this, why do you not say something yourself?" 

Kero threw his hands up in the air. "As if I haven't tried!" calming down a bit, Kero continued, "I don't like this. The Rage card has proved quite nicely that he can hurt Sakura anytime he wants. I don't know why he hasn't killed her yet. Not that I'm complaining you understand! And another thing...I don't like the fact that Sakura seems to have a soft spot for him. She's convinced that there's some good in him for some reason known only to herself. I think Rage might have figured this out. What if he uses this against her? Uses her faith in him to gain her trust, and then betray her, the ultimate revenge!" 

Sakura's eyebrows raised in surprise. Was that a chuckle she heard escape Yue? She couldn't be sure because he was speaking again, 

"You think that, perhaps, he might get her to...fight with him?" 

Kero shrugged. "Something like that." 

Yue shook his head. "He would never so that." he said it with such conviction that Sakura wondered, again, exactly how much Yue knew about Rage. 

"Why?" Kero asked. Sakura imagined he was just as curious to hear Yue and Rage's story as she was. 

Yue looked as if he was considering something. Then, shaking his head slightly, he said, "It is not his way. He would rather die before stabbing someone in the back. It is not honourable." 

"Even if that someone was his sworn enemy's descendant?" Kero asked slyly. 

"Even then." Yue replied without hesitation. 

There was a short silence, then, "You just make sure you're on your guard, Guardian of the Moon. I can't do much in this form, but you certainly can." 

"I will protect her, Guardian Beast of the Seal, do not worry about that." 

Sakura pondered what they had said in silence. How could Kero think that she would betray them? No matter what Rage said, even if he did prove that his intentions were good, gained her trust, if he had asked her to fight against her friends,... Sakura's thought path trailed off. _Never, I would never do that._

Yue and Kero continued on in silence for the duration of the trek. Madison continued chattering on about Sakura knew not what. Sakura was anxious, and not a bit worried. She wanted to learn how to use sorcery, but, what if she couldn't? Kero, even Li had tried to teach her sorcery in the past, but neither had had any luck. Kero claimed it was because, even though Li knew some sorcery, he was not an actual sorcerer, not like there used to be. And Kero said his failure was due to the fact that he was not in his true form. If he could transform, he claimed that he would be able to show her exactly what she needed to know. He said a big part of sorcery often involved visual, as well as vocal, teachings. However, Sakura was convinced that the failure was on her part. 

Sakura wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. The heat wasn't so bad, but it was still rather warm, and Sakura hated to admit it, but she was sweating a bit. Sakura hated to sweat, it was messy and it made her feel sticky and dirty. However, she really didn't see any way around her little problem. Glancing back at Li, she noticed that he looked quite cool and unaffected by the heat. Come to think of it, for as long as she'd known Li, she'd never seen him sweat. Odd. 

Sakura must have been staring at him for longer than she had thought because Li suddenly looked at her and raised his eyebrow. Blushing slightly in embarrassment, Sakura said, "I was just wondering...doesn't the heat bother you?" 

Li shrugged. A small smile played about his mouth. "If you concentrate Sakura, the heat won't bother you." 

Sakura placed her hands on her hips, still walking. "Oh really? Well, no matter how much I concentrate, Li, I can assure you that no amount of that will make the heat seem any less." 

Li shrugged again, but he looked slightly uncomfortable this time. "I...I'm using Magic to aid me, Sakura." he said reluctantly. 

Sakura could have smacked herself in the forehead. Of course! She should have guessed! And she just had to push it. She realized that Li hadn't wanted to tell her he was using Magic because he knew how much she resented that she could not. And a familiar little pang in her gut made her realize that she was still resentful. Smiling brightly to dispel the feeling, Sakura decided she'd much rather be optimistic then pessimistic. So, she decided to find out how he did it as she was curious anyways, 

"How are you doing it? You said to concentrate, what else do you have to do?" 

Li gave Sakura a considering look for a moment, as if he couldn't believe she felt as cool as she looked the last time he had tried to teach her how to Magic running through his mind. It had been five years ago, before she had left for Canada. Li squelched the immediate hurt that sprang up inside of him. It had been their sixth time trying. After the unsuccessful attempt to teach Sakura how to reach inside of her to gather her energy to say the element chants correctly, Sakura had burst into tears, announced that she was never going to be able to to this, and then she had run off. 

Shaking his head and dispelling the image of Sakura's tear bright eyes, Li said, "Concentrating is the key, Sakura, but it really doesn't take any Magic to do it." Li paused, trying to think of how to explain this so that she might understand. "You don't need to access any Magic at all, really. It's more like, feeling around the edge of your Magic, probing the very beginning of it." Li raked a hand through his hair at Sakura's blank look. "When you reach for your Magic," he began again, "There is a blank space, a void, before you tap into your energy. When you reach that blank space between self and Magic, you stop. Then, when you're in the void, you concentrate, and physical awareness melts away somewhat. You'll still feel pain if it is great enough, but you won't feel the heat, or the cold. Also, most of your emotions will be blanked out as well." lowering his voice to a grumble, he finished, "You don't feel as strongly as you should." 

By this time, Madison was looking at Li askance, so was Sakura. Kero was looking over his shoulder with an impassive look upon his face. Yue had a sympathetic look in his eyes and an understanding air about him. 

After a few seconds of the uncomfortable silence, Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Grinning, she said lightly, "Well! That proves I don't have any Magic because I have no idea what you were talking about!" 

"We're here." 

Sakura turned back around and blinked. Glancing at Yue, she asked, surprised, "Already?" 

Yue smiled slightly, "It would appear so, Mistress." 

Sakura blinked and looked around her again. Okay, apparently, she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings at all. But, she couldn't fault what Yue had said, because, the trees around her definitely looked familiar, can trees look familiar? and Sakura knew they were right beside that clearing with the willow tree and little splashing brook she seemed to be so fond of visiting now. Sakura knew she'd been here too much if she could recognize the trees. 

Her smile appearing back on her face, Sakura said, "Well, what are we waiting for?" 

As she was about to step forward, Li placed a gentle hand on her arm. When she glanced at him in question, he shook his head slightly. Moving in front of her, he reached behind him and unclasped his sword sheath, ready. Sakura looked exasperated. 

"Really, Li. There's no need for that I'm sure." 

Li didn't spare her a glance. "I need to be sure Sakura. Just because you're sure doesn't mean there isn't reason to worry." Li entered the clearing. 

Sighing, Sakura followed right behind him. She jumped slightly as she felt something whispery soft rub across her back. Glancing behind her, she realized it had been Yue's robes, and that he wasn't a foot away from her. Throwing up her hands, she exclaimed. "Okay! If I wanted this much protection, I would have hired a bodyguard!" pausing as if she was considering something, Sakura then amended, "No, if I was going to get as much protection from bodyguards as I'm getting from you two, I'd have to hire a whole pack of bodyguards!" 

Turning back on her heel, she trudged towards the willow tree. Stopping and leaning against the trunk with Yue at her side, she glanced about her. Seeing only Li standing at attention and a whole lot of trees, Sakura frowned, 

"Where is he?" she questioned out loud. 

"Right here." 

Looking up, Sakura found herself looking into a pale face. She only knew one person who always looked that pale. 

Rage dropped down from his perfect hiding place among the thick branches of the tree and landed gracefully on his feet, like a cat. Smiling slightly at the surprised look on Sakura's face, he said, "Welcome to my humble abode." and then bowed dramatically, mockingly. 

Wiping the surprised look of of her face, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and said dryly, "You like making big entrances don't you?" 

Rage shrugged. Glancing about him quickly, he took in and then dismissed everyone else. Sakura noted, however, that his gaze stayed on Yue much longer then it had on everyone else, "I see you brought the whole gang." he remarked. 

Sakura shrugged, imitating him. "Yeah, well, I hadn't exactly planned on that. They all just sort of...followed me." 

Rage glanced at Kero and Li and smiled slightly, "Like well trained lap dogs." he commented calmly. 

Li scowled and took a step forward. Yue shook his head at him. 

Sakura favoured Rage with a disapproving frown. "If you two can't get along I'll leave now and hope that the next time we get together you'll both stop acting like school boys." 

Li looked slightly embarrassed by Sakura's comparison. Rage simply raised one eyebrow. 

Smiling slightly, Sakura said, "Speaking of lap dogs...where's Love?" 

Rage's slight smile disappeared completely and Sakura couldn't help but notice that her not-so-accidental jab had hit home, "Love, is nothing like that. He goes where he pleases of his own will." Rage gritted out. 

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "Is that so? Well, so does Li and Kero, Madison and Yue. You keep that in mind before you go and insult them again." 

Rage dipped his head slightly, conceding defeat. "Of course. That was rude of me. Forgive me." 

Sakura grinned. "I'm not the one you should ask forgiveness of." one look at the incredulous look on Rage's face almost sent Sakura into fits of giggles. "No...I'm sure that you...can...apologize...to them...when you feel ready to." she said around the urge to laugh. Calming down a bit, she ventured, "Sooo...where is Love? Is he here and is waiting to make his own grand entrance?" 

Rage eyed her for a few seconds before his version of a smile reappeared. "Love is...off on his own business at the moment." lowering his voice, he muttered, "However, he promised he'd be here before long. Said he wouldn't miss this for the world." then, even lower, "Cheeky bastard." 

Sakura wondered what sort of 'business' Love had to take care of, and then thought she might not want to know. Inevitably, her thoughts drifted back to yesterday, when Rage had taken Yue's sword through the shoulder. She glanced at Rage's shoulder, now covered by the apparently mended white silk shirt. She didn't know quite what she had expected to see, but there was no blood seeping through, no crimson stain on the fabric. 

"Is there something on my shirt?" 

Sakura looked up when Rage had uttered that amused question. Glancing into his eyes with concern, Sakura asked, "So, Love did heal you, then? Everything went off without a hitch? You're fine now?" 

Rage took on look at those concerned green eyes and found that he didn't ever want to look away. What was it about her that drew him so? There was nothing special about her, nothing different from any other human that he had seen before. Except, of course, that she was more beautiful, more courageous, more willful,... Rage cut himself off in mid thought. Why was it, that whenever he seemed to be with her, all he could think about were things like this? How could she reduce him to a...a...an obsessed youth who acted like she was the only thing in his universe? How did she reduce him to a weakling? Rage felt an all too familiar cold begin to seep through him. How did she reduce him to a weakling? 

"I'm fine." Rage said coldly. Walking away from Sakura's confused look at his attitude, Rage began unbuckling his sword. "Let's start the lesson." 

Kero settled himself on a branch above Sakura's head. Glaring at Rage, he said, "If anything goes wrong..." he let the threat hang in the air. 

Rage narrowed his eyes, "You just mind your own business, wizard." 

Sakura rolled her eyes. Trying to break the staring contest Rage and Kero were having, she asked, "What do you want me to do first?" 

Breaking eye contact with Kero, Rage looked to Sakura. "We'll start with the basics. Did you bring Clow Reed's cards with you?" 

Sakura flashed him a card and then quickly put it away again, grinning, "Of course." 

"Good." Rage set his blade down on the grass and sat down beside it. Looking up at Sakura, who was finally taller than him, he said, "Sit." 

Sakura sat across from him. 

Glancing up at the rest of the gang, Rage said mildly, "You all might as well sit down, this is going to be a while." 

Madison immediately took a seat, not seeing any reason why she should have to stand for God knew how long. Li just crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the side of Rage's head. Yue grimaced slightly, remembering the last time he had sat down on the earth and the trouble his wings had given him. So, instead of sitting on the ground, Yue picked his feet up off the ground and sat cross-legged on air, his wings comfortably hanging lazily behind him. He rested his chin in his hand and prepared to watch the proceedings. Madison grinned up at him, finding his position and the reason for his being there amusing. 

"Now, you have not used Magic before, at least, not that you know of, ever?" Rage questioned. 

Sakura shook her head. 

"Okay, first thing you have to realize, your power over Clow Reed's cards, your ability to transform his former staff, that is Magic." Sakura began to protest but Rage held up his hand. "Yes, most of what you do happens to be due to the fact that you are related to Clow Reed, but the means is still Magic." Rage placed his hands on his knees and eyed Sakura, thinking, "When you are controlling the cards, when you wield the wand, do you ever feel anything? Something filling you?" 

Sakura shook her head again. "No, I feel exactly like I always feel. I mean, I feel happy when I use the Clow cards, but that's it." 

Rage shook his head. "That could mean more than one thing." he paused, thinking again, "What about when you sense Clow cards, when you sense me. Do you feel any different then?" 

"No. I just concentrate a bit, and I can sense a Clow card." 

"Maybe we'll start with that then. You can sense us, which is a start, but it's not good enough. You need to be able to tap into Magic so that you can sense us more strongly, then you'll be able to get a better sense of our location. Also, if I can, I'll teach you how to hide your energy so that others won't be able to sense you." 

Sakura sat up straighter with interest. "You can do that? You can hide yourself from other cards?" 

Rage nodded. "It isn't so difficult. That day we fought, Love and I had hidden our energy from you. That is why you could not sense us that day." he smiled slightly. "I was slightly impressed that you were able to find us. What?" 

Sakura had been looking at Rage askance since he began speaking. Frowning in puzzlement, Sakura said slowly, "But...I did sense you that day." 

It was Rage's turn to sit up straight. "Excuse me?" 

Sakura looked up at Kero for help, but he was giving her the same look Rage was. Surprised, a bit wary, disbelieving, incredulous. She looked back at Rage. "Well...at first...I sensed you just fine. Then your energy just seemed to disappear. I was wondering at that, and I kept trying to sense you. Then, when I got close to where you were, I sensed you again, along with Love." she glanced around at everyone. Yue was staring at her and Li looked slightly uneasy. Kero had a dumbfounded look to him and Sakura thought he might just fall off his branch. Returning her attention to Rage once more, she asked, "What's wrong?" 

Speaking slowly, as if he was piecing together what she had been saying, Rage said, "You were able to sense both of us, separately, and you were able to tell that one of us was me, because you had sensed me before? You can recognize specific energy forces?" 

Sakura looked around nervously. "I don't understand. What's the problem?" 

"You shouldn't be able to do that, Mistress." Yue said quietly. Sakura turned to face him. "No one has been able to distinguish who's essence is who's." 

"And no one should have been able to sense me at all." Rage said quietly. 

Sakura turned to face him. "Why not?" 

"Because, I was shielding my energy from you. Just ask the wizard and the boy. They could not sense me, but you could for some reason." 

"So what...what does that mean?" Sakura asked uneasily. 

"It means," Rage said quietly, "That you're a lot stronger than you think you are," he smiled. "And you don't have a clue how to use Magic." he sounded vastly amused, but underneath the amusement was a slight hint of worry. 

Sakura glanced around at all the uneasy faces. "Yeah..." for lack of anything else to say. "So...what now? Can you still teach me Magic?" she asked, half hopeful, half fearful. 

Rage nodded. "I can. However, I'm not exactly sure where I should start now." his brow drew down in thought. "You are using Magic, whether you want to believe it or not, but, apparently, you're not tapping into your Self to do it." he smiled a one sided smile. "I must admit, I have never heard of it's like before. Well...I guess we should start with something simple, something you know." Rage gestured in front of him. "Place Clow Reed's cards down in front of you, face down, in even rows. Shuffle them first." Sakura proceeded to do so. 

Kero frowned down disapprovingly from his high perch. "I don't really think she should be doing this, well, I **_never_** thought she should be doing this. But what I mean is that it's extremely dangerous to meddle in sorcery if you're not sure what you're about." Kero's frown intensified. "You could well harm her in some way...or was that your plan all along?" he asked slyly. 

Rage simply looked at him. "I am well aware of the risks, wizard. Do not assume to preach to me. I will take this in slow steps, do not worry. When I feel it is safe to move on I will." 

"Okay. Done." Sakura said. 

"Good. Now, what do you know about the cards? Has Kero Beros taught you how to use them at all?" 

Sakura scrunched up her face a bit in confusion. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that, but I know how to read them, like Tarots." she supplied, in what she hoped was helpful. 

"That's it?" Rage tamped down his astonishment. Was the wizard that incompetent? Rage shook his head. "We'll start with that." 

"Oh no you won't." five heads turned in the direction of the trees. Rage was the only one not surprised. "You're not starting the show without me." Love said grinning, appearing as if out of nowhere. 

Rage sighed. "I was hoping your oh-so-important business would keep you from making an appearance." 

Love scowled, but there was no heat in it. His eyes shone with mischief. "I aim to please." Love strolled jauntily over to Rage and plopped down unceremoniously beside him. Reclining on his elbow, Love grinned at everyone and waved, as they were still watching him, enjoying the attention he was getting. His eyes settled on Yue and his smile seemed to cool somewhat. "You've come to terms with the angel then have you?" he asked, seemingly without much interest. 

Rage glared at him. "I need to be able to concentrate, Sakura more so. In other words, behave yourself and keep your mouth shut and the world will be a happier place." Rage turned his attention back to Sakura, then swiveled it back to Love, and said in an afterthought. "If you do not be quiet I'll remove you." 

Love simply turned his head, safely supported in his hand and then elbow, and said, "You see what I have to put up with?" 

Rage ignored him. 

"As I was saying," Rage continued, "We'll start with that, but something more basic, I think. You can read the cards, but seemingly without the aid of your Magic. What you need to try and do is reach your Magic while handling the cards." Rage used his index finger and tilted her chin up to make sure he had her complete attention. That, of course, was merely an excuse to touch her. "I want you to attempt to read the cards, but when you do so, concentrate. When you touch a card try and feel it's energy. When that happens, let it soar through you, and when you are filled with it I want you to reach out and grasp it, hold it. If you can get that far, you should be able to feel a slight tingle in the back of your mind. That would be your Magic. Reach for it. If you manage to catch hold of it, keep it tightly leashed or your inexperience might cause it to run rampant, and that could be disastrous." Rage removed his hold on her grudgingly. "Do you understand?" 

Sakura nodded. "I'll try." she reached for a card. 

Rage grasped her wrist and shook his head. Letting go, he said, "No, not that way. You must close your eyes." 

Sakura frowned. "Why would I need to do that? How will I see the cards and know which one to pick up?" 

"Closing your eyes will enable you to concentrate better. And do not worry about the location of the cards, they will guide you to them." Rage said calmly. 

After a last look at Rage, Sakura closed her eyes. She reached out with her mind and tried to grasp the sense of the cards. She figured she would start with that since she knew she could sense the cards since she was fourteen. Sure enough, their energy was there. Following Rage's instructions, she tried to take hold of it and draw it to herself. Wanting to jump for joy when she felt the energy enter her, Sakura smiled. It was hard though, and it felt odd. Sakura got another sense and, not knowing what she did, tried to draw that to her as well. Almost immediately, she felt two hands on her shoulders and Sakura's eyes popped open. 

Rage's face was not more than an inch from hers. With a cornered, panicky look in his eyes, that immediately had Sakura worried, he said, "Let go. Draw no more to you." his voice sounded strained. 

Sakura glanced over his shoulder at Love who had sat up. He had almost the same look in his eyes, but his weren't panicked, just concerned. Concerned for Rage apparently. Why? Love looked like he wanted to do something but didn't know what. 

Shrugging, Sakura released the cards' energy. Rage withdrew his hands from her shoulders and sat back, looking extremely relieved and trying to hide it. Frowning in puzzlement, then worry that she might have failed after all, Sakura asked, "Did I do something wrong?" 

Rage didn't answer her immediately. Love raised an eyebrow at him in a silent inquiry that only the two of them seemed to understand. Rage shook his head slightly, apparently indicating no, and a reassurance, if the relieved look on Love's face was anything to go by. Replacing the blank mask, Rage replied in a monotone. "You did nothing wrong. Try it again. This time, however, if you feel anything besides the energy from the cards, do not reach for it." 

Sakura nodded slowly, wondering what was really going on, but knowing that asking would only get silence as an answer. Closing her eyes again, Sakura reached for the cards. It was easier to draw them to her this time, and Sakura had a better time holding the energy. She felt that odd presence again, the other sense, just outside of her, but declined reaching for it again. She knew it wasn't a Clow card that she had missed, because it didn't feel like a Clow card. There was something different about it, but Sakura couldn't place what and couldn't identify it. So, ignoring the other sense for now, she concentrated harder on the energy within her, trying to feel more intune with it. 

Sakura searched for that tingling awareness in the back of her mind that Rage said should be there, indicating her Magic, her Self. Nothing was there. Disappointed, Sakura intended to let the energy go again, convinced she had failed once more. However, she was stopped from doing so when her left hand seemed to move of it's own accord. Feeling surprised, in a sort of detached way, Sakura waited to see what would happen. Her eyes still closed, she picked up a Clow card and turned it right side up, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see it. 

Suddenly, an image appeared in her mind and shocked Sakura even more. She knew which card it was, "Sword card." Sakura's voice was eerily detached. Sakura mentally noted that it even sounded creepy to her. 

A vision struck her out of nowhere. She saw a grassy meadow, right near a small town. Something was odd about the town though. She didn't see any cars, or skyscrapers, or even a house like hers! She saw cobbled streets, and horses, and simple, straw and wood houses. A commotion behind her drew her attention away from the town, however. Sakura turned around. She saw two figures in the horizon. Both had swords drawn and were battling each other. She couldn't quite make out who they were...but she could tell they both had long, white hair... 

The vision abruptly ended. Before Sakura could comment on it, though, he hand was moving again. Putting down the Sword card, she picked up another. "Fight card." 

Another vision hit her and Sakura only had a moment to wonder at the oddity of two visions in a row before she noticed her surroundings. Nausea quickly hit her and she felt like vomiting. She didn't know if throwing up in a vision was possible, but she figured she could make it possible real soon. All around her was death. thousands of bodies lay strewn about what used to be a field...some weren't in one piece. Putting a hand over her mouth, Sakura turned around only to be confronted by more dead men. There was a slight change in scenery, however. There were still people fighting in this view, but, as Sakura watched, they were all quickly cut down by red bursts of energy. Sakura turned her sights to the left and saw four men sitting on horses, just sitting there, looking out at the destruction dispassionately. Sakura had no doubt in her mind that one of them were causing the red balls of energy. At that moment, an orange streak raced across the field. Almost faster than the eye could see, it pounced on the third figure on a horse and they both crashed to the ground. The red Magic abruptly stopped. Sakura noted, with some horror, that the orange shape had been Kero, in his true form. He was now tearing at the man underneath him, using teeth and claws. Apparently, he had no intention of letting him live. The other three had dismounted and were now closing on him. Sakura wanted to cry out, to warn him, but when she opened her mouth...nothing came out. She could only watch as the trio stopped, and the one on the left dressed all in black robes, lifted an arm... 

The vision gone, Sakura placed the Fight card down over top of the Sword card. Trying to find her voice, to ask someone, anyone! for help out of this nightmare, Sakura tried to open her mouth. Except, she couldn't seem to open her mouth. She tried to stop her arm from reaching for the next card but it wouldn't obey the signals her brain was sending it. Sakura realized, beginning to panic, that she had no control over her physical body. 

The arm reached down, the hand grasped another card, and in that eerie voice, she said, "Mist card." 

Another vision. To her left, there were eleven figures, all hidden by a thick, white mist. They weren't standing close together and Sakura got the impression that they didn't like being any closer to each other then they had to be. She also knew, somehow, that they were all fighting for the same thing...and whatever that was, Sakura knew their intentions were downright evil. To the right, were two lone figures. Again, Sakura could not make out who they were on account of the mist. But they stood side by side, determination and sense of purpose practically reeking off of them. Sakura sensed that they were somehow connected and that they fought for the same thing. That they fought against the beings on the left; Sakura knew the beings on the left definitely were not human. The two seemed to blend into themselves a bit as well, their shadows mixing together. This suggested to Sakura that they were very united in their quest. But then, something began to happen. Sakura watched as a tear began to make itself apparent between the two figures. In the tear was nothing but blackness and Sakura knew that it was tearing the two apart. Sakura watched with a pang of loss as the two were further separated. The feeling coming out of the blackness had only one feeling to it... 

Betrayel. 

The vision dispelled, Sakura reached for another card against her will. Hell, if this was her will, she would have put a stop to it before the second vision struck. Picking up the card, she said, "Power card." 

In this vision, she saw Clow Reed. Her eyes widening, Sakura could only gape. This was unexpected, although, she supposed it shouldn't have been. Clow Reed was dressed in the same ceremonial robes of a sorcerer the last time she had seen him, when she had defeated Yue and her staff had turned into her wand. Sakura was in some sort of cavern, if she had to guess. The walls were gray and bleak, only a few objects Sakura had never seen before decorated the walls. Clow Reed walked towards what looked to be a well, the circular wall around the well was made of brick. Sakura followed him. Clow Reed leaned forward, his hands in his sleeves, and peered into the well. He frowned. Wondering what could have displeased him about the water, Sakura leaned forward and looked into the well, too. She expected to see a reflection of Clow Reed, if not herself. She didn't know if her reflection would be there on account of the fact that she wasn't really there at all. What she saw was NOT was she expected. In the water, thirteen faces stared back up at the sorcerer. They were all mouthing something silently at him, but, not being able to read lips, Sakura had no idea what they were saying. Clow Reed's normally cheerful face was now pale and solemn. Sakura bet he knew what they were saying. 

Then, something happened that completely, for lack of better words, freaked Sakura out... 

Clow Reed straightened up, readjusted his robes, and then, looking right at her, said, "This is what happens when you experiment with things...living things...that you never should have touched." 

Then that vision ended as well. 

Sakura put the Power card down. Wondering which card would be next, Sakura picked up the fifth card. As soon as she turned it over, she was struck speechless. At least, in her mind she was, her body had no difficulty uttering the name of the card, "Time card." 

Sakura heard Li exclaim, "What the hell?" and she silently echoed that question. She didn't own the Time card, Li did. It was in his deck, and Sakura was one hundred percent sure it hadn't been in her hand when she shuffled and then laid down her cards. So...how did it get there? And what did it mean? 

Sakura didn't have any more time to wonder as she felt herself being pulled into something. Thinking it was another vision, she was quite surprised when the only thing that appeared was a bunch of blackness. No...not quite all black...far into the distance-at least, Sakura thought it was far into the distance...it was hard to tell with nothing around her to indicate distance- there was a light. A single ray, in the shape of a doorway. And in the doorway, was a black shape. Squinting, Sakura realized it was a man, an old man, in baggy green robes. Sudden realization hit her...it was the Time card in it's animated form. 

Sakura set off at a run towards the light(head twords the light! *_~ ) Sakura could tell the Time card was watching her. She stopped when she was about five feet away from him. She noticed he had his hourglass in his hand, and the sands had almost run out. Sakura wondered what that meant. Then Time was speaking... 

"Hurry, this way." he said in an ancient voice. 

Sakura didn't move. "Why? What am I doing here? Is this a vision?" Sakura noted with some surprise, that she was able to talk now. 

Time shook his head slowly, "No, this is no vision. I have come here at the bequest of the other cards as well. You must come with me, Mistress. There is not much time left." 

Sakura eyed the white light suspiciously. "In there? Why?" she asked again. 

Time shook his head, although he had an urgent air about him now. "I would explain if I could, Mistress, but there is no time. You must come with me, it is of great importance! Your life is forfeit if you do not." then, lower, "And perhaps forfeit if you do." 

Then, before Sakura could so much as blink, Time had grasped her arm and pulled her through the gateway.   
~ 

Madison jumped to her feet and eyed the now empty spot that Sakura had been in with rising hysteria. Where had she gone? 

The others were on their feet as well. Each had varying degrees of surprise and shock plastered on their faces. Even Rage.   
Before the scene could erupt into chaos, which Madison was sure it would, another little problem presented itself... 

Tory stepped out of the trees looking like he'd swallowed a toad. "What the hell just happened?! What the hell is going on here?!" 

As soon as he'd said that, Madison knew he'd been watching the entire time and had seen everything. He had probably heard everything as well. 

_Oh bloody hell..._   
~ 

Sakura landed unceremoniously on her rump. "OWW!!" she exclaimed, rubbing her offended bottom. Her Clow cards fluttered down around her to land in disarray. Glaring around at...nobody...Sakura blinked. The Time card was nowhere to be seen. Muttering to herself, Sakura began picking up her Clow cards. Pretty sure she was back in reality now, Sakura grouched, "I'm never doing that again. I don't care what you say Rage, there is no way..." Sakura trailed off abruptly as she looked up, expecting to meet Rage's cool blue eyes, and found herself alone. Twisting her head back and forth like an owl, Sakura looked for the rest of her friends. 

Only green grass met her wide eyes. 

"Okay, Sakura, don't panic," that was a really stupid thing to say, considering that she could feel herself becoming hysterical, "There is a simple explanation for this. They're playing a trick on me...yeah...Madison probably cooked it up herself." placing her cards in the back of her shorts pocket, noticing that the Time card was still there, Sakura stood up, "Okay, Madison, ha ha, you can come out now." 

Turning around, Sakura saw something that made her really hope she was hallucinating, because, she could tell by the way she felt that this wasn't a vision. That same run down town she had seen in her vision the Fight card had provided her with, sat right below her into the distance a bit. It looked exactly same as it had in her vision, except, in her vision, the town had been deserted. She could plainly see from her high vantage point, that the town was definitely populated, and something seemed to be bothering the townsfolk. They were all milling about like bees, chaos ensuing. The men were running every which way, grabbing armour, swords, and other weapons. The women all stood watching from their houses, and Sakura would bet that their faces were tearstained. 

Sakura hoped that the conclusion she was coming to was NOT the right one. Her hopes were soon dashed away into the wind, though, when she heard a galloping of horses. Looking to the right of the town, she saw four horsemen come galloping across the field. They stopped when they were just outside of the town and just sat on their horses. The people in the town had stopped as well, sitting, waiting, apprehension and fear thick in the air. Sakura glanced back at the four individuals on the horses...and saw that the one on the left wore robes...all in black. 

Then, the third horsemen raised his hand and a red ball of energy exploded from it, heading right for the town. The townspeople began screaming and they scattered. The men vaulted up on the nearest available horses and galloped towards the intimidating horsemen. The rest followed on foot, all yelling war cries. Then the red ball hit the town and an explosion of dust and bits of other...things...drifted up into the air. 

Sakura gazed down at the wreckage and only one thing came to mind, "I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore..." 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Ooh..... 0o0 where do we all think Sakura went? I know...THAT...was a big cliffhanger. ^_^ So sue me. Well, don't sue me... oh...nevermind. Just review and tell me what you thought. Things are going to get very interesting... 


	18. A Visit To The PastCh17

Cardcaptors17 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Oi! Things really started moving fast last chapter, didn't they? I figure...some of you might be confused, hell, some of you said you were straight out in your reviews! I'm sorry about that...everything should sort itself out...eventually. ;)   
Oh, and I know that people in this time period don't talk English(or whatever other language you speak!) like we do know, and that no one would understand a word Sakura said!...so...I opted make everyone speak modern day English! Hey?! You didn't actually think I'd go all Shakespeare on you just because it would be more realistic, did you! Hell no! You probably wouldn't get half of what I wrote! Hell!! I wouldn't get half of what I wrote if I did that! Believe me...this saves me a LOT of work! Read on! ^_^ Is it just me? Or are these chapters getting longer? o.oa 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: A Visit to the Past-Ch.17**

"What the hell is going on here?" 

Madison winced as Tory yelled that statement out. Everyone else ignored him, however, so intent were they on what had just happened. Kero exploded out of the tree, and went careening towards Rage. Grabbing little fistfuls of Rage's shirt, Kero began shaking him, ineffectually, venting his panic , worry, and frustration out on the available target. 

"Where did she go? What did you do to her?! Bring her back!!" 

Rage just stared down at Kero bleakly for a moment, just as clue less as the Guardian Beast of the Seal was. In the next instant, though, his eyes were radiating blue fire. Madison thought he was going to flick Kero off of him. She was surprised when he started speaking and let Kero beat his little paws on his chest, 

"I sent her nowhere. Believe me, wizard, I am just as confused as you are." 

"Liar." Li snarled, walking forward. Looking just about as scary as Madison had ever seen him, Li unsheathed his sword. "You did this! This is your fault! Admit it!" 

Rage's gaze faltered. Madison thought that he might be blaming himself for what happened, which was odd, because, he didn't care one wit for Sakura. 

"I did nothing." he said again, although, this time, his voice didn't sound nearly as strong as it had. 

Growling, Li made to swing his sword at the weaponless Rage. He was intercepted, however, "This will solve nothing," a reasonably calm Love whispered furiously. He trapped Li's sword underneath his own. "Killing will not solve anything. We need to act rational, or we'll never find out how to get the lovely Lady back." 

Li continued to struggle in Love's grasp. Love just continued to stare at him. Slowly, the fight seemed to drain out of Li, and Love let him go. Yue stepped forward and gently pried Kero loose from Rage with a sad look. Gazing down at Kero, he said, "If Rage says he did not do anything, then he did not do anything." 

Kero, who let loose something sounding suspiciously like a sniffle, said, "How would you know?" 

"Rage does not lie." Yue said simply. 

Kero glared at him, cursing him silently for not telling him what he knew about Rage. 

Tory choose this time to speak up again, "**_What_**...happened to my sister?!" he ground out furiously. 

Five pairs of eyes abruptly turned towards him. Tory took the piercing stares in stride, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at them all. 

There was silence for a few tense-filled seconds, and then Rage's eyes abruptly went wide. "YOU are a descendant of Clow Reed as well?!" 

Tory continued to glare at him. "Who? I don't know any Clow whatever...where's my sister?" 

"Sakura is your sister?!" Rage and Love asked in unison, incredulously. 

Tory nodded. 

Rage glared at Kero. "Another Cardcaptor you neglected to mention?" he asked sarcastically. 

Kero glared right back. "He's no Cardcaptor, he wasn't the one chosen. He doesn't have any Magic to speak of, not that I know of, and he doesn't know anything about the Clow cards, me, or YOU." 

Rage seemed slightly taken aback. 

Tory just stared at Kero, looking like any minute he expected to see a string to come out of his back announcing that he really was a toy, and not real, couldn't speak. No string appeared. "What the...?" Tory whispered. He looked up and into Yue's face. Then he took in the wings. "What...what are you?" 

"Ah, not human, obviously." Love said, grinning, seeing a potential human with whom's mind he could mess with. Strolling forward casually, he stopped a foot away from Tory and looked him up and down. He smirked, "You know, you're kinda cute, in a rough sort of way. I've never had the opportunity to make it with a descendant of Clow Reed." he lowered his voice to a purr. "Wanna play?" 

"Love." Rage said sharply. 

Love turned away from the dumbfounded Tory and pouted back at Rage. "Oh, come on. You're all so serious. You guys need some comic relief. YIPE!!" 

Tory had reached forward and grabbed a fistful of Love's shirt. Pulling the startled card towards him, he glowered. "Cut the crap. What have you done to my sister? What's going on here?" Tory blinked as a thin piece of...metal?...inserted itself in his line of vision. Following the blade up to it's hilt, Tory found Rage giving him HIS version of a glare. 

Chilling Tory to the bone with his eyes, Rage snarled, "Let. Go." 

Madison watched with a sort of suspended sense of shock. Things were rapidly spinning out of control. Tory was going to rip into someone soon if he didn't get answers, Rage was going to kill Tory if he didn't let go of Love, and then Li would be killed trying to kill Rage for killing Sakura's brother. Why didn't she stay home today?!?... 

Madison stepped forward uncertainly, not knowing what to do. She didn't think she could stop Rage if he decided to kill Tory, she knew she couldn't. Sakura seemed to be the only one who could get Rage to do anything at all! But she knew she had to try. 

Laying her fingertips ever so lightly on Rage's sword, she looked him in the face as much as she dared. "Rage, this won't help you know." 

"Maybe not, but it'll make me feel better." he growled. "I have yet to take my revenge on Clow Reed." 

"Umm..." Madison said slowly, with a lot more calmness then she felt. If Rage killed Tory, Sakura would never forgive her, and she'd never forgive herself. Sakura had accused her of having a crush on her brother, well...she was right. The thought of Tory dead sent a particularly nasty feeling inside of her...and not just the simple grief over a friend's brother either. Thinking fast, Madison said, "If you kill him, Sakura would never forgive you." she didn't know why she said that, but she had. 

Rage's eyes flickered briefly, and he lowered his sword, much to Madison's surprise. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Love giving her a wink. What the hell was **_that_** supposed to mean? 

"Okay..." Madison said, taking a deep breath. "Let's just take a second here..." 

Tory interrupted her, "Madison! What are you doing here? And what's going on? Where's Sakura?" 

Madison sighed. Tory looked like a very lost lamb who didn't know where he was or what to do. Grabbing his arm, Madison hauled him off to the side a bit. Smiling slightly at the rest, she said, "We'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." 

Madison sat down a little ways away from everyone else. She noticed that they were all eying each other warily. Except Love of course. He was, as usual, grinning his merry life away. Madison tugged on Tory's arm, urging him to sit. He collapsed, more than sat, across from her. Sighing out loud, Madison began, "Look Tory, let me explain..." 

"Explain what?" Tory whispered furiously. "That you and my sister are here with a bunch of psychos? One who goes around playing with swords! for Christ's Sake!! Another who's dressed in an angel ensemble, that Li kid who nearly beat my sister up! and a skitzo?!" 

"I'm not a skitzo! You can be sure of that!" Love yelled, apparently able to hear Tory's whispered words. Love grinned at Tory's poor excuse for a glare. 

Madison sighed again. "Look...I don't know how to explain this to you...but...Sakura is a Cardcaptor." Madison didn't see any way out of this, so she figured telling him the truth might well be that best way. Besides,...it was about damn time he knew anyways. She looked at Tory expectantly. 

Tory just stared at her, comprehension NOT dawning on his face. 

Madison looked heavenward as she realized he was probably coming to the conclusion that she was crazy as well. "Umm... it's a little hard to explain. Listen...five years ago...when Sakura and me were thirteen...Sakura accidentally opened something called The Book of Clow. From that day on..." Madison proceeded to tell Tory everything. 

When Madison had finished her story, she sat back and regarded Tory hopefully. He hadn't said one word throughout the entire tale. He opened his mouth now, and Madison waited. 

"I don't believe you." he said simply. 

Madison sighed. Looking over her shoulder, Madison called, "Kero? Come here." 

"What?" Kero asked, flying over. He eyed Tory. "Guess you told him, huh?" 

Madison looked at Tory. "Do stuffed animals normally fly and talk all by themselves? This is Kero Beros, Sakura's protector, and Guardian Beast of the Seal." she pointed to Yue. "That's Yue, also Sakura's protector and the other Guardian of the Book of Clow." she grimaced. "You already know Li. And that's Rage, and Love." Madison scratched her head. "Umm...they're Clow cards...sort of." 

Tory eyed her skeptically. "Fine. Let's say I believe you for a second. Where's Sakura?" Kero's face abruptly crumpled at that. 

Madison winced. "We don't know." she whispered. 

"What do you mean...'we don't know?' " Tory asked, his voice rising again. 

Madison tried to shush him. "Here, come back over to the rest of the group again. We've all got to figure this out, and losing our tempers isn't going to help." Madison stood up and Tory followed her lead. They walked back the short distance to the others, side by side. Madison eyed Rage warily. "Are we okay?" 

Rage looked coolly upon her. "For now." he said curtly, looking back at Tory who looked dazed. 

"Okay. We have to figure out what happened to Sakura." Madison began. She silently found it a bit odd that she was the one who seemed to be taking the lead. "Rage. Do you have any idea what happened to Sakura?" she asked, thinking that he might have the best idea since he had been the one instructing Sakura. 

Rage shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure." he trailed off, thinking. "All she was supposed to do was simple Magic, not even Magic! with the Clow cards. I don't understand what went wrong." 

"Of course you don't." Kero sneered. Rage glared at him. "I told you not to mess with Magic unless you were absolutely sure you knew what you were doing. There was an unforeseen development in Sakura's abilities and you should have left her alone until Yue and I had had proper time to try and find out how she could have sensed you if you were shielded." 

"None of that mattered, wizard." Rage snarled back. "That wasn't the reason why she disappeared. It was something else." Rage murmured. "It had to be something else." 

"Like what?" Li asked. For once, he wasn't glaring. He looked worried, and his demeanor was no longer threatening in any way. He realized that fighting like he had been was not going to bring Sakura back. And he desperately wanted her back. 

Rage eyed the distraught boy warily. Finally, he spoke slowly, "While you," he meant Madison, "and the brother were having your little chat over there, I was thinking. I think...I think, that her Clow cards must be partly responsible." 

Kero looked at him in astonishment. "That's impossible!" he spluttered. 

"It is the only explanation." Rage replied indignantly. 

"Oh, really? Care to elaborate?" Kero asked scathingly. Yue shook his head at the irate Guardian disapprovingly. 

Rage sighed. "I'll admit, the fact that Sakura is stronger than I thought does have something to do with it, but her powers were not the catalyst, something else was." he turned to Li. "When she picked up the Time card, you were caught off guard, extremely surprised. Why?" 

"She wasn't supposed to have the Time card. She had given it to me a long time ago. I had it with me when she laid out her Clow cards." Li supplied helpfully. Anything for Sakura. 

Rage nodded thoughtfully. "Do you have the Time card back with you now?" he asked. 

Li checked his pack. "No. Sakura must still have it." 

Rage nodded again, as if things were coming together. "That is very interesting. The fact that the Time card went to that much trouble to get itself back into Sakura's hands is very interesting. And then, of course, there's the card itself. The fact that it was that card is very interesting." 

Yue suddenly snapped to attention. "No. It is impossible. Clow Reed could not even succeed in doing that." 

Kero glanced up at Yue in surprise. "What's going on? Do you know where Sakura is?" he asked hopefully. 

Rage watched Yue thoughtfully. "All signs point to it. You cannot deny it, Yue." 

"What!? What's going on!?" Kero asked, frustrated. 

Rage gazed steadily at Kero. "Your Mistress, wizard, had gone back in time. The only question is...when."   
~ 

Sakura watched the dust begin to settle around the medieval town. The area where the ball of energy had hit was nothing more than scattered pieces of dirt and pieces of broken wood and straw. Thankfully, the dust hadn't settled completely, because, if it had, Sakura knew she would have seen twisted, broken bodies...even from this distance. 

Sakura turned her head and watched as the men kept running, riding, towards the four men. Fools...didn't they know they would all be killed? Apparently not...how could they? But Sakura knew...yes, she knew. And how did she know? Well, Sakura could only come to one conclusion, and one conclusion only. 

She had gone back in time...somehow. 

As ridiculous as that sounded to Sakura, it was the only possibility that made sense. This definitely wasn't a vision, it didn't feel like one. And, unless she was seriously doped up and hallucinating...this was real. 

The men were getting closer to what she now knew were four of the Forgotten. The Four Horsemen. Kero had told her about them, and now she was glad that he had, she might be better prepared now, if you could call getting transported centuries into the past unwillingly, prepared. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse...she wondered what everyone would say if they found out the Four Horsemen were Clow cards. 

Closer, closer they got. She knew the Forgotten would fire on them soon...and then they would die. Sakura took a couple steps forward. No,...what was she doing. She couldn't go down there, they'd kill her Who?... she wasn't sure. The four would know her to be an enemy as soon as she fought against them, and then SHE was dead, and if she used her magic, the men would think she was a witch, or, whatever they thought of Magic wielding creatures in this time...and, again, she was dead. It was a no win situation. But she couldn't let them be slaughtered. So what now? She'd have to attack from a distance...protect them from a distance. 

Raising the Key of Clow in her fist, Sakura breathed, "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic, Power of Light! Surrender the Wand, the Force, ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared. "Okay Sakura...time to make some Magic." she whispered to herself. She took out a card, "Shield card! Protect the town! Shield card!" a pink bubble surrounded the town. 

There was a slight pause in the beginnings of the battle as everyone stared at the bubble. The men were confused, surprised. The Four Brothers, or Horsemen, eyed the bubble warily. They all turned in unison to look up at the little hill where Sakura had a bird's eye view of the battle. 

Not giving them time to retaliate, Sakura cried, "Firey! Release and dispel! Firey!" Firey exploded out of the card and headed straight for the horsemen. The humans, seeing that whatever this unseen force was, was fighting on their side, began charging forward again. "Fools! Fools!! Get back! Stay out of my way!" lifting the Clow wand with both hands, Sakura cried, "Firey! Attack from a distance! Do not let the Four Horsemen get too close to you!" 

Firey stopped in mid flight and sent a barrage of fireballs at the horsemen. The one in the black as night robes lifted his hand and a black shield appeared in front of him. It wasn't very large, and by no means could it have protected all four from the flames, but, Firey's fire veered off from it's course and was sucked into the black void. The blackness seemed to absorb the flames like a cold hand of death. 

Death, death...Sakura's eyes widened. The one in black, he must be Death. Sakura couldn't see him clearly for he always seemed to be blurry, a black haze protecting him from view. His head was covered in a black hood from his robes. 

"Fine." Sakura gritted out. "We'll try something else. Firey! Return!" Firey returned to Sakura's hand. Pointing her Clow wand in the vicinity of the men. "Big card." she whispered. But she didn't grow. That's all right...that hadn't been her intent. Sakura opened her mouth and her voice projected across the battlefield like a blast of thunder. "Leave, now, mortals!" she told the men. "Earth card." she whispered. The ground began to rumble under the men's feet and they began to yell and whisper frantically amongst themselves, fear pervading their thoughts. "Flee the battle ground! Run for your lives! If you think the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are frightening, you have not yet faced a God!! Run! Evacuate the town, take your women and children with you while you still can! Move!" the ground rumbled under their feet again. The men abruptly turned on their heel and left, running. 

Sakura lowered the Clow wand. Good...one less thing to worry about. She couldn't fight with them there, she couldn't fight the Four Brothers and worry about hitting the men at the same time...she surely would have been defeated that way. "Big card, return to your power, confined!" she whispered again. 

The Four Brothers reined their horses about, preparing to follow the villagers. The third horseman raised his arm and Sakura knew that was the one who sprouted the red energy. "Oh, no you don't! Thunder!" Sakura pointed her Clow wand and Thunder came crashing down amongst the Forgotten, almost hitting them. The Thunder card succeeded in spooking the horses sufficiently enough and they began to buck. All four of them were thrown from their saddles and crashed to the ground. 

The first three sprang to their feet and by the looks of them, they weren't happy. Death more glided, than stood, to his feet. The third figure raised his hand and that red energy ball came crashing towards her. "Jump card!" Sakura cried. She jumped just in time and the energy ball went right past her under her feet. Landing, Sakura recalled the Jump card. Seeing that the man was about to release another ball of energy, Sakura quickly called, "Wood card!" 

Roots came up out of the ground and encircled the man's arms. He struggled but the roots eventually brought his arms down to his side. The roots came around and tangled around his legs. The first man quickly released a barrage of daggers and sliced through the roots on the third man's right. 

Sakura blinked, surprised. Even though she knew she was in the past, and everything she had done in the future hadn't occurred yet,...it was still a bit of a shock to see the Disease card unsealed. 

Death glided towards the fallen man and hovered over him. Then, reaching out slowly but surely, he lightly touched the roots on the man's left side. 

The roots shriveled and died. 

"Wood card! Return!" Sakura glanced back towards the village, hoping to see them leaving. She groaned in despair. Not even half of the villagers had left yet. Looking back at the Four Horsemen, Sakura knew she couldn't hold out much longer. The only reason she was still alive was because she had taken them by surprise. As soon as that effect wore off, however, she was in trouble. They were probably wondering who she was and wanted to find out before they killed her. 

Sakura glanced down at the Four Brothers, and frowned in confusion. They were just standing there, staring up at her. She knew they couldn't see her clearly, she wasn't close enough, so what were they doing? 

Death raised his arm suddenly, and Sakura watched in curiosity. A long, dark gray pole appeared out of nowhere and settled in his hand. Bringing it vertical and implanting the bottom of the pole into the ground, he appeared to wait for something. The other three cards stepped back slightly. Suddenly, two yellow burst of energy, one right below the other, appeared at the top end of the pole...and it became a Deathscythe. 

"Oh shit..." Sakura whispered. 

Death lifted the Deathscythe and brought it back, then, bringing it forward at an angle, he swung it like a baseball bat. Yellow energy burst from the sizzling energy attached to the pole and came right for her. Giving a cry of surprise, Sakura hit the dirt, gripping her Clow wand over her head. And just in time, too. The sizzling yellow energy passed right overhead, and with it, came a bone chilling cold, worse then even Rage's ice, for this cold held death in it's grip. Sakura knew that if it had touched her, she'd be dead right now. 

Getting back on her feet shakily, Sakura watched as Death raised the scythe again. Just then, an orange streak came dashing across the field towards the Four Brothers. 

Kero. 

Just like in her vision, Kero barreled straight into the man who had released the red energy balls. The other men reared back in surprise. But the surprise didn't last long. Sakura could hear the fallen man yelling and then the other three were advancing upon Kero. That was all Sakura needed to see... 

Sakura began racing down the hill as fast as her legs could carry her. "Jump card!" she yelled. the little wings appeared on her feet and Sakura bounded down the hill at a faster rate. The three were almost on him now. Disease raised his arm, a gleaming dagger reflecting the sun, and Sakura knew he meant to plunge that dagger straight into Kero's heart. 

Almost there, almost there. "No!" Sakura screamed as she came down on them from above. She startled them enough that Disease's aim was thrown off and the dagger flew harmlessly through the air. She fell upon Disease and the other without mercy, using her feet to stun them. Instead of doing the same with Death, Sakura used her Clow wand to knock the Deathscythe out of his hands. Then she used it to knock him upside the head. Not knowing how she knew, Sakura knew that it was imperative that she not touch Death at all, or she was in serious trouble. 

"Kero! Get off him and lets go!" she yelled urgently. They had to leave while the four were still stunned. 

Kero lifted his face from the man underneath him and Sakura saw blood staining his otherwise perfectly long, white, sharp, teeth, "Who the devil are you?" he roared. 

Sakura flinched. Oh great... 

Of course...Kero wouldn't know who she was...she hasn't even been born yet. Disease and Death began to pick themselves up off the ground along with the other man. Sakura was rapidly running out of ideas. She wasn't going to leave without Kero! but if she stayed she was dead. Before Sakura could completely panic, a man abruptly appeared out of thin air. 

Eyes bugging out of her head, Sakura exclaimed, "Clow Reed!?!" 

Clow Reed smiled gently. Then, grabbing Kero's fur, he pulled the blustering Guardian off of the card and then grabbed Sakura's arm. "Teleport!" he whispered. 

And then, before Sakura knew what happened, the Four Brothers disappeared and she was surrounded by a white light and a pressing feeling. Then, blissfully, Sakura fainted.   
~ 

Kero couldn't help it...he just stared like an idiot at the calm expression Rage wore. Gone back in time? **_Gone back in time!?_** There was no way possible! Even his former Master, Clow Reed, had been unable to travel through time. Sure, he had created the Time card, but the Time card was not all powerful, it had limits. It certainly couldn't transport a **_person_** through time, even if it had wanted to. And if this was the case...why had it done it? And how? 

Kero glanced at Yue for help, his fellow Guardian. He was surprised when he saw the look on Yue's face. Yue wholeheartedly believed what Rage had just said! Spluttering silently, Kero couldn't seem to get the words he wanted to say out. 

Tory had no such problem. "Time travel? Everyone knows that's impossible!" he scoffed, but he didn't look as calm as he seemed. He looked like his world was slowly falling apart...because it was. 

Rage gave Tory what very much looked like a sneer. "Just because you have never seen it doesn't mean it is not real!" thrusting his sword straight out, Rage unleashed an icicle from it's tip and sent it spiraling into a nearby tree where it thudded into the trunk solidly, without breaking. Looking back at Tory's pale expression, Rage went on, "You do not live in the cozy world you think you do. There are things out there that you cannot even conceive of. Do you think what I just did fits anywhere into the realm of your so called science?! Magic does exist! Your sister is very much a part of it! I am a product of it! And Kero Beros and Yue possess it! Open your eyes!" 

There was an awkward silence. Tory looked like he'd just been slapped and Madison put her hand on his arm, silently comforting him. Kero and Li eyed Rage warily. Yue looked upon Rage with a slightly surprised air about him. Kero wasn't surprised, even though he didn't know as much about Rage as Yue did, it was obvious that Rage wasn't prone to such outbursts. Not unless he was very angry...and he had no reason to be angry, at least, not that Kero could see. 

Gripping Rage's arm, Love smiled benignly at Kero and the rest. "Excuse us for a moment, won't you?" and then he was dragging Rage away from the group. 

Kero watched circumspectly as Love and Rage stopped and Love began speaking quietly with Rage. Love seemed to be trying to calm Rage and he was gesturing with his hands slightly to some invisible force. Rage shook his head slightly. Then he began whispering furiously and he lifted his sword once more, using it as a natural extension of his arm to point haphazardly at the air. Love lifted his hand and gently lowered the sword. He said something to Rage and Rage shook his head again. Love placed his hands on his hips and whispered more furiously. Again, Rage shook his head and that sword came up again. With an air of finality, Love raised his hands above his head as if to say, "Fine! You asked for it!" and then, to Kero's utter amazement, Love brought his hand across and backhanded Rage across the mouth. 

Kero heard Madison gasp and he felt Yue tense beside him. Kero could well understand the cause for alarm. What would Rage do to Love? He would much prefer if Rage killed the annoying card, then it would be one less card to worry about. But they didn't have time for that now. If they wanted to fight, they could do it on their own time. Kero watched to see what would happen. 

Rage stared at Love with the most shocked expression Kero had ever seen from him. Then, slowly, he lifted a hand and brought his palm to his cheek, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. Love's body language suggested he'd much rather be somewhere else right now, and he looked as if he was going to bolt if Rage made any sudden moves. However, Kero observed that Love was trying to hide his nervousness from Rage and wore a stubborn expression on his face. Then he was whispering again. Rage just stood there in silence, listening to whatever it was Love was saying. When Love was finished, he continued to stand, suspended, and Kero held his breath. Then, Rage nodded his head slightly, almost imperceptibly, and the tension drained out of Love. 

Kero exhaled a huge breath. Apparently, that slap to the face had sufficiently jarred Rage out of whatever it was that was bothering him and now he was very nearly his old self again. The two walked back to the group and neither ventured any information to that odd show that just took place. However, when no one else said anything and continued to stare at the two Forgotten, Love looked around owlishly, and then with an innocent look an angel would envy, asked plaintively, "What!? Do I have smut on my face?" and proceeded to scrub at his cheek with his sleeve, not quite hiding a grin. 

Rage cleared his throat. "Time travel." he said again, getting everyone back on track. "I am convinced that is what happened to Sakura, and no wizard..." he said, glaring, "I do not know how or why, but that is what I think happened. It does fit." 

For the first time, Kero didn't feel any desire to glare or make a smart remark at the card. He just wanted this over with. He felt suddenly weary, as if the weight of the world rested on his little shoulders. Sighing, he said, "Fine, let's assume that's what happened. How then? Let's try and take this from the top." Kero felt like smirking at the faint look of surprise in Rage's eyes. He didn't let it show on his face, though, but Kero knew that his brief bout of non hostility had confounded the card. 

"She could not have done it by herself." Yue said quietly. 

"But who could help her?" Li asked doubtfully. "There's no one. Only another of the Forgotten could have done it. They're the only one's with any Magic left. Obviously it wasn't one of us." Kero expected Li to glance at Rage but he didn't. 

Kero shook his head. "No, the Time card would never help one of them. It would have sensed the card's evil purpose and the danger to it's Mistress. Besides, the only other besides Li the card would acknowledge, let alone obey, would either be me, Yue, or Clow Reed himself. You can rule out Clow Reed, he's quite dead." 

"Someone...or thing? we haven't come across yet?" Li asked. 

Rage shook his head. "Doubtful." 

"Then who?" Kero asked, becoming frustrated. He started pacing on air. Suddenly, Kero was assaulted by a memory, long buried, one he planned on keeping buried. He tried to suppress it, but it played itself out in his head. Kero shook his head violently but it would not be dispelled. It was the memory of so long ago, of that day when he had gotten word from Clow Reed that the Four Brothers were on their way to attack an innocent village. He remembered getting there, seeing all the dead men the cards had murdered, and the stench hanging in the air. The ground had been littered with bodies and the village was in shambles. 

Kero blinked as the memory...changed. It was the same day, the same battle, but when he arrived, there had been no dead men. The village looked like it had taken a hit, but no severe damage had been done. He saw the Four Brothers standing close by each other, looking furious. Death had his infamous Deathscyhe in his hands. Kero didn't wait for the details. He streaked across the field, using every bit of speed he could, using the power of his mighty wings and a small spell to aid him. He bull rushed War and sent them both toppling to the ground. He began tearing into the shocked card, giving him no leeway. He knew the other three were right behind him, but he ignored them. If he could take one, just one of them, he could reduce their strength and his Master would have a better fighting chance. However, he heard scuffling behind him. 

Kero frowned. This wasn't how it happened. There were subtle differences to what he originally remembered. The Four Brothers had been mounted when he attacked them, they had been facing towards the town, not away from it, and Death hadn't had his Deathscythe out. Kero had a moment to wonder about this when someone called to him from behind, distracting him. 

"Kero! Get off him and lets go!" 

Kero watched himself raise his head, remembered it, actually, and look towards the voice...only to come face to face with... **_Sakura!?_** "Who the devil are you?" he heard himself roar right before the memory retreated. 

Flinging his arms in the air, Kero eeped and went diving towards the ground. "Oof!!" he grunted when he connected. He had been so surprised by what he saw, he lost his balance. Staring up into the sky above his head, Kero tried to regain his wits and figure out just what had happened. 

Madison bent over and picked Kero up gently. "Kero! Are you all right?!" she asked worriedly. Everyone was leaning in close to get a glimpse of Kero and determine what was up. 

Suddenly, surprising everyone into jerking their heads back, Kero bounded out of Madison's hands and began flapping his wings and waving his arms for all he was worth. "I know where she is! I know where she is!!" he exclaimed. 

They all waited, astonished. 

Kero looked at Rage. "You were right. She did go back in time." he tapped his head. "I remember it." 

"You remember...?" Rage trailed off. Then his eyes got intense as he realized what Kero meant. "When is she? Is she safe?" 

Kero snorted. "Safe? Hardly." he said, feeling his good humour returning now that he knew where Sakura was, knew that she was still alive. Kero continued hastily when Li took a step forward and looked like he was going to strangle him if he didn't start talking. "She's gone back hundreds of years. Back to the time when you were first made." Kero said, looking at Rage. 

Madison smiled. "Well...that's good, right? I mean, now that you know when she is, all you have to do is figure out how to get her back." her smile faltered slightly at the look on Rage and Yue's faces. 

Kero shook his head. "Not so simple. Besides, think about where she is. This is when the Forgotten first began their reign on terror. She's not in the safest of places right now. Besides," Kero coughed. "The last time I remember seeing her, she was in the middle of a battle between the Four Brothers." 

Love's eyebrows headed clear to his hairline. "That girl has a knack for getting herself into trouble, doesn't she?" he said, just about the same time Rage croaked out, "What!?" 

"How was she doing? Is she all right?" Li asked anxiously. 

Kero scratched his head. "Weeelll...she seemed to be doing all right at the moment. However, if she survives the cards, she might not survive me." 

Madison stared at him, google eyed. 

"What...is that supposed to mean?" Rage asked quietly. 

Kero sighed. "Oh...don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't hurt her...pretty sure." everyone stared at him. "What? Look, Sakura interrupted a battle between me and the Four Brothers. Back then, I wouldn't know who she was, just that I didn't know her, and she had Magic. I think me being wary and suspicious is perfectly logical." he pointed out reasonably. 

"Yes...as long as you don't eat her." Rage quipped. 

Kero scowled at him. "I think...I would have remembered that." he said slowly. 

"Now that we know when she is, we must come up with a spell to bring her back." Yue said calmly. 

"**_If_** we can bring her back." Love muttered. 

Madison glared at him. "Of course we can bring her back! How dare you think like that!! We've **_got_** to bring her back." 

"Let's think about this." Li said. "I'm not the best with Magic, I admit, not when it comes to you four, although," he muttered, "That might be because you're a few hundred years older then I am. So I hope you've got something we can go on. In all of the texts I've read, I don't recall there being mention of time traveling in any of them. I'm going to go home and check, though. I'm also going to phone my clan in Hong Kong and have them research the topic for me." he glanced about uncertainly. "That's the best I can do I'm afraid." 

Kero patted his shoulder gently. "Don't worry about it, Kid. Who knows? It might help." Kero's expression changed and he barked out, "Now get moving!!" 

Li nodded, and with a last look at everyone, turned and ran as fast as he could back to his apartment. 

Madison spoke up quickly. "What about Sakura's Dad?" 

"Right." Kero said, he'd forgotten. He thought for a minute. "Okay, he can't know that she's gone or what's going on. Tory?" he addressed Sakura's brother for the first time. "Can you go back to the house and make up some excuse to Mr. Avalon about Sakura? Anything, say she's at a sleep over or something. Just don't let him know what's going on." 

Tory crossed his arms over his chest. "Why should I? Dad should know about all this, even though I still don't believe in all of this myself." Love rolled his eyes. 

"Think!" Kero hissed at him. "There's a reason why none of you were ever told about Sakura and her special gift! You could be in danger! Do you really want your father to be put in danger, Tory?" Tory lowered his eyes and Kero played this for all it was worth. "And what about the worry, the grief over the disappearance of his little girl? He'd nearly have a heart attack, wondering if she was ever coming back! Do you really want to put him through that?" 

Tory didn't say anything for a while, suspended in indecision. Finally, he raised his eyes again and some of the determined light returned to them. "Fine." he gritted out. "I'll do it. But only because I don't want Dad to worry! I give you one day, by this time tomorrow, if you haven't found a way to bring her back, I'm going to tell him." and then he began to walk away. 

Kero looked at Madison next. "Go with him." he said quietly. Madison opened her mouth to protest, wanting to be here in case anything happened. Kero silenced her. "He needs you right now. This is all new to him, help him adjust." 

Madison glanced back at Tory's retreating form then back at Kero. Smiling gently, she quickly scampered after Tory. 

That left Yue, Kero, Rage, and Love, alone, to find a way to bring Sakura back into the present.   
~ 

Sakura woke up with a start. It only took her a moment to remember what had happened just recently...and just where she **_wasn't_**. Sakura opened her eyes and tried to take in her surroundings, however, it was pitch black wherever she was, not a light to be seen. The only thing Sakura was sure of was that she was lying on a mattress. She shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable. Apparently, someone must have been in the room and heard her, because at least a dozen candles suddenly burst into flame around Sakura, casting the room in a soft glow. 

Sakura sat up slowly and quickly took in the room around her. It wasn't large, but the room wasn't small either. The bed she was sleeping on was rather like a single army bunk she'd seen somewhere in a movie, small and lumpy. There was a very small fireplace in the corner with a brick ledge above it which supported three medium sized candles. There was a slightly ajar door that looked like it's wood was far past it's retirement. Besides her old mattress, there was no other furniture in the room, except a weathered rocking chair...which happened to be occupied at the moment. 

"Clow Reed!" Sakura exclaimed softly. This was the first time she had met her sorcerous ancester outside of her vision, or whatever it had been, after the Final Judgement. Sakura was absolutely thrilled to see him, a solid anchor in her world turned upside down. And if anyone could help her, she knew he could. Oh! She had so many things to ask him! "I'm so happy to see you! What...how...why am I here? How did I get here? Can I get back? What's going on?" she fired each question at him without pause. She had even more things she wanted to ask him, but as Sakura got a closer look at Clow Reed's face, Sakura couldn't help but gasp in sympathy. "Clow Reed...what's wrong?" 

Clow smiled gently. His face was an unhealthy shade of white. There were dark, black smudges underneath his eyes and there didn't seem to be much flesh left on his face, merely skin serving as a shell. He looked...exhausted. "Do not fear, Sakura, all of your questions will be answered in due time." he said wearily. "As to why I look like I'm dead," he mused. "A time spell followed almost immediately by a teleport spell will do that to you." 

Sakura blinked. "Time spell...?" she questioned faintly. She gaped. "It was YOU who brought me here?!" she asked incredulously. 

Clow's looked thoughtful. "Yes, in a way. I was not the only element that brought you here." 

"Excuse me, but,...huh?" Sakura asked, clueless. 

Clow smiled again. "I was the one who set things in motion for you to be brought to me, but without help from Time and yourself, I could not have done it. Even I cannot change time on my own." 

"Me?" Sakura squeaked out. "I think you're mistaken...I didn't do anything, trust me, I know nothing about Magic." 

Clow shook his head lightly. "Not true. But, we'll leave that for another time..." he clasped his hands in front of him and set his elbows on the chair's arms. "You didn't really have to perform Magic, I only needed to tap into your energy and take what I needed in order to make the spell work. Then, using almost all of my strength, I created a doorway in time. Unable to come and get you myself, even if I had been at my full strength I would not have been able to travel through time's corridors, I had the Time card bring you to me." Clow's smile took on a bit of a sheepish edge. "With the amount of energy I had taken from you, I expected to find you nearly unconscious. You did not know my surprise when I teleported to find you protecting Kero from the Four Brothers." 

"Not as surprised as I was." Sakura muttered. Propping her chin in her hand, Sakura asked, "But how did you do it? How did you communicate through time to tell the Time card to transport me to the past?" another thought occurred to her, "And how did you know I even existed?! There's no way..." 

Clow chuckled softly. "I have...what you might call...a looking glass. I may not be able to travel or alter time, but with a few minor spells, I can see through time. I have been watching you Sakura." he said suddenly and Sakura's eyes bugged out of her head. "I waited years, watching my descendants, waiting for YOU to be born. I thought, that when Li Syaoran had been born and I watched him grow, that he was the one I was looking for. Then I found you..." he shook his head slightly and smiled again, leaving that cryptic remark hanging in the air between them. "But that is no matter. It is over and done with now. As to how I was able to instruct the Time card as to my plans...that was a little more difficult." he paused, and Sakura thought he might be trying to think of a way to explain this to her. "In a way, I am still connected to my cards...even the ones in the future. Even though I die...oh, yes," Clow said, amused, seeing the look on Sakura's face. "I know I will die, and I know when, but I will not do anything to stop it. Trying to change the events that have already taken place could be disasterous...bringing you here was a risk in itself. But, I digress. Where was I? Oh, yes...as I was saying, my cards are still connected to me, even through the centuries. I have my own bond with the cards, as you do, but mine is stronger...but that is merely because I made them and I know these things. It took effort, but I was able to contact Time and inform him of my need to have you here. Of course, he immediately agreed." 

"So...you've been watching me? all through my life?" she asked uncertainly. "Through this...'looking glass' of yours?" 

"Oh yes." Clow smiled, a touch of pride showing through. "I was very proud of the way you handled the cards, Sakura." 

Sakura smiled for the first time in this time. "Thanks." she hesitated. "But...why did you bring me here?" 

Any playfulness that had been present in Clow's face abruptly vanished, and he became utterly serious. To Sakura, he looked older to her in this moment then in any other moment she had seen him. "I brought you here because I need your help." he said simply. Sakura stared at him in disbelief. Before she could start voicing her protests, Clow spoke again, "I cannot take care of my...no...I should not refer to them as mine, for they are not and never were." he cleared his throat. "I cannot take care of... the new cards on my own. They are too cunning. However, that does not concern me at the moment. Something of greater importance that I have seen in the future demands my immediate attention." he leaned forward in his chair. "I brought you here, to seal the War card." he said solemnly. 

"**_What!?_**" Sakura shrieked shrilly. She could not believe this. "What on Earth would ever convince you that I could seal one of the Four Brothers...on my OWN!? I barely managed to seal Disease in MY time! and then, it wasn't even really ME that managed it! I had help!! Help I'd NEVER get here! But then, I suppose you saw that!" Sakura retorted. 

Clow simply regarded Sakura patiently. When she was through, he simply asked, "Are you done?" 

Sakura wilted like a flower in the Sahara. The look on Clow's face made her feel like she was thirteen again. "Yes." she said quietly. 

"If you will hear me out for one moment, I will tell you what I have seen...and, verily, why you are here." 

"As I was looking forward in time, observing you, I was struck my a prophetic vision. I saw War, in your time, forming his alliance with Famine and Death once more. His sole intention, of course, to regain his strangle hold on the world, to create fear and chaos among all living things. However, there was someone standing in his way. You." 

Sakura gasped. She couldn't help it. 

"Naturally," Clow went on, "The simple solution would be to get rid of you. At first, the rumours of a descendant of mine did not trouble him. But when you resealed Hate...and then Disease, he became slightly agitated. If you could seal two of his fellow cards? What kind of power must you possess? Thinking along these lines, he sought out his two former remaining allies once more. They banded together again, not because of friendship I assure you, but because of a threat to their existence. Putting together such vile spells and planes for you, they waited and built up their strength." 

"One day, they made their move. You fought. I saw the end of the battle, Sakura, and I am sorry to say, you died. I will not go into the details as they are extremely horrid." 

Sakura could only stare in mounting trepidation. Softly, she whispered, "How can you be sure? What you saw might not happen." 

Clow Reed shook his head sadly. "Prophetic visions very rarely ever mislead...and they never lie." he said with a finality Sakura found she didn't like. 

"So, again, how do you think I could seal the War card? I faced him, or will face him, already...and I died." she said hopelessly. 

"Yes...but there are differences in this time that put us at an advantage." he leaned further forward in his chair. "I do not ask you to tackle all four, that would be beyond foolishness. You need not worry about the Disease card as you have already sealed him. The only one you must concentrate on is War. In the future, HE was the one who formed the alliance again, HE was the one who perceive you as a threat that must be annihilated. He is the one we must focus on...and it is not all that hopeless. In the future, he knew you were a danger, here, he does not even know you exist. If you seal him now, he will not be there to cause trouble in the future...and he will not be there to cause your death." 

"I thought you said messing with events that have already taken place in the future, and trying to change your own future, was something you're never supposed to do." Sakura said weakly. 

Clow Reed nodded slightly. "Yes...and, normally, I would agree with you. But this is far more important. He cannot be allowed to kill you or all is lost in your time. The cards will take over, and the world shall forever be thrust into an eternal night. You were, are, will be..."Clow Reed grimaced. "I hate that...the world's only hope." 

"But what about you!?" Sakura cried desperately, grasping at any lifeline thrown her way. "You risk changing the future because of me? but you won't change it to save yourself? What's with that? You are so much more capable of handling them than I am. You're a sorcerer for crying out loud!!" 

Clow Reed smiled sadly. "I am that...aren't I? And look where it has gotten me. But no, changing my fate will do nothing. And, aside from what you think, you are the one who is destined to reseal those cards. Not I. I do not have what it takes." 

"But I do?" Sakura asked incredulously. 

Clow nodded. "You may not believe it now...but you wait and see. You have a strength inside of you that I never had, can never hope to have. If I had half your strength, I would have had no trouble keeping those mischievous cards under control." 

Sakura sighed, giving up. Obviously...Clow Reed was dillusional. However, he seemed dead set on this course, so what could she do? Although, one last bit of defiance entered Sakura, and caused her to ask, "And if I refuse? If I don't help you and demand to be sent back into the future? What would you do then?" she asked daringly. 

Clow Reed gazed upon her with infinite sadness. "Then I would send you back." he whispered. He heaved himself out of the rocking chair and prepared to leave. 

"Wait!" Sakura cried out. He turned around. Sakura bit her lip, knowing this was by no means a good idea but possibly the only option left to her. Well...not the only option...she could always go back to the future and be killed. Oh yeah...what a plan. Resigning herself to whatever nasty game Fate was playing on her life, Sakura sighed, "What do I have to do?" 

Clow Reed opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly, his face went even paler then it was now and his lips pinched together tightly. He wavered on his feet, and, worried that he might fall, Sakura bounded out of her bed. 

With an impatient wave of his hand, Clow Reed brushed off Sakura's attempted offer of help. "I am fine." he said, voice strained. Straightening, the attack apparently over, Clow Reed smiled as much as he could. "I am merely tired. As soon as I get some rest, I will be fine. As to your last question, we will discuss it on the morrow." 

Sakura nodded quickly. She was such an idiot. Keeping him here when it clearly took a large amount of effort on his part to remain standing. "Of course." she frowned. "Is it evening already?" 

Clow Reed nodded. "Yes, the darkness in just approaching. I bid you goodnight, Sakura. You would do well to sleep this night, for there is much to do tomorrow. If you need anything, just step into the hallway, Kero Beros will be prowling the halls tonight." and then he left. 

Sakura blinked. Kero? She wondered how he was doing, and she wondered if Clow Reed had told Kero about her. Well...all she could do was hope that her next meeting with the Guardian Beast of the Seal went better them last time. 

Climbing back into her uncomfortable bed, Sakura lay down. Clow Reed's last words replayed themselves in her head. She grimaced, thinking dryly, how was she supposed to sleep with so many things to think about? However, as soon as her head hit the pillow, Sakura found herself drifting back to sleep against her will within moments. In no more than a minute, she was asleep. 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

HEY!! I brought in Clow Reed! How about that? Well? I hope this wasn't too much of a cliffhanger this time. :) I tried to make sure I didn't leave it where Sakura was about to be killed again. I figured...why not give myself a challenge and lay off the dramatic endings for a while? Besides...Sakura1301 was getting annoyed, so, in fear of my life, I had to attempt a non cliffhanger ending. However...I must warn you...I AM addicted to cliffhangers, and I don't know how long I can keep from writing them. *gets weird...maniacal gleam in eyes* So review...and tell me what you thought. 

Just so you know, the next chapter is probably going to be one of my 'information' chapters. :) It's the way it's gotta be. But don't let that fool you...a lot of stuff's gonna happen in the next chapter, stuff you need to know about. So read it! ;p Just so you know, the chapter probably won't be out until next weekend...at the LEAST! So...you might have a bit of a wait. *hears growling over computer* o.Oa Sorry!! Until then! *sneaks out back door* 


	19. An Interesting PropositionCh18

Cardcaptors18 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Okay, I'd just like to clear something up before we move on. In chapter sixteen...was it sixteen?...*scratches head* I believe it was sixteen *_~ ... at the end, Sakura said something. Now, fool that I am, I didn't elaborate on it because I thought you'd all get what I meant. As I said...I'm an idiot. What a foolish thing to assume. Well, when one of you was bold enough to tell me you had no idea what I was talking about, I realized that you shouldn't assume things because it never gets you anywhere. ^_^ Okay, enough babbling. When Sakura said, 'I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore...' it was something I took from the Wizard of Oz. It was a little joke. You see, for those of you who haven't seen the movies the Wizard of Oz, there is a main character in it who's name is Dorothy. Dorothy lived in Kansas. Her house was swept up into a tornado-with her in it!- and was set down again in another world. When she stepped out of the house and looked around, she said, 'Toto, (that's her dog ^_^) I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore. That's why I put that little sentence at the end of the chapter. ^_^ I thought it fit. Well, hope that clears it up for you...Read on! 

Oh! And thanks to all my reviewers!! ^_^ You were all so NICE in your comments on the last chapter! Your feedback is much appreciated! And I thank you, again, for taking the time to read my pathetic little story! Gee...^o^a...I don't know if I can keep up with last chapter...well...let's find out! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this, so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: An Interesting Proposition-Ch.18**

Sakura opened her door quietly and poked her head just outside of it, looking around uncertainly. A dark, empty corridor met her unsure gaze and Sakura frowned. She didn't quite know what she expected Clow Reed's home to be like, but, she hadn't expected the empty, bare, and lonely feeling she was getting from this place. There were no paintings or anything of the sort decorating any of the walls! nothing to lighten up the place, make it feel like it was lived in. If she had woken up here one morning, and not seen Clow Reed, she would have assumed this place was deserted. 

Closing her door behind her silently, Sakura ventured off down the hallway. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she didn't want to stay in that room all day. And, she might very well have had that long to wait if Clow Reed's condition last night had been evidence of his exhaustion last night. If he was smart, he'd sleep the entire day away to regain his lost strength. 

Sakura did inny-minni-miney-moe and ended up going right. She gazed about her without much interest, her only source of entertainment being the occasional lit candleholder standing upright against the walls. Her thoughts inevitably drifted to Kero, and Madison, and Li. She winced, and she wondered what they might be thinking right now. Did they know she had been sent back in time by Clow Reed? Highly unlikely. They probably didn't have a clue as to where she was. Madison was probably worrying, Kero was probably angry, hiding his worry, and Li, well...she hoped he was worrying about her. Sakura frowned at that thought. It's not like she wanted to cause him any grief by having him worry, but, if he was worrying, that shows that he cares. 

Sakura sighed and tried to force such thoughts from her mind. They weren't going to help her present situation and there was nothing she could do about them, so there was no sense in brooding. Sakura rounded a corner and came upon...you guessed it ...another empty corridor. Sakura turned and looked behind her, wondering, if, perhaps, she should have gone the other way. 

Turning back to the front, Sakura spotted a slight distortion in the air right in front of her, "What the...?" she whispered. Then, before she could gather her wits, Kero abruptly appeared out of thin air, not an inch from her. Sakura screamed in surprise and went reeling backwards. Landing on her rump, she winced and bit out, "KERO! Don't DO that!!" she glared up at him. "I didn't even know you **_could_** do that." she muttered. 

Kero stared down at her with nothing more then faint curiousity in his eyes. "An invisibility spell." he said simply. He didn't elaborate and Sakura sighed. 

Heaving herself back on her feet, she said, "What were you doing?" 

"Keeping watch." he said. 

Sakura blinked. She really was going to have to get used to that, she supposed. She was used to the small, high-pitched, Kero. Not this large, tawny, deep voiced animal. And she wasn't quite used to that unnerving stare he was using on her now. When he had changed into his true form in the future, he hadn't seemed so...serious. Sakura mentally shrugged. She supposed it must be the times. She couldn't help but feel more than a little sympathetic towards the Guardian Beast. With war threatening to break out all over because of the Forgotten, and the possible danger to Clow Reed, Kero had more than enough reason to be wary. But it hurt...not seeing that playful warmth that used to be in his eyes. 

"What are you doing?" 

It took Sakura a moment to realize he was talking to her. Blinking, she replied, "I was looking for Clow Reed. Do you know where he is?" 

Kero gave her a look, as if to suggest he'd have to be dead before not knowing the whereabouts of the sorcerer. "He is resting." he said firmly. "You will not disturb him." 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh! Of course I won't disturb him if he's sleeping!" she said exasperated. She looked at him with a bit of consternation. "If I can't speak with him, how about telling me where the kitchen is?" when she received a blank stare, Sakura quickly amended. "Uh...the food?" 

Without a word, Kero turned and began padding down the hallway. Taking that as an, 'I'll take you to the food,' Sakura followed behind Kero quietly. After many turns, the two emerged into what Sakura took to be a sort of pantry of the time. There was a large, wooden table in the center of the room and a tray of fruit was laying on it. As delectable as the fruit looked, Sakura couldn't help but wonder where the more substantial stuff was. Meat, cheese...chocolate bar. It didn't look like there were many places you could store food here and the big...cauldron?...in the corner wasn't filled with soup or stew and the cold ashes underneath suggested it hadn't been used for cooking recently. 

Sakura turned and looked at Kero who was watching her, "Where's the rest?" she asked simply. 

Kero looked a bit guilty. "That is all that there is. Master has not been eating lately." 

Sakura could understand why the Guardian Beast looked like he was going to be scolded. Obviously, he cared very much for Clow Reed, and the thought of him not eating must disturb him as much as it did Sakura. Well, if Clow Reed was doing with nothing more than fruit, then so would Sakura. 

She walked over and picked up an apple. Leaning against the table she took a bite out of it. She chewed a few mouthfuls in silence before Kero's unblinking gaze began to bother her. Addressing him abruptly, she asked, "What are you doing? Don't you have anything better to do than stare at me while I eat?" 

Finally, Kero blinked. "I must guard you. I cannot let you wander off alone with the Master so depleted of strength." 

Sakura stared at him. Finally, she put her half eaten apple down gingerly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Kero," she said slowly, "Do you know who I am?" 

"Should I?" he asked curiously. 

Sakura blinked. So, Clow Reed hadn't told Kero who she was. Was there a reason for that? Or had he simply been too tired and fell asleep before he got the chance? Well, if Clow Reed had neglected to tell Kero who she was for some reason, he must have an explanation for it. So, she would wait until Clow Reed told Kero himself who she was and not spill the beans. 

Sakura sighed. Kero was back to staring again. Trying to strike up conversation, Sakura ventured, "So, this is where Clow Reed lives?" 

Kero surprised Sakura by giving a small snort. "Of course not." 

Sakura waited. Kero didn't say anything. Sakura rolled her eyes, "Well,...I just assumed. I mean, I thought it was a bit weird when my little exploring trip turned up nothing but empty, gray walls. I pictured Clow Reed living in a much more...luxuriant ...home." 

Sakura smiled mentally as Kero sat back on his haunches. Not being much of a talker in this time, mention of his Master seemed to be able to get him to open his mouth at least, "No, he does not live here." he said slowly. "This is merely a precaution." 

"Well, where are we then? And why does he feel it's necessary to take 'precautions?' " well, there was the obvious reasons, the Forgotten, but Sakura didn't really think that was it. 

His tail swishing back and forth lazily against the floor, Kero observed Sakura thoughtfully. "At the moment, we are in the upper levels of my Master's labyrinth." 

Sakura gaped. Labyrinth...wasn't that sort of the same thing as a laboratory? Clow Reed's laboratory...Sakura looked around her with renewed interest and a sense of dread. This was where the Forgotten were going to be trapped, sealed, for centuries... Something Kero said stuck in Sakura's mind. "Upper levels?" she asked. 

Swish. Swish. Kero's tail swept across the floor, his gaze extremely serious. "You do not want to see the lower levels." 

Kero said it with such finality that Sakura couldn't help but silently agree with him. She tried to remember everything that her Kero had told her about the time Clow Reed sealed the cards. Somehow, she doubted they had been sealed in the upper levels. If that was so, someone surely would have found the entrance to this place and unleashed them accidentally before they escaped themselves. If she were Clow Reed, she would have destroyed the upper levels to keep that from happening. That meant, that whatever the lower levels looked like, that's where the cards would have been trapped...with nothing but a pile of rubble over top of their heads. Sakura shied away from that thought. 

"The reason why he is here," Kero continued, ignoring the lapse in Sakura's attention span. "It is not a precaution against the cards and them being a threat to him...it has something to do with you. Although, I have not discovered why, yet." Sakura's eyebrows lifted in disbelief. "You doubt me?" Kero asked quietly. "If you were not here I am more than certain my Master would not be here either. He would be in his castle." (Yes, in this fic Clow Reed lives in a castle. Not terribly original, but he's a sorcerer! He had to live somewhere grand! XD ) 

Sakura's eyes widened. "He lives in a **_castle?!_**" she burst out. 

Kero eyed her with bewildered look. "Of course. Where else would the High Priest of the Sorcerer's order reside?" he asked, puzzled. 

"Buckingham palace?" Sakura croaked out. Kero gave her another blank look. "Nevermind." she muttered. "Go on." she said after clearing her throat. 

"This is merely where my Master comes to perform his more...serious...spells." Kero looked a bit uncertain and Sakura wondered just what Clow Reed came here to do that he couldn't...or wouldn't?...do at his home. 

An awkward silence ascended over the two and Sakura glanced about her nervously. "Umm...is there anything I could do here? Anything to keep me entertained? A book of some sort?" she asked desperately. 

Kero's eyes narrowed. "The only books my Master keeps here are his gramores, and only in his rooms. You will not go in there, and you will not rifle through his spelled texts." 

Sakura's breath whooshed out of her in an explosive sigh, she couldn't help it. "Kero..." she began. 

"Kero Beros." 

"What?" Sakura asked, confused. 

"My name is Kero Beros, you do not have leave to address me in any familiar manner." 

Sakura just stared at him. "Kero...Beros," _God that felt weird, _"Why is it that at every turn, every move I make, your watching me as if you expect me to turn into a demon and eat Clow Reed?" Kero's eyes went impossibly wide. Sakura sweat dropped. "Before you can say it," she gritted out. "I can't turn into a demon, and I wouldn't eat Clow Reed." returning her voice to some semblance of normalcy, Sakura continued, "I haven't given you one reason to be suspicious of me. I saved your life when you were fighting the Four Brothers, acted completely civil to you, and even tried to engage you in conversation! Now, if that doesn't scream, 'Hey! I'd like to be friends!' I don't know what does." 

Kero eyed her suspiciously. "Nowadays, anyone could be an enemy." 

Sakura threw up her hands. "Geez! This is like World War Two! You being a German soldier! Completely bigoted! And everyone else being Jewish people! Lighten up!" 

Kero merely blinked. "You speak strangely." 

Sakura sighed. "When are you going to trust me? What is it I'll have to do?" 

"When my Master approves of you, then so will I. Until then, I cannot help but be suspicious." 

"Oh, of course not." Sakura said sarcastically. 

Just then, there was a funny, fuzzy sensation right at the edge of Sakura's awareness. It was almost like the feeling she got right before she sensed a Clow card. In the next moment, without any flashing lights or any bells announcing a change, a man suddenly appeared right in front of her face. For the second time that day, Sakura screamed. Jumping up on the table, Sakura abruptly sat beside the fruit tray. If people didn't stop materializing in front of her she was going to have a heart attack! 

The man merely glanced at her and then turned his attention to Kero. "When I could not find you or the Master at his home, I was worried, Kero Beros. Then, feeling his exhaustion, I thought to come here." 

Getting over her mild shock, Sakura only received another. If it wasn't for the perfectly white wings, Sakura never, EVER would have guessed that this rumpled creature in front of her was Yue. His hair was down from what Sakura came to think of as his never changing hair style; ponytail with many bindings. It covered his shoulders, back, and face in a veritable white cloud. His face had one black smudge on it that looked like dirt. His robes were gone and in their place were merely a pair of black trousers, the kind made in this time, Sakura guessed. He wore nothing else. His bare chest had a faint sheen of perspiration on it and his feral, catlike eyes were strangely intense. Sakura swallowed. (Yeah...^.^a...I had this incredible urge to make Yue seem....**_sexy_**. ^_^ It was irresistible! I couldn't resist! And besides, this is probably the only chance I'll get to do this.) 

Kero looked Yue up and down. "Yue." he greeted quietly. Then, raising his eyebrow, he asked, "And what have you been doing?" he sounded amused. 

Yue blew a stray strand of silver hair out of his face. "I was in a battle, Kero Beros." 

Kero stood on all fours, his eyes gleaming, "One of the cards?" he asked anxiously. 

Yue grimaced slightly. "No, some of those monstrosities created by the Insanity card. He's getting on my nerves." 

"Yue?!" Sakura finally managed to blurt out. Yue turned towards her slightly. Sakura ducked, one of his giant wings brushing over the top of her head. "What?...How?...I didn't know I'd get to see you! What are you wearing?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at the odd attire. 

Yue raked his eyes over Sakura from head to toe, almost disdainfully. Then, making Sakura's mouth fall open in a mix of surprise, then outrage, he turned back to Kero, ignoring her. "How did a trollop make her way down here?" 

Sakura began spluttering. "Wh-what!!?" she screeched. "Did you just call me..." Sakura couldn't finish she was struck speechless. 

Yue turned back to face her with an almost impatient air about him, as if he couldn't fathom why she was still talking. "Am I mistaken? I do doubt it. Look at the way you are dressed." he said reasonably. 

Sakura glanced down. What was wrong with her top and shorts? Sure, she could admit that her spaghetti strap top might be a little bit revealing, but not THAT much! Crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously, Sakura glared at Yue. "Look who's talking! At least I'm wearing a shirt!" 

Yue raised an eyebrow. "Well, I thought it was simpler to get rid of it, considering how those demons slashed it to shreds. And to even **_think_** of wearing my robes to fight them. They would hinder me too much, give the monsters something to grab hold of." he smiled slightly. "But, why am I explaining this to you?" looking her over again, Yue stepped forward, almost leaning against the table edge where Sakura's legs were hanging. "I always feel so exhilarated after a battle. I could use a... distraction. With your permission, of course." 

Sakura opened her mouth then shut it again. She didn't think she'd ever been this outraged in her entire life! Just who did he think he was?! While he had been explaining about his attire, Sakura had realized that Yue probably thought her a tramp because women in these times wore nothing but modest dresses. They certainly didn't wear breeches, much less shorts! people were appalled if you showed ankle in this time! So, she had been ready to explain to him why her clothes were so odd, tell him that Clow Reed had brought her here from the future. But then, then! he'd made that suggestive comment! And now, with his broad shoulders blocking her view of anything else, it was rather hard not to smack him. But, out of respect for the Yue she knew, she restrained herself. 

Smiling sweetly at him, Sakura said, "I'm going to forget you said that." honey in her voice. 

Yue tilted his head to his side. "And why would that be?" he lifted a hand to stroke a strand of her sienna hair. "I am not so horrible to look at, am I?" (hell no! drools) Yue spread his wings to his full span, showing them off. Sakura slapped his hand away from her hair as gently as she could, her rising temper beginning to get the better of her. Yue smiled. "Such spirit." 

"Yue!" 

Sakura, Yue, and Kero's heads snapped towards the archway that led out into the hallways. Clow Reed stood leaning against the wall, disapproval faintly reeking off of him. Yue quickly stepped away from Sakura and the table. Folding his wings behind him, he bowed slightly, 

"Master! I did not know you were awake. If I had I would have come straight to you. I have some news on Insanity..." 

Clow Reed cut him off. "I have only one thing to say to you, Yue. Treat Sakura with respect at all times, and I don't want to see you approach her that way unless she comes to you first. Is that understood?" 

Yue gazed upon his Master with puzzlement evident in his eyes, but he was clearly obedient. "I'm sorry, Master, I did not know she was yours." 

Sakura groaned and fell back against the table. She banged the back of her head against the tabletop twice in exasperation. "I'm not **_anybody's!_**" she fairly yelled. 

Clow Reed smiled apologetically at Sakura. "Forgive him, Sakura. You knew him when he was older. Now, he is nothing more than an adolescent, only a little older than you are, my dear. And you know how teenage boys can be." 

Sakura sighed. "Tell me about it." she said from the table. That sent Yue into bristling. Literally. The feathers on his wings began to fluff up. Sakura couldn't help but giggle at him. 

Confused, Yue turned to Clow Reed. "I'm afraid I don't understand. I have never seen her before, how can she know me?" 

Clow Reed beckoned to Sakura. Standing, she walked over to him. Gesturing for the lot to follow him, Clow Reed left the 'kitchen.' "I shall explain all in a moment." he said calmly. 

Sakura followed closely behind Clow Reed, not sure where they were all going. She was grateful for his little rescue back there. In truth, she had been two seconds away from balling up her fist and giving Yue another black smudge on his face. 

Sakura cast a side-long glance out of the corner of her eye and watched Clow Reed discretely. He looked so much better then he had yesterday. Those smudges under his eyes were gone and he walked like one who had enough energy to spare. Sakura was relieved, but she couldn't help but be puzzled. How could Clow Reed possibly be so revitalized after only one nights rest? Maybe he used a spell or something? But that kinda seemed odd, considering that casting spells was what made him so tired in the first place. Perhaps he'd readied a spell ahead of time? Had he known this would come off completely without a hitch? 

They proceeded down the hallways silently. Sakura noticed some time ago that they were heading down. She couldn't help but be a bit nervous about that. Were they going to the lower levels? She rather hoped not. She could do without seeing those rooms. Kero and Yue seemed fairly confident of where they were going, their stride fast and sure. 

Clow Reed abruptly turned right at the first opening in the corridor they had been traveling down. When Sakura followed him inside, she couldn't help but stop and take a look around first. This must be where Clow Reed had been resting, the rooms Kero told her about. In the corner there was a medium sized bed with a canopy overhead. There were red, silk curtains surrounding the bed and they were closed at the moment, so Sakura couldn't really get a good idea of what was behind them. She supposed Clow Reed had put them there to keep any light out that might disturb him during his sleep. Speaking of light, there were candles set on shelves, tables, and chairs. Their light cast off a faint illumination around the room and sent eerie shadows across the walls. In the farthest corner from the door, and set in a little alcove, was a podium of sorts. On it rested one of the thickest books Sakura had ever seen, she silently mused that it would take her the rest of her life to read that. It was open and the pages looked crinkled, as with age. Sakura wondered if it was one of Clow Reed's Magical texts. 

"Come in, Sakura, come in. Don't be nervous." Clow Reed smiled, amused, "Besides, you are rather annoying my Guardians, I think." 

Sakura glanced behind her and saw that Yue had his arms crossed over his chest in an impatient manner. Blushing slightly in embarrassment, Sakura mumbled, "Sorry," and moved out of the doorway. Kero and Yue brushed past her and took up positions against the wall beside the bed. Kero simply sat on his haunches. Yue tucked his feet under him and sat on air. Sakura couldn't help but smile fondly at that. He was in that exact same position the last time she saw him. 

"Do sit down, Sakura," Clow Reed said, disappearing into the little alcove. 

"Umm..." Sakura said uncertainly, glancing around at all the chairs covered with candles. 

Clow Reed reappeared. At first he just stood there, as if wondering why Sakura had not taken up his offer. Then he glanced at the chairs himself and smiled a bit sheepishly. "Yes, well, won't be a moment." he then proceeded to scoop up the candles on one chair, unmindful of the flames licking at his robes, and placed them unceremoniously on the table in a big heap. Brushing off the chair with his sleeve, his motioned for her to sit down again. "Sorry about that. I do not exactly entertain down here." he explained. 

Sakura shrugged, indicating that it didn't matter. And it didn't. Her room was messier than this. 

Seating himself on the edge of his bed, Clow Reed folded his hands in his robes and looked everyone over. He sat like that for a few moments, thinking. Then, opening his mouth, he said slowly, "I'm not entirely sure of where to begin. There is so much that needs to be covered, so much to do." he glanced at Kero and Yue. "I think, perhaps, we shall start with the simplest of matters." he looked back at Sakura as if asking her permission about something. Sakura nodded, not sure what he wanted but willing to give it to him. He turned back to the two Guardians. "This, is Sakura Avalon. She is my descendant and I have brought her here from the future to help me with a certain problem that I shall get into in a moment." 

Sakura couldn't help but snort at that. That was rather straight forward. It appears her dear ancestor was not one to beat around the bush. Sakura watched Kero and Yue for their reactions. 

Kero looked quite surprised. His eyes were quite wide in his head and he looked comical to Sakura. The first thing that came out of his mouth, though, was, "That was why you were so tired, Master? I did not even know a time spell existed, let alone was even possible." 

"Yes, well, technically, time travel is impossible." that comment was, to Sakura, completely illogical. 

Yue was a different matter. He looked quite sick to his stomach and Sakura was worried that he might actually be sick. "I am so sorry, Mistress, I did not know." he whispered, looking like he'd caused some incredible sin. 

Sakura smiled reassuringly at him, knowing he was referring to his behaviour in the kitchen. "That's okay, Yue. No harm done." 

Yue still looked like he expected to be punished. 

"Now that that has been cleared up," Clow Reed said firmly, even though it hadn't been, "I have more important things to discuss. I have brought Sakura back, as I said, to help me with something. I want her to seal the War card for me." 

Yue and Kero looked abruptly uneasy. "How, exactly, do you plan to have her go about that, Master?" Yue asked uncertainly. 

Clow Reed looked guilty all of a sudden. Sakura didn't think that was a good thing. "There really isn't any other way, Yue. You know what War is like. She is our best bet." 

"Have you told her what you plan on doing, yet?" Kero asked quietly. 

"No, but I am getting there." Clow Reed said impatiently. "If she declines I promised to send her back so do not worry." he turned to look at Yue. "Your attitude was all the proof I needed. What do you think of Sakura, Yue?" 

Yue ducked his head. "I think she is very beautiful, Master." 

Sakura grinned, she rather liked this side of Yue. All embarrassment and bashfulness. It was cute. Oh...she'd never let the Yue in the future hear the end of this. 

"Well! That's settled then, isn't it?" Clow Reed said matter-of-factly. 

"What's settled?" Sakura asked, beginning to feel uneasy once more. 

Clow Reed settled back against one of the four posts of his bed, and hesitated. Sakura knew this was not a good thing. Clow Reed was someone who came right out and said what he was thinking about, at least, that's the impression Sakura got of him so far. So whatever this 'plan' was, it must be something pretty serious. "What I said yesterday was completely true," he began, "I do need your help to seal the War card, but not in the way you think. I do not want you to battle him, Sakura. I doubt, with your inexperience, that you would win that way. There is another method that has a much better chance of succeeding." 

Sakura swallowed nervously but summoned up a smile from somewhere. "What do I have to do?" 

"War...has a particular fondness for pretty things." Clow Reed said slowly, "He has acquired many beautiful things around the world and brought them to the place where he and the others are residing. Whether the artifacts were vases, tapestries, horses, paintings, things of the sort. I was hoping this could be used against him." 

"So...how do I fit into all this?" Sakura asked, even though she had a sneaking suspicion. 

Quietly, Clow Reed said, "I was hoping that you would get close to him, you would catch his eye, gain his trust, and then, when he's off guard, seal him." 

Sakura stared at him. "You want me to...be a friend of some sort to him?" 

Clow Reed shook his head. "More than a friend, Sakura." 

That was it. He could not be suggesting that she... "You want me to be his...a...to...?" Sakura couldn't finish. 

Clow Reed immediately held up his hands. "No! No, nothing quite so...intimate. Just be yourself, Sakura. Keep him interested in you." Clow Reed said reasonably. 

"And how exactly am I supposed to DO that?!" Sakura asked, exasperated and not a bit appalled. "Be myself, you say! Hah! If I did that he'd know immediately that something was up. I'm not an actor! And how am I supposed to keep him **_interested?!_** There's nothing special about me that would grab his attention. I'm just plain old Sakura!" 

Clow Reed smiled. "I think you underestimate yourself, Sakura. You have made quite an impression on Yue here, and in the future when you defeated him in the Final Judgement. Li Syaoran is certainly fond of you, Kero adores you," Kero eyed him funny. "And everyone you meet seems drawn to you in some way. Even..." Clow Reed's mouth abruptly snapped shut and he looked like he had almost made a serious blunder. Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Well," Clow Reed cleared his throat. "Nevermind about that." 

Sakura tried another approach. "What about my aura? If I was anywhere NEAR War, he'd immediately know I was related to you." 

Clow Reed shook his head. "There is a simple spell I could unleash that would hide your energy force from him. Or, I could teach you how to shield yourself, but you would always have to be concentrating to do that." 

"Well...what about my face?!" Clow Reed looked at her, puzzled. "I couldn't tell a lie if my life depended on it!" she explained. "Much less pretend I was someone I'm not! One look at me and he would know! Trust me." 

Clow Reed looked a bit exasperated. "You must have more faith in yourself, Sakura. You CAN do this." 

Sakura remained silent. 

Clow Reed looked very melancholy all of a sudden. "What I said still stands, Sakura. If you do not want to do this, I can always send you back." 

Sakura sat quietly and thought. If she didn't do this, the future would be doomed. All of her friends, her family, everybody! would fall underneath the Forgotten. How could she let that happen to them? She really didn't think she could do what Clow Reed was convinced she could. She had no experience in things like this. She figured, she could damn well try! And, well, if it blew up in her face, the results would have been the same anyway. She had one last question, however, 

"How am I going to know that he won't hurt me?" she asked quietly. "What if he finds out you sent me and decided to kill me? What then?" 

"I am almost sure he would not harm you, Sakura. He values what he thinks of as his, especially the beautiful things." 

Almost. Sakura pulled a face. Well, that was reassuring. 

"There is one, last thing." Clow Reed said suddenly. Sakura waited. "War is...sadistic, for lack of better things to say. He may take great pride in what he treasures, but he enjoys inflicting pain on his enemies. And no amount of persuasion will make me tell you what he does to them." 

Sakura let out a short burst of laughter. "I thought you were trying to get me to HELP you, not get me to go back home." 

"I thought you should know." Clow Reed said honestly. 

Sakura sighed. Great. Paired up with a potential psycho. Wonderful. 

"Further more," Clow Reed continued. "Kero or Yue will always be nearby." 

"Fine," Sakura whispered. "I'll do it." 

Clow Reed smiled. "Good. Everything will be fine, you'll see. And if something went wrong, it won't of course, but if it did, all the power you need to help you escape is inside of you Sakura. As soon as you realize that, you can do anything." 

"Yeah. Sure." Sakura didn't feel much like talking at the moment, she was too busy pondering what her funeral would be like. 

"And one more thing," Sakura looked up at Clow Reed as he stood. "You cannot take the cards with you." 

Sakura bolted up from her seat. "**_What!?_** You've got to be kidding me! Not take the Clow cards? Are you mad!?" 

Clow Reed smiled faintly. "Clow cards? Yes, I had forgotten they were going to receive that title later. And you cannot take them with you, there is the chance that War would sense them. It is too dangerous." 

"Dangerous! It'd be a hell of a lot more **_dangerous_** if I didn't have them to protect me! How am I supposed to defend myself?" 

"The power is within you, Sakura." Clow Reed said simply. 

Sakura sighed explosively and started pacing back and forth, chewing on her thumb nail. Sakura was beginning to think of this as a suicide venture! No cards, no help, no nothing! She was so going to die. "Fine!" she snarled. "I'll leave them here. Happy?" 

"No." he said honestly. "But I do thank you." 

"Fat lot of good that'll do," Sakura mumbled. She felt like hitting something. She was NOT used to feeling so helpless, and this was simply ridiculous! "When?" 

"Tomorrow. I need to ready the spell that will shield you from him. And Kero needs to find out if War is still where he was the last time I checked, and if he has any...guests." 

Kero stood up. Before Sakura could blink, he was gone. "Damn," Sakura muttered. "I SO want to know how to do that." 

"You also need something else to wear." Clow Reed said, looking her over. "War will never believe you're sane if you wear something like that. Yue, find Sakura some clothes. I should have something suitable back home." 

Yue looked distinctly uncomfortable. "But, Master, I don't know..." 

"What you're doing?" Clow Reed chuckled. "Just pick out something you like and something that looks as if it would fit." 

"But how will I know if it will fit?" 

Clow Reed smirked. "You've been closer to her then I have. You figure it out." 

With an embarrassed cough, Yue disappeared. 

Sakura stared at the spot where he used to be. "You know, you really shouldn't tease him like that." she said faintly. 

Clow Reed chuckled. "I know, but, I cannot help it. The opportunity hardly ever comes up." 

"Umm...so what am I supposed to do before then?" Sakura asked. 

"When Yue gets back, you can try on whatever he brings back. Until then," he pointed to a shelf just above his bed. "You can read the books there. They are very interesting, and not dangerous." 

Sakura went to pick one up. Glancing at the cover, she quickly looked back at Clow Reed. "But this is in Latin. I can't read Latin." 

Clow Reed came over and bent over the book. "Oh, so it is. Fancy that." then he waved his hand over the book and the title changed. "Now it is in English." he said, laughing silently at her bewildered expression. 

Sakura didn't comment on that little bit of Magic. She read the now readable title. _Simple Magic._ Sakura glanced up at Clow Reed and smiled wryly. "Are you trying to tell me something?" 

Clow Reed just blinked blankly at her. "Why, I have no idea what you mean." then he smiled, dispelling the illusion. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right." she started out the door. "Umm...how am I going to find my room?" she asked, embarrassed. 

Clow Reed glanced up at her from behind the podium with the open book. "Just, ah, wander wherever you like. I'll send either Yue or Kero after you when they return. And Sakura," Clow Reed warned. "Do NOT go down. Wherever you go, stay away from the lower levels, do you understand me?" 

Sakura swallowed. "Yes. Perfectly." 

Clow Reed went back to flipping through pages. As Sakura left she thought she heard him muttering something but didn't stay to find out what. As she wandered back in the direction she had come, Sakura couldn't help but wonder what was in the lower levels of this labyrinth. 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

So? Well, a bit short. I think you guys get to meet the War card in the next chapter. Although, ;) I may postpone it 'til the one after that, just to torture you! Joking! Oh! And I know Yue was TOTALLY OOC, but, well, I figured, he couldn't always have been like he is now. All cool and calm. He HAD to have been a teenager once! ^_^ I had fun with that. Anyways...hope you liked it! Until then!   



	20. And So It BeginsCh19

Cardcaptors19 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: ^_^ I'm glad you liked Yue last chapter. I shamelessly abuse him this chapter, too. But, I promise this is the last time! I swear! Okay...um...read and review. Oh, and there is a little violence latter on. You have been warned. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: And so it Begins-Ch.19**

"Sakura...come out. I'm sure you're over exaggerating." Clow Reed sighed impatiently. 

"I am NOT!! over exaggerating!" Sakura yelled from behind her closed, and barred, door. 

Clow Reed rubbed his temple with a pained expression on his face. Glancing behind him at Yue, he asked dryly. "Surely it cannot be that hideous?" 

Yue shrugged. "I thought it looked fine." his wings twitched nervously behind him as cursing suddenly sounded from behind Sakura's door. 

Leaning against the side of the frame, Clow Reed tried again. "We have to prepare for the War card, Sakura. I need to explain things to you." 

"You can explain things from the other side of that door! I am not coming out!" 

Clow Reed abruptly lost his patience. Slapping his hand against the door, he threatened, "Sakura! Do not make me break this door down! And I don't mean physically!" 

The door opened suddenly and slammed against the wall. Clow Reed took a surprised step back, as did Yue. Sakura came gliding out of the room, a scowl planted firmly on her face. "If you laugh, I'll kill you." she said quietly. 

Laughing was the farthest thing from either men's minds. Yue had brought back four gowns for Sakura to try on. The first dress had been a pale green, the second sky blue, the third light pink, and the fourth canary yellow. Sakura had been all for it before the gowns had graced her figure. As the two men had waited on the other side of the door for results on the first dress, what they got was a violent reaction. Sakura had started cursing and abruptly proclaimed that there was no way in hell she was going to wear any of THOSE! For the life of them, Clow Reed and Yue couldn't figure out why. 

Now, Sakura had apparently made her choice, and was none the happier for it. She had picked the canary yellow, and Clow Reed thought she looked rather fetching in it. The yellow in the dress set off the golden streaks in her sienna hair. The wide sleeves of the gown went down all the way to her wrists, and then tapered off underneath her hands into a triangle pattern. The neck of the gown sloped down and and bared her shoulders but stopped at a modest level above her breasts in a square design. The fabric clung tightly to her waist as it was supposed to and showed off all of Sakura's best assets. The lower half of the gown flared off into an elegant umbrella type design, getting slightly larger and further away from her body as it went down, but it didn't overdo it. The yellow material in the front divided to reveal snowy white fabric beneath. The tip of one golden slipper peaked out from beneath her gown, and Clow Reed noticed it was tapping the floor impatiently. To top it all off, dark green lined the sleeves, skirt, and collar of the dress, accentuating the green in her eyes. She had been given a coarse hairbrush earlier and she had obviously made use of it. Her long hair hung about her face and shoulders in waves. 

Clow Reed thought she looked absolutely precious, and judging from the look on Yue's face, he didn't think she looked too bad either. 

So what was the problem? 

Clow Reed returned his eyes from the appraisal to Sakura's face. He noticed the expression on her face was strained. "What's wrong, Sakura?" he asked gently. 

"I can't breathe!" she exclaimed furiously. 

Clow Reed couldn't help it, he laughed. He abruptly choked the sound off as Sakura's eyes narrowed to slits. Trying to regain the authority in his voice, he said mildly, "Women's gowns are designed that way. The corset is to tighten your waist so that a...um...man...can easily span it." Clow Reed coughed. "And, well, the other reason is to raise your..." Clow Reed waved his hand. 

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't WANT my waist to be small enough so a man can can span it! I don't want a man's hands anywhere NEAR my waist! And as for my breasts!" Yue choked. "Do you know how uncomfortable this is!?" 

Clow Reed fought off a smile. "But, Sakura, this is how all women dress in this time. I cannot do anything about that." 

"Yeah, well, all you men are lucky us women haven't killed you yet! If all women here are in as foul as a mood as I am..." Sakura trailed off into grumbling. 

"If it is any consolation to you, Mistress, I think you look radiant." Yue said quietly. 

"Yeah, well," Sakura huffed, but the fight seemed to drain out of her. 

Clow Reed nodded almost imperceptibly to Yue, thanking him. Yue smiled slightly. Addressing Sakura once more, Clow Reed said, "Are you ready to listen to the rest of what I have to tell you?" 

Sakura nodded once. She went to follow Clow Reed and Yue as they started off down the hallway, when she remembered something, "Oh! I forgot something! Wait a minute!" then she picked up her skirts, so she wouldn't fall flat on her face of course, and ran back into her room. 

Glancing at each other, Clow Reed and Yue turned back and poked their heads into the doorway just as Sakura bent over, in a rather compromising position, to pick up something from her bed. Yue abruptly whirled back around and took a few steps away from the doorway. Clow Reed raised an amused eyebrow at him. Yue raised his hand and ran it through his hair, agitated. 

Sakura turned back around, a book clutched in front of her. Walking back out the doorway, she looked between the two and said, "So, are we going?" 

Clow Reed glanced at the book. "I see you have taken an interest in my book?" he said wryly. 

Sakura glanced around. "Well...there's some interesting stuff in here." she admitted reluctantly. 

Clow Reed smiled. "I was hoping you would enjoy the contents in there." he turned and headed for his chambers. "It is merely a novice's book, but I thought it would be an appropriate place to start. Have you gotten to the bit about pulling heat out of the air to create a ball of fire?" 

Sakura's eyes widened. "No." she whispered. 

Clow Reed chuckled. "Good. I don't want you to try that on your own." he pulled a face. "A few apprentices tried it and ended up burning their hands...to say the least. Oh, and there is something in there I think you should note." 

Sakura glanced down at the book and back up into his face. "Like what?" 

"Since that is MY text, it has my notes in it." he looked over his shoulder at her. "You may not understand them, but in the back, after the very last page, there is an incantation I wrote down. I want you to read it and repeat it over and over again in your head, Sakura, until it comes to you without thought. But ONLY in your head. Do not say it out loud until you are ready and the time is right." he warned. 

Sakura frowned. "Why not? What does it do? And how will I know when to say it?" she asked, confused. 

Clow Reed faced forward again, so Sakura didn't see his face when he replied, "You'll know." 

Sakura's frown deepened. She was beginning to think Clow Reed was very complicated. She had said that Clow Reed was straight forward and didn't beat around the bush, and that was true...sort of. It seemed that when Clow Reed was ready to tell you something he came right out with it, but when he wasn't ready...he could be as cryptic as hell. 

They entered Clow Reed's room and Sakura noticed that the million candles that had been scattered about the room had been moved. No longer did they litter the chairs, table, and even the floor, but were confined to shelves. Sakura's lips quirked, "Did some cleaning?" she asked mildly. 

Clow Reed shrugged and took a place behind one of the chairs. "I thought it was time I cleaned up anyways." 

"Right." Sakura drawled. When neither Yue nor Clow Reed made any move to seat, or air seat, themselves, Sakura glanced at them curiously. "Are we waiting for something?" 

"Yes," Clow Reed smiled. "Before we can seat ourselves you must sit first." 

Sakura blinked. Then she wrinkled her nose, "I forgot about all that stuff. Guess I'll have to brush up on my history." she moved to one of the chairs and went to sit down. She froze, in the middle of folding herself to sit. Then she abruptly collapsed in the chair with an explosive sigh. Clow Reed and Yue eyed her with puzzlement. Sakura gave them a half smile, "I'll have to get used to sitting." she brought her hand up to her ribs and said ruefully, "It pinches." 

"It pin...?" Clow Reed stopped. "Oh." he said simply. 

Sakura glanced about. "Where's Kero?" she asked curiously. 

"He has not yet returned." Clow Reed informed her, apparently not the least bit worried. He, along with Yue, sat down. "Now, the last bit of information you need to know before we can begin," he reached into his robes and extracted a vial from somewhere. Placing it on the table, he pushed it towards Sakura, motioning that she should take it. "That is what you will need to hide your aura from War." 

Sakura picked it up and observed the rose liquid inside. She looked at Clow Reed, "What am I supposed to do? Drink it?" 

"Heavens no!" Clow Reed exclaimed, startling Sakura. "You would be sick for a week if you did that!" 

Sakura frowned, was there no end to his little surprises? "Then what am I supposed to do with it?" she asked. 

Clow Reed's eyebrows shot up. "Why, put it on, of course." he said, as she should have known. Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's like perfume." he explained. "You put a drop here," he pointed to one side of his neck, "and here," the other side. Then his eyes twinkled merrily and Sakura wondered what sort of surprise was coming her way next. "I added some extra ingredients." he said, as if in an afterthought. 

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What sort of...extra ingredients?" she asked warily. 

Clow Reed extracted his hands from his robes and steepled his fingers in front of his face, trying to hide his smile. "Open the vial." he said, not answering the question. 

Sakura looked at him suspiciously before doing what she was told. She lifted the bottle slowly and sniffed cautiously. Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Sakura exclaimed, "It smells like roses." 

"Well, what did you expect it would smell like?" Clow Reed asked. "Put it on...not too much!..I want to see if I got it right." that twinkle was still in his eyes. 

Sakura placed her index finger over the top of the bottle and upended it, then righted it again. Taking her finger, she gently dabbed the right side of her neck, just above her shoulder, and then did the same to the other. Placing the cap back on the bottle, Sakura set it back down on the table. Looking at Clow Reed, she asked, "Well?" 

He smiled. "Well, it conceals your aura perfectly. I got that part just right." he said triumphantly. "Now...to test the other part. Yue." 

Yue placed his feet back on the ground. "Yes, Master?" he asked curiously. 

"I want you to go over to Sakura and tell me what you think of the scent on her." he said mildly. 

Yue and Sakura stared at him. "What?" Yue asked uncertainly. 

Clow Reed waved his hand impatiently, "Oh, stop overreacting. Just go over there and smell the poor girl." 

Sakura blushed at his blunt phrasing. She watched as Yue, still confused as hell, walked over to her slowly. He bent towards her slightly and Sakura tilted her head to the side, not wanting to have him get any closer than he wanted to be. The blush remained as his head descended towards her neck. Sakura kept her gaze glued to the ceiling and vowed to get Clow Reed back for this. 

Suddenly, Yue jumped back, literally. His wings flapped once and blew a gust of wind across the room, disturbing Sakura and Clow Reed's hair and making the candles flicker. Sakura stood worriedly and glanced at Clow Reed. He remained seated, a slight smile on his face. Flicking a look of extreme disapproval in his direction, she stepped forward and extended a hand towards Yue. 

"No!" Yue exclaimed, backing up, acting like a skittish horse. "Don't come close." 

Sakura turned back to Clow Reed. "What's going on?! Stop this." she hissed at him. 

Clow Reed waved his hand in front of his face. "Ovum Noctu." he said. Yue blinked abruptly, and the tenseness in his shoulders vanished. Clow Reed looked apologetically at them both. "I'm sorry. I had to make sure I did the spell correctly." 

Sakura glared at him. "You're sorry! Whatever your reasons, they weren't..." 

Clow Reed raised his hand, halting her tirade. "Yue's reaction was not what I thought it was going to be, Sakura. He was merely surprised. His actions lead you to believe a lot worse than is necessary." 

"He is right," Yue said suddenly. Sakura looked at him. "It was unexpected, I was...unprepared." he said sheepishly. 

Sakura turned to Clow Reed. "**_What_**...else did you put into the spell?" she asked ominously. 

Clow Reed shrugged. "I simply added a little something to catch War's interest." Sakura placed her hands on her hips. "I simply added a very mild, **_very_** mild, essence of love." 

Sakura sank back into her chair. "What?!" she whispered. 

"I wanted to make absolutely certain that the first time you came across War, you would make an impression. What is it you like to say in the future?...it was...insurance." 

Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know...I wish you would tell me these things before you do them." she muttered. She sighed. "Well...that's just fine. But what about every other male that gets close enough to pick up the scent? I do NOT want a situation like that." 

Clow Reed quickly reassured her. "Oh no! I refined the spell so that the only males able to detect it would be the ones directly associated with Magic." 

Sakura stared at him. "Do you do this sort of thing regularly?" 

Clow Reed didn't bother to answer that. "One smell of that and War will be...entranced." 

Sakura placed her arms on the table. "Won't War be a little suspicious? Won't he sense...something unusual?" 

Clow Reed shook his head. "If a lesser sorcerer, or a wizard, had done the spell, that would be so. But I have made sure he will be able to detect nothing. Now, to keep the spell at it's strongest, you must reapply the perfume every twelve hours. And keep in mind what I said! Do not apply too much! Even though I tried to incorporate the least amount of the essence, it can still be pretty potent if used in large amounts." 

Things just kept getting better and better. "And what would happen if I...say, accidentally spilled the whole bottle on me?" 

Clow Reed smiled, showing teeth. "Barricade yourself somewhere for a couple days." 

Sakura groaned. "Wonderful!" lowering her head in her hands, Sakura mumbled, "Is there anything else I should know?" 

Clow Reed pretended to consider. "Not on that subject." 

"Good." she raised her head. "What else did you want to tell me?" 

"I thought it best if you knew about the other three cards as well, just incase." 

"You mean Death, Disease, and Famine?" 

Clow Reed nodded. "I do not know how often you might encounter them. Even though they all live together, they try to stay as far away from each other as possible. But if you do happen to meet them, there are some things I think you might find useful." 

"You already know a bit about Disease, as you've fought him before. Disease is nothing more than a coward. He prefers to attack when he **_knows_** he can win. When he knows he can't, or that he might be injured, he prefers to go about the thing without ever having to encounter the enemy. He'll use his power over germs and bacteria to accomplish this. He is like a bully, he will pick on the weak but avoid the strong. If you have any trouble with him, Sakura, just be firm and to the point. When he sees he cannot push you around, he should leave you alone. But do not be **_too_** firm with him. As with all bullies, he has quite a temper when he thinks he has been slighted or made to look a fool." 

"He likes expensive things, so much so, that he spends ridiculous amounts of money on them. That is...if he bothers to pay for what he wants at all. Do not mistake that for War's interest in beauty. War may spend a sizable amount, but he is not a glutton. Disease likes to look good, contrary to his association with germs. He also does not like to be told he is wrong." 

"One you may not know much about is Famine. He, obviously, can cause long droughts. He was the second horsemen of the four that you saw the first day you came here." 

"The one with the flaming red hair?" Sakura asked, trying to remember. 

Clow Reed nodded. "Yes. Famine prefers to fight with a bow and arrow, as unlikely as that sounds. He isn't bad with a sword, but his attitude is definitely suited to the bow. Famine is a very patient man. In the evening before the sun sets, he likes to sit and meditate until the sun completely disappears into the horizon." Clow Reed smiled. "Famine got hold of a book on the history of the Middle East. Ever since then he has these rather amusing notions about Gods and such, even though I know he doesn't believe in God." Clow Reed shook his head. "But that was before. Famine prefers to be alone, more often than not. When I instructed the cards in the ways of Magic, he often asked that I teach him privately." 

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "He didn't care for the other cards at all? He couldn't tolerate them?" 

Clow Reed said slowly, "I do not think it was that he couldn't tolerate the presence of others, just that he cherished his solitude. Famine's power is not something as simple as Fire or Water or Earth, his power consists of stealth. I was rather pleased with how quickly he learned all of the invisibility spells." Clow Reed looked her in the eye. "If you encounter Famine, simply leave him to his own devices, and he will not voluntarily bother you." 

Sakura considered. "He doesn't sound so bad." she commented. 

Clow Reed's face hardened. "Yes, well, he has done enough to prove he is with the others." 

"What about Death?" Sakura whispered. "I noticed that you left him for last. Is there a reason for that?" 

Clow Reed grimaced. "Death..." he paused. "Death is...an enigma. Even I am wary of Death. You do know not to come into contact with him, do you not Sakura?" 

Sakura nodded. 

"I think that when I created Death, I came too close to the real thing. There is much mystery around Death, and no matter how many times I asked, I could never get him to lower that hood of his. The black energy that always seems to surround him is no device of mine. I never taught him to create it, I do not even know what it is for, except to distort his figure. His Deathscythe is one of the most complexing things I have ever seen," Clow Reed leaned his chin on his hands, lost in the past. "I will never know how he managed to create such a weapon. This is another thing I never taught him how to do. And the energy..." Clow Reed shook his head. "I do not know how he can incorporate so much death into it. He is beyond Necromancy." 

"Death...never speaks. Since the day he was created, he has never said one word. I do not know if the ability is beyond him, or if he just chooses not to speak. He is often hard to sense. I think this is because his power focuses so much on death. I think, perhaps, he is not entirely in the realm of the living. With him, I may have created a being that can actually see between the realms of the living and the dead." Clow Reed shook his head slightly. "I guess what they say is true...you fear what you do not understand." 

"You're afraid of Death?" Sakura whispered disbelievingly. 

Clow Reed smiled cynically, "Who is not afraid of death?" he sat back in his chair. "Sakura, you must be careful with Death. I honestly cannot tell you what to do or how you should act around him. Just try to stay out of his way." 

"I think I'll do that." Sakura whispered. 

"Well!" Clow Reed said suddenly, clapping his hands together and smiling. "I think that concludes what you need to know, for now." he glanced at the book that Sakura had placed in her lap during the conversation. "Why don't you start reciting that litany to yourself? We, well, YOU, have some time to spare while I wait for Kero Beros' return. And one last thing!" 

"Yes?" Sakura wondered, picking up the book. 

"Try not to use such...futuristic words while you are speaking with War. That might seem a bit odd." he said, smiling. 

Sakura grinned. "I'll try to remember that." 

Sakura opened Clow Reed's book and flipped to the last page. In long, flowing script, a short line of words were written in the middle of the page. Sakura read them and repeated them in her mind, _Verata Noctus Feramus. _To Sakura, they made no sense, but Clow Reed deemed them important. So she set her mind to reading, and re-reading them until she memorized them. 

Sakura guessed it must have been another half hour until Kero decided to show himself again. He appeared, again without warning, in the middle of the room. Clow Reed, who had been thumbing through one of his texts, looked over to him and asked, "Well?" 

"War is indeed in the same location as last time, Master, at Linth Manor. Unfortunately, all four of them are taking up residence at the moment. I'm surprised they haven't killed each other yet." he said, more to himself than Clow Reed. "War has planned to go to the market this afternoon, whether for pain or pleasure, I have not yet determined." 

"Good. Good, thank you Kero Beros, you have done well. Well! It begins!" Clow Reed put his book away and stood quickly. 

Sakura stood as well. "Umm? Where am I supposed to put the vial?" 

Clow Reed gazed blankly at her for a moment before comprehension dawned. "Can you not...fit it somewhere under something there?" 

Sakura crossed her arms and snorted. "Not bloody likely. And besides, I want to take my, your, book with me as well. And I'll need that hairbrush." she admitted. 

"You want to take...?" Clow Reed just looked at her. Sighing, he said, "All right. Is there anything else you need?" 

Sakura grinned. "I'm taking the Key of Clow with me." she said unexpectedly. Sakura reached down and pulled up her skirts, revealing the lower half of her leg. Yue coughed and she grinned at him. On her ankle, the Key of Clow was firmly tied in place. 

Clow Reed raised his eyebrows. "Clever. But it is not a good idea to take it along with you." 

Sakura lowered her skirts and sighed. "Look. You won't let me take the Clow cards with me, at least let me take this. I'd feel..   
safer...if I had it with me." 

Clow Reed conceded reluctantly, "I suppose it's all right. If War or any of the others saw it I doubt they would be able to recognize it as my staff in that form anyhow. Now, you'll also need the rest of those gowns. You tried them all on?" 

Sakura grimaced in distaste. "Yes." 

"And they all fit?" 

"Yes." 

"Good." he held out his hand and the gowns appeared out of thin air. Sakura's eyes widened and Clow Reed laughed. Placing them on his bed, he sought around for something, frowning. "Now, I know I brought a carry-on bag here at one time. Where did I put it?" he mumbled to himself. 

Yue stepped forward. "Master, allow me. There are plenty others at the castle. I doubt the one you brought would be suited for a Lady." he pointed out. 

"Hmm...quite right, quite right. Hurry up then." 

Yue bowed slightly and then vanished. 

While waiting for his return, Clow Reed remarked, "Now, you will of course need more gowns, but I'm sure that shouldn't be a problem..." 

"More gowns!?" Sakura cried. "I don't NEED anymore gowns! Four is **_enough!_**" 

That eyebrow went up again and Sakura was beginning to wonder if it was some sort of quirk. "Sakura, any Lady would have more than four gowns. A moderately sized wardrobe would have thirty gowns to say the least." 

"**_Thirty!?_** Are you mad!? Who would want to have thirty of these things!" 

"As I was saying..." Clow Reed continued. "This shouldn't be a problem. If War himself does not take you shopping, I will send more gowns along...compliments of your dear Aunt." Clow Reed grinned wickedly. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So, I have an Aunt now, huh?" 

"But of course." 

Sakura sighed. "Fine, anything to keep up appearances." 

"Oh! And Yue will be first to keep watch over you and report back to me. If things go as planned, he will show himself to you right after sunset and you can inform him of anything you might need. If you feel, however, that it is necessary to see me yourself, he can bring you back with him for a short time. Kero Beros will follow you tomorrow." 

Sakura nodded. Having both Guardian's of the Seal looking out for her made her feel a little better. "I take it they'll be invisible?" she asked wryly. Clow Reed nodded. "But won't the cards sense Kero and Yue's presence?" 

"They are quite advanced enough to shield themselves without problems. Do not worry." 

Yue reappeared then, a small bag decorated with pink and white flowers gripped in his hand. He placed it on the table and asked, "I hope this is suitable." 

Clow Reed quickly began filling it with the supplies Sakura was going to take with her. "Yes, yes. This is perfect." 

Sakura smiled dryly. "I couldn't help but notice that all of the feminine things I have now have come from you. Is there something I need to know?" she quipped. 

Clow Reed looked confused for a moment. "You did not think that I lived alone in that huge mass of stone, did you? There are many women who inhabit the castle as well as men, many of them acolytes. If I needed something from them, all I need do is ask." 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're no fun to tease." Clow Reed stared at her, waiting for an explanation. Sakura smiled. "So when do we leave?" 

"Why, now of course." Clow Reed handed Sakura the bag. 

"I still think this is a bad idea." she protested, the bag clutched in both hands. "I know the moment I see him and he sees me that the expression on my face will give everything away." 

Clow Reed waved her protests away. "Nonsense. Now, try to get as close to him at first as possible. You must make sure he inhales the perfume." 

"How am I supposed to do that?" 

Clow Reed shrugged. "I'm sure you'll think of something." 

Sakura glared at him. "Well...I guess we should go then. How do you find your way out of this place?" she asked. 

"Yue will teleport you straight to the village War is currently at." 

Sakura's eyes widened. "Teleport? You mean, like the thing you did with me? Oh no! I'll faint again." she confessed. 

Clow Reed smiled. "Do not worry, the experience will be less trying. I had to teleport across a much greater distance, and I had to increase the Magic needed to make sure none of the cards could trace where I had gone. Yue will not need to use as much Magic, so you will not feel so dizzy. Trust me, Sakura." 

"What choice do I have?" Sakura sighed. "Okay, it's now or never." she stood up. "So what do I have to do?" 

Yue stepped up to her. "Just hold onto me, Mistress. I promise I shall deliver you without harm." 

Sakura grinned. "You don't have to sound so...earnest, Yue." she switched the bag to her left hand and placed her right around Yue's arm. "Beam me up, Scotty!" 

Yue glanced at her funny before teleporting away. 

Clow Reed turned to Kero, smiling. "Do you know that watching Yue fall head over heels for his future Mistress is quite amusing? Especially knowing that he'll be beating himself up about it in the future?" Kero smiled. "Well, I guess you'd better get back and inform everyone that I'll be another day late in coming home." 

Kero stood. "Of course. But may I suggest you eat something, Master?" before Clow Reed could reply, Kero teleported out. 

Clow Reed shook his head, amused. Sobering quickly, he walked over to the podium and opened the text still sitting there. He flipped through a few pages before abruptly slamming his fist into the book. "How long must I pay for my mistakes?" he whispered raggedly. Pulling himself together, he said evenly, "Now that Sakura is here, I can finally hope."   
~ 

"Whoa," Sakura blinked owlishly and wavered on her feet a bit before pulling herself together. Clow Reed had been right, teleporting this time had been easier than last time, but, she was still dizzy. 

Yue held out his hand and placed it on the small of her back. "Are you all right, Mistress?" he asked, concerned. 

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Sakura assured him. "The world's finally stopped spinning." looking around bemusedly, Sakura remarked, "I thought we were going to a market or something?" on both sides of Sakura were wooden walls. It looked as if she was in some sort of alley. It smelled like it, too. Sakura covered her mouth with her hand. "Geez, my first smell of a real life village in this time and it smells like a sewage system." 

"Pardon me, Mistress?" Yue asked, trying to understand. 

"Nevermind." 

Yue watched Sakura for a few more moments before saying, "We are in the village, Mistress. I had to make sure we came out of the teleport spell somewhere where no one would see us." 

"Oh. Well, that makes sense. I thought this was an alleyway." Sakura smiled up at him. "So...where do we go now?" 

Yue gently took her hand, which was still on his arm, away and stepped back. "You are going around the corner, alone. Remember, when you see War, you must get close enough so that he inhales the potion. You remember what War looks like, do you not?" 

Sakura was still on the first thing he said. "Alone?! What do you mean, **_alone?_**" 

Yue pulled a face. "I cannot exactly stroll down the streets with you, Mistress. If any of the cards saw me there would be chaos. And what about the villagers? As soon as they spot my wings..." Yue shook his head. "People here are very wary of Magical beings, Mistress." Yue smiled softly at her. "It is time for you to do this on your own." 

Sakura sighed, trying to hide her nervousness. "I understand." 

Yue cast a look of sympathy her way. "Do not worry, Mistress, I WILL be nearby, you just won't be able to see me." with a last smile, Yue disappeared. 

Sakura stood, clutching her bag in front of her, for a few minutes without moving. Well, this was it. It had seemed a whole lot less...overwhelming, when she had discussed it with Clow Reed. Now that she was actually standing here, probably not even a few yards from War, she didn't feel quite so good. 

A voice sounded quite near her ear and Sakura almost screamed. "Do not worry, Mistress, everything will be fine." 

"Yue," Sakura breathed, relieved. Looking around, she frowned when she couldn't see him. "I thought you'd gone." 

"I told you I will be watching over you. War is approaching, you should get going." 

"Right." Sakura concentrated, trying to get a sense on how close War was. Sakura almost gasped in surprise when she sensed him, he was so close. So what now? She had to get him to smell that perfume...but how? War was getting closer and Sakura thought he might even be heading right down the dirt road towards the alley she was currently ensconced in. Sakura grinned as an idea occurred to her. 

Waiting for the right moment, Sakura stood poised on her toes. When she thought War was just around the corner, Sakura hiked up her skirts and abruptly ran out of the alley...straight into War. 

Sakura dropped her bag on the ground and looked up as arms came around her reflexively. Trying to make sure her face was in a properly distressed expression, and her voice was wavery, Sakura said urgently, "Oh! Please help me, sir! There are scoundrels after me! And I think they want to do horrible, awful things to my person!" 

War looked down at the beauty in his arms and tried to regain his wits. His first inclination had been to shove whatever had come barreling into his chest away...and then kick it in the ribs. Then he had looked down and straight into the most piercing green eyes he'd ever seen. His gaze then swept across the girl's face and he noted, pleased, that she was as beautiful as the fairies he'd seen portrayed in tapestries. And she smelled like roses... 

"Oh! Please help me, sir! There are scoundrels after me! And I think they want to do horrible, awful things to my person!" 

It took a moment for her words to actually register in his brain. Then he was scowling. To think! Some idiot mortals thought to rid the earth of their most precious and beauteous possession! It was utterly absurd. 

Sakura suddenly didn't think this was such a good idea as she saw his face form into the most frightening expression she had ever seen. "Stay behind me, madam, I assure you, they shall not get by ME." Sakura almost exhaled in relief when he said that, but caught herself in time. 

Putting on an elated smile, Sakura breathed, "You are truly too kind! I thought I was lost before you came!" Sakura had to stop from laughing at how big of a lie she had just told. As War pushed her behind him, Sakura lost the urge to laugh. What was she going to say when no one came out of that alley? 

To Sakura's utter surprise, two strangers did come out of the alley, and they both had daggers in their fists. Sakura blinked. While she had hesitated in the alley, had two men actually spotted her and planned to rob her? Sakura didn't know whether to be relieved, or feel sorry for them for what War might do to them. 

The two spotted Sakura and headed straight for her, proving what she had just thought. They ignored War entirely, whether or not because they thought he was no threat, or because they didn't think he would intervene. Either way, it was a mistake. 

As the two went to pass him, War punched the first in the face without warning. The man fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding, and probably broken, nose. The other man turned around furiously and went to stab War through the heart. War intercepted the dagger meant for his breast, and then, faster than Sakura could see, abruptly turned the dagger around and plunged it into the second man's throat. Sakura's hands went up to cover her mouth in horror as the blood sprouted from the man's throat, gurgling noises accompanied the red geyser. 

War whirled around and placed his booted foot on the other man's throat. "Now, it is your turn." and pressed. 

Sakura moved. Finding herself clutching onto War's arm, Sakura pleaded, "Please! You do not need to kill him." 

War paused and looked into her face. Then, smiling like he hadn't just murdered a man, he said soothingly, "Forgive my manners, madam. I should have known that a Lady would not be able handle such violence." 

Sakura released his arm reluctantly. War released the man from his hold and the guy took off running. Walking nonchalantly over to Sakura's dropped bag, War picked it up for her. Then, with no warning, War turned and released the second man's dagger from his hand and sent it into the man's back. He dropped, dead. 

Sakura stared at him. "Why did you do that?" she whispered, unable to stop herself. 

War smiled. "Because I felt like it, my dear. And, of course, because he had created a great sin in wanting to hurt you. But mostly because I felt like it." he extended a hand towards her. "Shall I escort you through town, my Lady?" he asked mildly. 

"What?" Sakura asked, still staring at the dead man. 

"Shall I escort you through town?" he repeated, sounding pleasant. 

Sakura looked at him. Trying to gather her thoughts, Sakura realized that now was the time to spin a story. Clow Reed said he wanted her in War's house, or, he hinted at it at least. Okay, 

Sakura smiled as sweetly as possible. "How chivalrous of you. But, I really must be going. You see, I know nothing about this area. My Aunt and my sister and I were traveling and we all wanted to see the sights. But, we were separated, and we were supposed to leave to go back home today." stopping her rants, Sakura smiled apologetically and tried to look sad. "I think they left without me." she confessed. "So, now I'm stuck. I'll have to find someone who will lend me a horse so I can travel all the way..." 

War cut her off. Sounding appalled, he exclaimed, "You mean, you are here all alone? How tragic. And you say your family left without you? That is a pity. But I simply cannot let you go anywhere on your own." he paused, as if thinking about something. "I will write your Aunt, and inform her of your whereabouts." 

Sakura frowned, sounding puzzled, she asked, "My whereabouts? But, I do not have anyplace to go? Where shall I stay?" 

War smiled. "Why! You can stay at my manor." 

_Bingo! _Sakura bestowed a gratifying smile in War's direction. "You truly are kind," _aside, of course, for the fact that you're a murderer._ "But, I don't know if I should," Sakura said, sounding uncertain. "It would be terribly improper." 

War waved his hand. "Nonsense. There are plenty of servants that can act as your chaperones." he smiled wolfishly. "You need not fear any ungentlemanly actions from me." 

_Yeah right. _"Again, I thank you, sir. But where are my manners? My name is Sakura Avalon." Sakura didn't think there would be any trouble revealing her real name, as long as she managed to seal him. "What's yours?" 

"My name is War." 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Well...that kinda sucked. It didn't turn out how I wanted it to. Oh well, I think I'll focus on things more next chapter. Sorry about that. Until then! 


	21. The War CardCh20

Cardcaptors20 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Oh my God! I read all of the reviews you guys wrote for the last chapter and let me tell you...I almost cried! From happiness...of course. ^_^ Geez! I had no idea you guys like my fic THAT much! And you're all so **_encouraging_**!! What would I ever do without you? And thanks to everyone who said they liked my little mini-plots! I like them, too. And thank you to everyone who has me on their favourites list!! You're all grand!! (can you tell I'm in a good mood? ^.^) 

Geez, I have so much to say...so I suggest you skip the next little bit if you really want to read the chapter...or scroll back up here later! ^_^ Okay, first things first, to Enchantress101...I will get to doing what you asked me to do, I promise! I just don't know when. ^-^a You see, I shouldn't even be writing this now, gotta do my homework! I'm kinda swamped time-wise, so, as soon as I get a minute, I'll swing by and grant your request! See you then! 

*Grins like a maniac* I'm so happy that you liked my poor attempt at humour with Yue. That was rather fun...although, I must say, I'm rather ashamed. Teasing Yue like that hurt his feelings. I think I'll go comfort him...~-^ Aaannyywaaays...I'd like to pat CreatiStar on the back. No need to feel bad, you didn't know! I act like an idiot most often than not! So, in the wise words of Maurynna! join the club! 

And Shevey...I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!!!!!! Hehe ^_^a... it's been such a long while since you reviewed! I was starting to feel neglected! I think of you as one of my best reviewers because you write such good ones! I don't mean the parts about how you think my fic is good, (but those are nice, too ^_^) I mean how you always seem to put your two cents in. Thanks! 

As to why Sakura's last name in this fic is Avalon instead of Kinomoto...well, that's because I watch the dubbed version of Cardcaptors...considering how I don't speak much Japanese. >_ Avalon is the name they use for her in the English version. I'm only goin' by what I hear! Does that answer your question, Sakura1301? ^_^ Even though you said it doesn't matter. 

And I want to thank Misa(Suzako no Miko) for her suggestions. I know I've been cheating you all of Li and Tory. I'm sorry! I'll TRY to get them in the story more...but I make no promises!! 

Oh! And one last thing. For those of you who said you were beginning to miss Rage already...I am, too! Oh...*rubs hands gleefully* but do I have a surprise for you! I'm bringing him back people! and in this chapter! his PAST self! And boy, are you gonna get a kick! *whispers* You see...I'm going to reveal Rage's past! Aren't you all excited!?! That secret past of his I've been leading up to is going to be revealed! Mwahahaha!!! Well...I'm overeating because I'M excited! 

(Next time! I am SO just e-mailing all of you! This is taking up too much room!...I talk too damn much.) Oh! And some important news people!! Well, for ME anyways!! But...I'll leave it until AFTER the fic as this is getting ridiculous! Read on! 

Watch for the bit at the end!!! I changed the rating for a reason!! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me! 

**Cardcaptors: The War Card-Ch.20**

Sakura titled her head back, waaay back, and looked up at the huge monstrosity of stone in front of her. So...War and party lived in a castle as well? Why was she not surprised? But this place wasn't so much of a castle as a place from hell. It looked bleak, and the stone the structure was built out of was black. The very presence felt foreboding. Sakura didn't think she'd be able to go in there. Hadn't Clow Reed said something about a Linth manor? If this was it...where was Lord Linth? Sakura shivered slightly, trying not to think what might have happened to the former owner. 

War leaned towards her and smirked slightly. "Welcome to my home." he said quietly. 

Sakura turned slightly and looked back at him. He wasn't too bad to look at, and he had golden locks of hair that glinted in the sunlight, but, Sakura suspected his true colour was black...he certainly acted that way sometimes. It wasn't big things, just little hints that showed through War's carefully concealed hospitality and gentlemanly behaviour, that tipped Sakura off. Sometimes, when he couldn't help it, War let his more...sadistic side show through. 

Sakura turned back around on the mount the two of them shared, and looked over the castle again...and the dried, bleached ground. "It looks so...empty." Sakura whispered. "Where are the flowers, the water that used to be in the moat, the leaves on the dead trees?" she couldn't help but ask, for this truly was a dead place. 

War grimaced in distaste, though Sakura didn't see it. "I suppose someone as lovely as yourself would crave things just as lovely, but, unfortunately, I do not like things of beauty to be outside my collection." Sakura looked up at him, puzzled, but War didn't elaborate. "This place used to have greenery, but I didn't think it gave the right impression of me." smiling in good humour suddenly, War said, "Besides, Death doesn't exactly have a good effect on living things." 

Sakura looked at him blankly, remembering that she wasn't supposed to know about Death, or any of the others. "Who's Death? And what an odd name for someone." she commented as an afterthought. 

"Death is someone who lives here with me. There are four of us in all. The other two are Disease and Famine." Sakura went back to studying the landscape in sorrow. War, seeing her expression, suddenly felt sorry that she was sad. Why? He didn't know. That sort of behaviour was unlike him. He quickly stopped worrying about it though as he thought of something that might please her, "Famine, has his own private garden near the other end of the castle, inside." War sighed, sounding exasperated. "He so does crave to be alone among his trees, why I'll never know." he grinned suddenly. "And he has expressly forbade Death to go anywhere NEAR his solitary confines. It was rather amusing watching those two glare at one another. Well, watching Famine glare at Death...you can't really see Death's eyes." War murmured. 

War kicked his heels into the chestnut stallion's side and they set off at a canter towards the castle. Riding into the courtyard, and through the permanently lowered drawbridge, they entered the castle grounds. War deftly hopped down off of his horse and a servant boy appeared from nowhere to take the horse's reins. Drawing Sakura off of the beast gently, War placed her on the ground. He then untied her bag from his saddlebags and offered to carry it inside for her. The boy then began leading the horse away. Sakura followed his progress across the courtyard and spied what surely must be the stables in one corner. 

"Are you ready to enter, My Lady?" War asked pleasantly. 

Sakura shook herself briefly and looked back at War, smiling. Placing her hand in his outstretched one, Sakura murmured quietly, "But, of course, My Lord." and they proceeded to walk up the steps towards the front door. 

War smiled down at Sakura politely and said, "You really don't have to be so formal with me, My Lady. You may call me War, if you like." 

_Well, I wouldn't like. _But Sakura just kept on smiling, smiling that fake, plastered, smile. "How silly of me. War, yes, that holds some amount of power in it." _talk about buttering up _"And while we're on pleasant terms, you may call me Sakura." 

War nodded, satisfied. "Sakura," he said slowly, as if savouring the sound of her name on his lips. Sakura fought a grimace. "A lovely name for a lovely lady. And the meaning to it suits you as well. Cherry blossoms...yes, they do suit you." 

Before Sakura could reply, they had reached the top step and the door was abruptly yanked open from the other side. Sakura blinked as a cart load of servants appeared in the entranceway, all bowing and scraping. And they all looked like they expected to be yelled at...or worse. 

War tossed Sakura's bag at one of them and said promptly, "I have a guest. See that she is properly looked after. And anything she wants is hers. Understood?" they all nodded mutely. "She will be staying with us for quite some time, so see that she has an adequate room. After dinner, you can haul a tub upstairs and place it in her room. Bring some of that rose water we have, it will match what she is wearing now." War made to sweep past them when something apparently occurred to him. "And have the tub in my room filled as well. I would like a bath." 

War, Sakura's hand still firmly placed in the crook of his elbow, walked swiftly away from the quickly dispersing servants. Sakura had no trouble keeping up with him due to her long legs. She didn't have much time to glance about at her surroundings since everything whizzed by her too quickly for her to make out. 

War spoke unexpectedly, "I am sure you are famished. Spending the entire day with me in the market must have taken energy out of you." 

"Actually, I am a bit hungry." Sakura replied slowly. 

"Good, good. It is around dinner time and I did not want to eat without you." 

War lead Sakura through more passageways then she could keep track of. Eventually, they came to what Sakura took to be a sort of dining room. There was an immense table in the middle of the floor and Sakura quickly counted the chairs, coming to the conclusion that forty people could sit at that thing. Not that the four who lived here probably ever had company, that is. 

War brought Sakura over to one of the head chairs and pulled it out for her. Sakura sat down warily and War pushed the chair back in. Striding to the other end of the table, War pulled on a cord that hung just beside the other head chair. Almost immediately, servants came bustling out from a door that Sakura had passed over when she came in. Each had a tray in one hand, some had silverware and dinner plates. Sakura watched, bemused, as tray after tray was brought out. After each one was set on the table the top was lifted from the tray and more food than Sakura had seen in her lifetime was revealed. Meats, and cheese, and fruit, and bread...everything she could ever want any day of the week was set on this table! When the food was set, the servants stood lined against the wall, poised, waiting. Sakura glanced at them discretely and wondered why they hadn't gone yet. 

Sakura frowned mentally, thinking that this food could have gone to better use in the streets of that little town where Yue had transported her. This food would have fed the many homeless people sitting on those streets, hoping to get a hand out. What did War do with all this food? 

"The others very likely won't be joining us today. Famine likes to dine alone, Disease is probably out somewhere, and Death isn't a people person." War said, interrupting Sakura's train of thought. "What does the Goddess feel like eating this evening?" 

Sakura eyed the food in disbelief. "Is there soup?" she squeaked. Clearing her throat, she repeated, "I think I'll try the soup." she really didn't feel like eating anything, she was too nervous. But she couldn't just NOT eat, that would cause suspicion. She figured she could down some broth fairly easily...hopefully. 

War snapped his fingers and a servant came scurrying across the room and picked up the soup tureen from the table. He ladled out a fair amount of the soup into Sakura's bowl. Then he scurried back to the wall again after putting the tureen back on the table. Sakura watched the servant unblinkingly before turning her attention to her soup. It looked like a nice vegetable soup with bits of meat in it, and it smelled good, too. 

Sakura picked up her soup spoon and took a sip. She ate for a few more seconds before she realized War wasn't eating. Putting her spoon down, Sakura looked at him, "Aren't you going to eat something?" 

War, who had just been staring at her throughout the meal, smiled slightly, "I'm not that hungry." he said simply, denying his claim of hunger earlier. 

Sakura smiled politely at him, but secretly, being watched while she ate was creeping her out. There was no way she was ever going to feel comfortable. As Sakura was lost in her thoughts, her gaze wandered to a point above War's head. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she realized what, exactly, she was looking at. And then the irony of it hit her and she felt like saying something that would probably blow her cover. 

Behind War, and slightly above him, on that huge expanse of gray stone, was one of the largest paintings she'd ever seen. That, however, was not what caught her attention. In the painting, there were four horsemen riding four noble steeds among billowing whisps of fog, like riding on clouds. Behind the four, several sparks of lightening flashed, heralding their arrival. And the horsemen were undoubtedly the Four Brothers. 

First came War, riding a chestnut stallion. The horse was quite large and no doubt a war horse, the same one Sakura had ridden here on. His shoulder length blond hair billowed behind him in an invisible wind, and his face was set in an intense, focused, expression. He looked like he was about to go into battle. His right hand was raised and in it was one of those red fireballs she had seen the first day she came here. The other hand tightly gripped his horse's reins. She could just make out part of a scabbard that held a sword, strapped to his side. 

The second horsemen was Disease. He rode a gray, dappled stallion. The reins, saddle, and bit were all very expensive by the look of them, and Sakura thought the horse looked more like a show horse than a horse suited to the battlefield. Disease himself was all dressed up in fancy, colourful clothing, and he looked every bit the spoiled paramour that Sakura knew him to be. The expression on his face was rather gleeful, and Sakura couldn't help but think that he was looking forward to whatever battle he was going into, and the potential lives he might take, with joy. In his right hand was one of those shiny, showy blades that Sakura knew weren't just for show. Light glinted off the blade of the dagger and Sakura thought it might be from the sun. 

The third horsemen was Famine, and his horse was an indian red, his misted breath escaping his nostrils in a great gust. There was no saddle adorning his horse, he rode bareback. The colouring of his steed matched Famine's hair almost exactly, and both horse and rider's manes were shaggy. Famine's hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and a few stray wisps escaped to brush the side of his face. He wore no such fancy clothing as Disease or anything as gentlemen like as War. His look was much more casual and relaxed, loose. In both hands he held a handsome looking bow. One hand held the bow itself and the other held an arrow, nocked and ready to fly. The bowstring was pulled back and it looked like Famine had sighted his prey and was about to deliver a deadly blow. 

The last was Death. His stallion was impressive. Just as large as War's war horse, and as black as the blackest of nights...or Death's robes. The stallion had it's teeth bared and looked ready to snap at anyone that came near. The horse's eyes seemed to glow with an unholy light and Sakura could have sworn they looked red. Again, she couldn't see anything of Death's face, his hood concealed everything perfectly. Instead of his robes billowing in the invisible wind like the others' hair and clothing, Death's robes were still and unmoving. It was an odd sight as his horse's mane was billowing the same as everyone elses'. One of those seemingly dead, bony fingers grasped the dark reins and the other held the terrorizing Deathscythe. The two yellow arcs of energy seemed to flare and crackle through the painting, and it looked almost as frightening as it had in real life...almost. 

If Sakura hadn't been absolutely sure she was looking into something created by human hands...she would have thought she was looking at the real Four Horsemen...and that they were coming for her soul. 

"Does that painting interest you, Sakura?" War asked suddenly, sounding amused. 

Sakura blinked and pulled herself together. Smiling slightly, she said, "It certainly has an incredible likeness to real life. I recognize you, but I do not recognize the other three." she lied. Secretly, she was wondering why War had a picture of himself and the others, a very large picture, hanging above him in the dining room. 

Just then, a coolness seemed to enter the dining room and Sakura shivered. War frowned, he looked annoyed. A second later, Death came gliding through the arch leading out to the hallway Sakura and War had come from. Sakura stared at the figure swathed in black, completely fixated. She had seen Death on the battlefield, but, she hadn't really got a good look at him up close. And the painting had surely been interesting, but that couldn't prepare her for the real thing. He had to be the most perplexing thing she had ever seen. There was just something about him that drew your attention. 

Death stopped just short of the table and the cold increased. He turned towards Sakura, his hood hiding his face. Sakura couldn't help but get the impression that he was staring right at her...through her?...even though she couldn't see his eyes. After a few moments of that, Death turned towards War. 

War smiled, but it looked more like a sneer. "Death, how marvelous to see you. Would you like something to eat?" 

Death didn't look like he moved a muscle, but the slow, whispery voice definitely came from him, "You know I do not eat, War." 

War leaned back in his chair, "Ah, yes, how foolish of me." Sakura could see he was smiling. "I assume, then, you're here for a reason?" he asked mildly, almost like he didn't care...almost. 

Death lifted his arm and his hand, which had been concealed up his sleeve, appeared when the black material slipped back. Sakura's attention switched from the hood to his hand. Thin, bony fingers appeared, the skin gray and stretched tight over the bones underneath. Sakura didn't think there was any muscle on that hand. "Your experiments are disturbing my peace." that whispery soft voice told War. 

War sat up straight and folded his hands on the table. "Is that so? Well, I've told you before, switch rooms." 

The hand disappeared back in the robes and Death seemed to shrug. "I prefer the dark, War. You know this." 

War snorted. "That's not my problem." 

The cold in the room seemed to get slightly worse. Sakura wrapped her arms about herself and took the decrease in temperature to be a bad thing. 

Death's voice didn't sound physically different, but something definitely changed, "You will remove them, War. I cannot tolerate them. If you do not move them, I will kill them." 

Thunder. That was what changed. There was thunder behind that soft voice, ready to be unleashed. 

War abruptly stood up from his place at the table. "You will not touch them, Death. They are mine to do with as I please. If you kill them and ruin my fun I'll make you find me new playthings." 

"You will make me?" Death repeated. He sounded amused, well, as amused as that unchangeable voice could be. After a slight pause, Death said, "Move them soon, War, or I will kill them." then he turned and glided out of the room. 

Sakura let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She seriously didn't think she could handle another encounter with him. She glanced warily up at War and noticed his fists were clenched. 

Turning towards her, War smiled, his teeth gritted together. "I'm sorry, my dear. I have urgent business to take care of." Sakura stood up as War walked towards her. War reached for her hand and then placed a kiss on the back of it. Looking into her eyes from that position, War said, "I'm truly sorry, Sakura. Death can be...unpredictable. I will not be back before dawn I do not think. You have the run of the castle, you may go anywhere you like." releasing her hand and bowing, War abruptly took his leave. At the last moment, he turned and said, "If you wish to retire, or need anything else, just tell the servants, they'll get it for you." and then he was gone. 

Sakura stood there, unsure of what to do. What exactly had War meant when he said...playthings? As the servants moved to take the food away, Sakura managed to snap out of her trance. She noticed a young serving woman had come up to her and was standing silently, apparently waiting for some sort of orders. Sakura smiled reassuringly at her, but the desired effect was lost when the girl simply lowered her eyes quickly, afraid to meet Sakura's eye. Sakura tried again, "It's okay," she whispered reassuringly, "I won't hurt you." the girl said nothing. Sakura sighed, exasperated. "Don't any of you talk?" she demanded, more to herself. The girl peeked up at her. Sakura placed her hands on her hips and smiled again, "Suppose I was to order you to speak? Would you speak then?" 

In reply, the girl opened her mouth and attempted to talk. That was when Sakura got a good look at the inside of the girl's mouth. Placing her hand over her own mouth, Sakura attempted to keep her lunch down. The girl's tongue was missing...it had been cut out. 

It took Sakura a moment to realize the girl was still trying to speak. When she found she couldn't, she began to look distressed, even panicky. Sakura removed her hand from her mouth and attempted to speak herself. "I-" Sakura cleared her throat and tried again. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything." she whispered. 

The girl smiled gratefully and Sakura felt like crying. 

Trying to smile over the tears gathering in her eyes to reassure the girl, Sakura said, "Please show me to my rooms." and without hesitation, the girl turned and began walking away. Sakura followed resolutely behind her. 

Sakura walked with her gaze on the floor all the way to her room. She didn't feel like looking up, didn't feel like seeing the poor, abused girl in front of her. Had War done that himself? If so, for God's sake why?! There was absolutely no reason, no reason! for that kind of treatment. And she knew with a horrible sense of truth, that the rest of the servants had been given the exact same treatment. 

The girl stopped outside of a door on the second floor...Sakura thought it was the second floor, she vaguely remembered going up a staircase...and opened the door. Curtsying, the girl gestured for Sakura to enter. Sakura did so slowly, and as soon as she'd cleared the threshold, the girl closed the door behind her with a low thump, making Sakura jump. 

She glanced about her quickly. There was a large canopied bed of silk and feathers against the right wall. At the foot of the bed was an ornate, oak chest. A white tub was set in the middle of the floor, filled with already heated water and rose petals. There were two mahogany dressers in the room, one by her bed, the other on the opposite side of the room, near another doorway leading to the closet. On this dresser was a finely sculpted, porcelain pitcher with very pretty purple orchids painted on the surface. Beside this was a washbasin to match the pitcher to wash one's hands and face in. The floor was covered with very thick, very expensive, very colourful persian rugs. 

At any other time, Sakura might have taken some notice of all of these things, as it was, she only had one thing on her mind, "Yue!" Sakura whispered urgently, then louder, "Yue!" 

Yue suddenly appeared in front of Sakura. "Do you have something you wish me to report, Mistress?" 

"Do I have something to report?!" she asked incredulously. "I thought you were supposed to be watching me! Didn't you see what happened in the dining room?" 

Yue regarded Sakura with slight confusion. "No, Mistress. I was keeping an eye on you, but I was not so close that I could look over your shoulder. I didn't want to take any risks, so I stayed in the corridors." 

"Well, you missed a grand show!" Sakura exclaimed, still getting over her shock. "Yes I have something to report! To Clow Reed directly. I'm not staying here another moment! Take me out of here!" 

Yue looked like he wasn't too sure what to do. "But, Mistress! You told my Master you would do this! You cannot leave now! And furthermore, I cannot take you to my Master, he has left explicit orders that he is not to be disturbed." 

"Well that's too bad. Yue, do you know what kind of sick person War is? He cut out all of his servant's...I'm sorry, I should say **_slave's_**...tongues! That's beyond barbaric! I can't stay here with that lunatic! You HAVE to take me to Clow Reed. Please?" she begged. 

Yue took one look at those green puppy dog eyes and relented. "As you wish, Mistress." Sakura quickly went over to Yue and grabbed hold of his arm. "But, just in case, Mistress, are you sure War isn't going to miss you for a while?" 

Sakura shook her head. "No...he's busy doing other...things." Sakura shivered, thinking about War's conversation with Death. 

With a last parting remark before Yue teleported, he grumbled, "I hope I do not get reprimanded for this."   
~ 

Sakura and Yue appeared back inside the labyrinth. Shaking her head as if trying to dispel some unwanted image, Sakura muttered, "I think I'm getting better at this," seeing as how the halls only spun a little. 

Yue backtracked and said, "I will leave you now." 

Sakura looked at him sharply. "What do you mean, 'I will leave you now?' Where are you going?" 

Yue gave her a look that begged her to understand his predicament. "I have disobeyed direct orders, Mistress. I will venture no further. You will have to continue on your own." 

Sakura was half sympathetic towards Yue, and half annoyed. Come on...just what was Clow Reed going to do, huh? So what if Yue disregarded an order...he could blame it on her and she'd be the scapegoat. Sighing as she realized there was no way she was going to get Yue to get any closer to Clow's rooms, Sakura said, "Okay, fine...but I still don't know where I'm going in this place. Care to give me directions?" 

"Just follow the corridor until you can go no further, then turn right. The Master's rooms are the first on the right of that corridor." and then he was gone. 

Sakura wasted no time on being impressed with Yue's Magic as she would have been had she had time. Instead she immediately started in her way, wanting to get this business over with. There was no way she was going back to that God awful place with that sadistic man. Uh uh. 

As Sakura turned right down the hallway Yue had said to and she got closer to Clow Reed's rooms, she heard voices coming from behind his door. At first, she paid no attention to it, assuming it was Kero talking to Clow about something Magic, or card, related. But as she got closer, and the voices became clearer, Sakura realized that whoever Clow Reed was speaking with, wasn't Kero. Sakura frowned at the slightly familiar, yet not Kero~ish, voice, wondering who else could, or would, come down here. She knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but it was even ruder to just barge in and interrupt the conversation. So Sakura walked quietly, with no intention of eavesdropping mind you, to Clow Reed's slightly ajar door... 

"...so that still remains a mystery. However, what I don't understand, is why you've suddenly become a recluse here. What is going on Clow Reed?" 

Sakura's frown deepened. She recognized that voice...she should, she'd heard it threaten to kill her more than once. Sakura abruptly brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Peeking through the crack in the door, Sakura's suspicions were confirmed as the man with Clow Reed walked by... 

It was Rage! 

Rage, in full battle regalia, his sword on him but unsheathed, his clothing the same as it was in the future. His boots were different though, they looked like a tough lot, top quality and made to handle treks through God knew what kind of terrain. Gauntlets decorated each hand and looked like they were made out of some sort of greenish metal. Every time he passed a candle, the light shone faintly on them and was reflected with in an eerie sort of way. The thing that surprised Sakura most was the mighty looking war helm sitting perched upon Rage's head. It was a black affair and contrasted quite sharply with his bone white face and hair. Dragons swooped around on either side and their eyes were a polished ruby, making them look demonic. 

Sakura didn't know why he was here, or why he was in Clow Reed's room, but she was more than a little nervous about it. What was worse, she couldn't see Clow Reed through the tiny crack in the door. Not once had he walked by, as Rage had done. Was he tied up somewhere? Had Rage restrained him to a chair? or his bed? Or worse...was Clow Reed injured? Had Rage appeared like Yue and Kero do, straight into Clow Reed's room, unannounced and unexpected, sword drawn and looking for blood? Had they fought and Clow Reed come out the loser? He could be dying on the floor, bleeding to death this very instant... 

The only thing that stopped Sakura's quivering muscled from launching her up and through that door was the sound of Clow's voice, sounding calm and normal, answering Rage's question, 

"I'm afraid, Rage, that that is none of your business. What I do does not concern you." Clow's voice sounded disapproving, and Sakura could tell there was a warning there. 

"None of my concern? Just what had gotten into you...so secretive?" Rage sounded highly amused, like he was playing some sort of game. "It would be so much easier if you just told me what you're hiding. It will save both of us a lot of trouble in the future." 

Sakura tensed at what she believed was a threat to Clow Reed, "You have no idea..." she heard Clow Reed mutter to himself. 

"What was that? Something else I don't know about? All these secrets are giving me a headache." Rage commented dryly. He stepped where Sakura could see him again. She saw him rest his left hand perilously close to his sword, and say, "Come now, don't make me have to use stronger means to get the information I want." 

That was enough for Sakura. Reaching down and lifting her skirts up, she pulled the Key from her ankle where it had been resting all day, "Oh, Key of Clow, power of Magic, power of Light! Surrender the Wand! The force ignite! Release!" she whispered quietly, not wanting to give herself away. As much as she liked the Rage in the future, if he was going to harm Clow Reed in any way, she had to stop him... 

Gathering herself, and praying for nothing to go wrong, Sakura counted to three...and then burst through the door. There was only time to see the complete look of surprise and shock on Rage's face before Sakura delivered a flying kick to the side of his head, knocking the war helm off and skidding across the floor. Rage only staggered back, the helm taking the brunt of the hit, and raised one hand to clutch at his head. Sakura brought her Clow Wand across to hit him again, but Rage had gotten over the momentary surprise and brought his right hand up to block the Wand. Sakura opened her mouth to call on a Clow card, and then cursed as she realized she didn't have them. She'd have to yell at Clow later...if she lived. As a second option, she brought her left hand up, as her right was attached to the Clow Wand held in both her and Rag'e fists, to deliver a solid punch to his chin. The blow never landed. Rage used his other hand to intercept her punch, and now both of her hands were trapped in his. 

Sakura decided to use her feet, but Rage was quicker. Hooking his foot behind Sakura's legs, Rage tripped her and sent them both crashing to the ground, and the Clow Wand went the same way Rage's helm had. Sakura grunted as her shoulder blades took the damage, and then fought to breathe as Rage's weight made it hard to draw breath through her lungs. Sakura looked up and stared into his eyes in defiance. His own gaze stared into hers, anger, curiousity, and interest shining plainly in the blue depths. 

"Stop, stop, stop!!" Clow Reed yelled, suddenly appearing. Placing his hands on his hips and giving both a look of extreme disapproval and consternation, he said, "Do get up, both of you! and stop this rough housing! Rage! You're crushing the poor girl!" 

Sakura found she could breathe again as the weight miraculously disappeared. The confusion reigned as, instead of attacking Clow Reed, Rage replied, "In case you hadn't noticed...**_she_** was the one who came at **_me_**!" 

Clow Reed's attention turned to Sakura, still lying prone on her back, and he exclaimed, "He has a point you know. Why ever did you do **_that_**? Did you ever hear of knocking?" 

Sakura stared at him for a full minute before finally exploding, "Because he's a Clow card!! That's **_why!! _**What the **_hell_** is going on here?!? I thought he was going to kill you! Or something like that!!" 

Rage stared at her and muttered, "Such language..." 

Clow Reed smiled brilliantly as he said, "I thank you Sakura for looking out for me. But, really, that wasn't necessary." then, surprising both Sakura and Rage, Clow Reed waved his hand towards the door and said, "You can go now, Sakura. I'm fine. I'll see yo later." 

Sakura stared at him, google-eyed. "I'll see you later?!" she echoed incredulously. 

Rage eyed Clow Reed with suspicion. "But she only just got here, even if it was under interesting circumstances." 

Clow Reed shrugged. "No matter. Really, Sakura, run along." 

"I'm not going **_anywhere!_**" Sakura cried. This was making about as much sense as one of Kero's videogames. 

"Who is she Clow Reed?" Rage asked, firmly, not to be deterred now that he knew there was something to be known. 

"As I said, it's none of your business." Clow snapped suddenly, a scowl appearing on his normally cheery face. 

Sakura sat up and gave Clow a sharp look. "Okay...forgive me for being so ignorant...but...would someone please tell me what I'm missing here?" Sakura looked Rage over and then looked back at Clow Reed. "He's a card, so why aren't you two at odds? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're both acting almost civil to each other." 

Clow Reed stood immobile for a moment, just looking back and forth between card and descendant. Then, sighing with no small amount of exasperation, he said, "Neither of you are going to leave this alone, are you?" 

Rage smirked. "Not bloody likely." 

Sakura just shook her head. 

Clow sighed again, as if searching for patience from somewhere. Sitting down wearily on his bed, he gestured for everyone else to make themselves comfortable. Rage merely leaned against the wall, crossing one booted foot over the other. Sakura eased herself up off of the ground. She walked slowly over to her Wand and picked it up. 

Sensing she was being watched, she turned and found Rage eying her warily, his attention fixed on the Clow Wand. Suddenly feeling mischievous, Sakura grinned and said, "I don't bite." 

"Could have fooled me." Rage replied, a smile tugging on his lips. 

Taking Clow Reed offer, Sakura sat herself down in one of the chairs surrounding the small table and waited. 

Clow Reed rubbed his temples, trying to relieve a sudden headache that was forming behind his eyes. "I did not plan this," he muttered quietly, "This was not supposed to happen." lifting his head, he looked at Sakura. "I know that Kero and Yue both have told you things about the cards, none of them pleasant. And, normally, everything they said would be true, except..." Clow Reed stopped suddenly and blinked once as something occurred to him. "Why are you not...where you are supposed to be?" he questioned curiously, and a bit worriedly. 

Sakura winced. "That's why I'm here." gathering herself for an argument, Sakura straightened her spine. "I can't stay there a moment longer. No way. Do you have any idea how completely unpredictable W..." 

Clow cut her off. "Yes...I realize this. I told you you wouldn't come to any harm. What's the problem? Have you been harmed?" he asked genuinely curious. 

Sakura stared at him a moment. It occurred to her that he didn't want Rage to know about War and the fact that she was staying with him for the moment, and that was why he had cut her off. Fine, she'd go along with that...for now. "No, but that's not the point. He's a menace. Do you know what he does to his servants? And the conversations between himself and...his 'friends' is not exactly encouraging." she leaned forward in her chair, "Do you know, I think he has people being held somewhere in his home...and I don't think they're there of their own free will, either." 

Clow Reed frowned slightly, but said, "We will discuss this later." Sakura began sputtering, "I said...we will discuss this later." he repeated firmly, casting a quick glance in Rage's direction. Sakura's mouth snapped shut. 

Not missing the look pointed in his direction, the corner's of Rage's mouth turned up, "Oh, this is simply extraordinary. What HAVE you been doing while I was away?" 

Clow Reed gave him a look that silenced him, but didn't banish the amusement in his eyes. Returning his attention to Sakura, he said, "As I was saying, everything Kero and Yue told you is true, but there is something even they do not know." smiling dryly, he muttered, "And neither should you, but I suppose that can't be helped." waving his hand vaguely in Rage's direction, he said in his normal, blunt manner, "Rage is my aide. Much like Kero and Yue are." 

"Yes, and I still have to meet this Yue of yours." Rage said idly from his spot against the wall. 

Sakura's mouth dropped open. What? How? Why? Sakura may have been speechless, but her mind was going a mile a minute. **_This _**was unexpected...and made about as much sense as everything else in this bloody time frame did!! "But! but I thought all of the cards had rebelled against you?!" she asked, finding her voice. "Kero told me they all wanted power for themselves and hated being governed by you." 

Clow Reed grimaced, "Yes, well, that's true enough." 

"Then what in the hell is going on?" Sakura was nearing her patience's end. 

Rage watched Sakura with no small amount of curiousity. "Did you honestly think I would betray my creator? The one who gave me life? That would be the ultimate disgrace." his face hardened. "I admit...playing with such things as lives is something no one should be allowed to do," he cast a look in Clow Reed's direction, "But, ultimately, if it was not for him, I would not be here. None of us would." he meant the rest of the cards. 

Well...that sounded like the Rage Sakura knew. His honour was playing the role once again...and maybe some gratitude was rolled into the mix. Sakura quickly dismissed that, though, as she remembered the look on Rage's face when he spoke about his creation. He may have been glad that he was alive, but Sakura got the impression that Rage didn't think any of them, the cards, should be alive. Gee...talk about an oxymoron. 

"So...what you're saying is, Rage is on **_your_** side?" she said slowly, addressing Clow Reed. 

Rage shrugged and answered for the sorcerer, "If you must choose sides." 

Sakura sat back with a frown. Clow Reed chuckled, "Having a bit of a time there, Sakura?" 

Sakura glanced at him. "This is just a bit much to take in. I mean, I don't get it...Rage was so bent on revenge concerning you, but that doesn't make sense..." Sakura realized her slip as Rage suddenly straightened from the wall, giving her an intense look. Clow Reed didn't react. 

"What is this?" Rage inquired. "I do not know you...but you speak as if you know me." 

Clow Reed sighed, and, once again being frank, said, "Rage, this is Sakura Avalon...she is my descendant, from the future." 

The way Rage's eyes seemed to go all doe~ish would have been comical to Sakura at any other moment in time...but in this moment, she had too much to wonder about. If Clow and Rage were so chummy now...what happened that made Rage do a complete one eighty on his views? With as passionately as Rage seemed to hate Clow Reed in the future...Sakura thought she might not want to know. 

"You must be joking." Rage finally said, his voice slightly strained but otherwise sounding relatively normal. 

Clow shook his head. "No. If you do not believe me, try to sense her aura." he frowned and looked at Sakura. "You didn't apply more of the perfume, did you?" Sakura shook her head numbly, "Good, the potion should be wearing off then. It might be difficult to sense her, Rage, but with me shielding my aura to stop any interference, and if you concentrate, you should be able to pick up something." 

Looking at Clow Reed like he was mad, since Rage didn't know anything about the potion or about Sakura's secret mission with War, he slowly shook his head. Opening his senses, Rage tried to latch onto anything coming from the girl. He frowned when he picked up nothing, confirming his suspicions that Clow Reed was truly losing it. 

Sakura saw the frown, and knowing that Rage was skeptical to begin with, and would never believe Clow Reed without proof, Sakura tried to raise her energy level and extend her aura. Like when she was fighting, her aura was stronger, that's what she was trying to do now. Trying to grasp that centre, that core in her mind that Rage said was there when he was trying to teach her a thing or two, Sakura delved deep into herself. Again, she could sense that tingling in the back of her mind, but it was like she was blocked off from it, and she couldn't grasp it. Instead, she reached for her Clow cards as a second option. She didn't know where they were, but she tried anyways. She had them suddenly, and Sakura thought they must be close, somewhere in the room, and Sakura used their power to make her aura stronger, drawing their energy into herself like she had that day under the willow tree. 

Rage blinked and took a step back suddenly as an aura that hadn't been there a second before suddenly burst forth from the motionless girl. Next came the surprise and not a bit of shock as he realized he recognized that aura. He switched his attention to Clow Reed and stared at him. Clow Reed simply raised his eyebrows, as if daring him to deny the proof. 

"But...how?" Rage asked, closing off his senses and blocking out the aura that he could have sworn had a distinctly flowery feel about it. "Brought from the future, you say? How did you manage that? You always said time travel was impossible." he accused. 

Clow Reed folded his hands inside his robes and looked up at Rage, his face revealing nothing. "How I managed it is none of your concern. And for your information...it is impossible." he stated. 

Rage didn't comment on the fact that Clow Reed had just contradicted himself, he was too used to Clow's odd temperaments. "So she's your descendant." Rage smiled slightly, "Why is she here?" he asked, feeling very close to territory he knew he was forbidden from accessing. 

Clow Reed watched him with blank eyes that concealed his thoughts very well, those same eyes had been the ones that Rage studied to create his own mask into his mind. "I think, Sakura might have some questions she would want answered." he said, not answering the question. 

Rage became annoyed for a moment, but then brushed the feeling away, as it would get him nowhere. "I take it you want me to leave?" 

"That would be nice." Clow replied amiably. 

Rage bowed mockingly, advertising just what he thought of this. "You do realize that I shan't rest until I find out what you're hiding from me." 

Clow Reed smiled wryly. "I gathered that." 

"In that case, is there a particular spot you want me to disappear to?" he asked, bending down to pick up his war helm that was still on the floor. 

"As a matter of fact...yes." Clow's face turned serious. "I want you to pay a visit to Disease for me." 

Rage looked like he'd rather not. "Are you serious?" Clow just looked at him. "Of course...I forgot who I was talking to. Is there something specific you want? or is this another one of those blind voyages?" 

Clow smiled. "Blind voyage." 

Rage swore, then quickly glanced at Sakura and apologized. Looking back at Clow, he said, "You know how I despise Disease." 

Clow's smile disappeared. "I know, but that's often the case when strong meets weak. Now, get going." 

Rage placed the helm on his head. "Just one more thing, I take it your descendant knows me in the future?" Clow nodded warily, "What did she mean when she said I wanted revenge?" he asked, completely serious. 

"It is not important." Clow said in a no nonsense tone. "Now go." 

Rage took one last look at the implacable gleam in the sorcerer's eyes, and then dissolved into a white mist, and was gone. 

Clow Reed turned to Sakura, who was still sitting as she had been, arms on the table and frown firmly in place. "Is there something you wish to know, Sakura?" he asked gently. 

Sakura blinked, snapped out of whatever trance she was in. Looking over at Clow Reed, she asked, "Why did you send him to Disease?" 

"I need to know as much information about what is going on in that place as possible. The more eyes and ears I have the better. I would have sent him straight to the source, War, but I didn't want him to bump into you." 

Sakura eyed him curiously. "Don't you trust him?" she whispered. 

Clow Reed looked around the room, and Sakura thought, amazed, that Clow couldn't meet her eyes. "It is not that I do not trust him," he said slowly, "I know Rage would never betray me, he has already proven himself more than once. It is simply that, with what I do and the way I am, I am naturally secretive. I do not like the idea of someone, no matter who they are, knowing everything that I do." he laughed shortly, "I guess you could say the idea makes me nervous." he admitted. 

Sakura choose not to comment further on that, "Do the other cards know? Do they know that Rage is...with you?" 

Clow Reed looked at her as if she should know better, "Of course not! If they knew, they would never allow Rage to get close to them at all, and they'd try to kill him with as much determination as their wish for MY death." Clow smiled wickedly, "As far as they know, Rage wants me dead as much as the rest of them do." 

Sakura smirked. "To think, that even now, you guys have spys. I feel like I'm in a James Bond movie." 

Clow tilted his head to the side. "Something to do with the future, I take it?" 

Sakura blushed slightly, embarrassed that she hadn't realized Clow wouldn't know what she meant. "Yeah. James Bond was an excellent British spy." 

"Ah...I begin to understand. He must be very good." 

"No, you don't understand, he's not real...he's a movie..." Sakura trailed off. The really was no real way to explain this. "Yeah, he's very good." she said, smiling. 

"Is there anything else you would like to know?" Clow inquired. 

"Well...yeah, just one, for now, I guess." Sakura's face scrunched up in puzzlement. "Rage has never met Yue?" she asked, recalling what Rage had said about wanting to meet him. 

"No." 

Well, that was odd. Then they haven't fought, yet. Something else occurred to her, "So, he's met Kero?" she asked. 

Clow shook his head. "No. They do not know about Rage, I have not told them." 

"But, it sounded like he had. He didn't ask to meet Kero like he did Yue." Sakura said, confused. 

"Let me explain. Kero is here so much more often than Yue is. I send Yue off on more excursions in battle than I do Kero because I know Kero likes to stay close to me, even though he'd never admit it," Clow said, winking conspiratually. "As I was saying, since Kero is here almost always, he's often here when Rage is. Rage is...rather curious about my two wizards. I talk about them often enough and he hears about them often enough. So when he is here but cannot appear because someone is with me, he takes to watching Kero. I've seen him, shrouded in his mist, invisible to everyone's eyes but mine. I think Kero fascinates him for some reason. I do not know why, maybe he is confused about the affection Kero has for me. Rage may be loyal, but I know he could never care as much for me as my guardians do. Sometimes," Clow said sadly, "I think caring about things is beyond him." 

"Now, Yue has never been here when Rage has. Rage feels like he knows Kero, but he has never caught a glimpse of Yue. He is curious. I speak highly of the Moon Guardian." Clow shrugged. "That is why he wants to meet Yue, mere curiousity." 

"You know that they end up meeting, don't you? I mean, meeting meeting." Sakura stressed. 

Clow nodded. "Yes, I had heard snippets of conversation through my looking glass when the three of you were talking; you, Kero, and Yue." 

"Do you know HOW they meet?" Sakura asked again. 

Clow frowned. "No. Should I?" he asked, becoming interested. 

Sakura shook her head. "Not really, I was just wondering." when Clow gave her a look, she grinned and said, "Better not to know too much about the future, don't want to change it for the worse now do we?" using his words against him. 

Clow nodded his head slightly, letting it go. 

The real reason why she was here suddenly popped back into Sakura's head. "I'm not staying at War's." she said. 

Clow blinked at the abrupt change in topic. "Oh yes, the reason why you are here. Why ever not, Sakura? What is so horrible that you cannot tolerate staying with him until you get a chance to seal him?" he asked, a bit exasperated. 

Sakura leaned forward in her chair, "I'll tell you what's so horrible. Did you know he cut out the tongues of his servants? That's monstrous! And I happened to witness a very pleasant conversation between himself and Death...and let me tell you... Death is even more creepy than War. If I have to put up with HIM for the remainder of my stay, I'll end up going mad. And about that...I think War has people being kept in his castle somewhere. I think they might be being tortured, it wouldn't surprise me, the way Death commented on the amount of noise. And War referred to them as his 'playthings.' How healthy can that be?" 

Clow leaned forward himself, "Sakura, I know all of these things are intimidating, and I know that War does some unimaginable things, but you need to stay there." he said firmly. 

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "I do, do I? I don't think so...YOU try staying with him." 

Clow Reed scowled, and Sakura realized she'd managed to annoy him, something that probably didn't happen too often. "Listen to me, Sakura. How many more lives do you think will be lost because of your selfishness...including your own? How many more will have their tongues cut out, or worse? How many more will become playthings if you do not seal War? Just because what you have seen does not agree with you...how do you think the people who have to LIVE in the same place as War feel?" he finished. 

When put that way...Sakura felt rather ashamed of herself. He was right...how could she whine and complain about herself when those poor people had to endure pain and terror every day? "You're right...I am being selfish." she said quietly. 

"Does that mean you're going back?" Clow asked hopefully. 

Sakura laughed, but the sound held no mirth. "What choice do I have when you so expertly place the lives of thousands of people at my feet?" 

Clow looked genuinely sorrowful. "I am sorry, Sakura, if there was some other way to go about this without bloodshed..." 

Sakura sighed. "I know." 

Clow stood abruptly, "You should get back. War does not know you are missing, I hope?" 

Sakura shook her head, "He's off doing other...things." 

Clow nodded. "Kero." he whispered. To Sakura's surprise, Kero suddenly appeared. How had he heard Clow Reed? "Kero Beros, would you please take Sakura back to Linth manor as it is now your watch." 

Kero bowed his head, "Of course, Master, but how did she get here?" he asked, confused. 

Clow Reed studied Sakura with still eyes. "Yes...how DID you get here? Kero certainly didn't take you, for he's as surprised to see you as I was when you came bursting through my door. And I left explicit instructions that I was not to be disturbed...so who brought you?" he wondered out loud, staring at her. 

Sakura looked everywhere but at Clow Reed. "Um...no one brought me." Sakura lied, trying to keep Yue from getting into trouble. 

Clow Reed arched an eyebrow. "Is that so? Then how did you get here?" 

Sakura got the distinct impression that Clow Reed was enjoying himself. "Um...I walked?" she supplied. 

"Oh," he whispered, "I see." but those eyes kept on staring at her. 

"Hey! Kero...let's go!" Sakura said, a bit too enthusiastically. 

"It's Kero Beros." Kero stressed. 

"Of course, Kero, I forgot." Sakura said, grinning. Kero growled at her. She just continued grinning and leapt lightly onto Kero's back, just below where his wings met. Patting Kero's shoulder gently, Sakura said, "You need to lighten up, Kero-chan." she added the last bit for her own merciless pleasure. She'd break his serious control yet! 

As Kero was about to teleport out, Clow Reed suddenly spoke, "One more thing, the next time you see Yue, tell him not to disregard my orders again." he grinned at Sakura's surprised look. "It was rather obvious. Normally, Yue would never do such a thing, but you seem to have this effect on the poor man. He's head over heels for you, you know." 

Before Sakura could reply to THIS interesting bit of news, Kero teleported.   
~ 

Meanwhile, back in Linth manor, War was currently down in the dungeons, attending to some business. "Move you half wits! I want this rubbish cleared out and moved to the East wing before dawn!" 

Servants, all utterly terrified and sick to their stomachs, obeyed quickly. 

War turned and surveyed his surroundings with regret. This had been such a perfect place to conduct his little experiments, and Death had to go and ruin it for him. The dungeons stank of urine and rotting, burnt, and decaying flesh. Blood was splattered on the walls, staining the stone a deep red. Stained and matted straw littered parts of the floor and giant rats ran about as they pleased, completely unmindful of the humans walking by. There were stands set in various places around the prison, and on these stands were bloody pieces of metal. Some were blunt, some sharp, and all used for torture. There were cudgels, scalpels, knives, hooks, maces, and other such things. In the cages, and the hooks sticking out from the walls, were men and women in various degrees of dismemberment. One man had been crucified to the wall, another's head had been cut off and set on a pike in front of the cages for all to see. A woman was strapped to the table. She was naked and her legs had been broken in five different places. She was missing a hand and had been severely whipped across her entire body. Blood matted what was once blond hair but was now red, and pools of the stuff had seeped down from the table and into the floor...   
and she was still breathing. 

War looked his little prison over and tsked. It really was a pity...where was he going to find such a place again that echoed the terrified screaming in the best possible way? "Be careful with the live ones...I'm not done with them yet." 

The door to the dungeon opened and footsteps suddenly appeared on the stairs. War watched the staircase in interest, wondering who it could be. A moment later and Disease appeared, whistling a merry tune. 

Strolling up to War, he grinned and said silkily, "How go's it, War?" 

War didn't bother smiling in greeting to his guest. "Well enough. Why are you down here? You'll get your fine, expensive clothes dirty." he remarked lightly. 

Disease tsked but otherwise ignored the barb. "So...Death got you to move them did he?" he asked, seemingly unconcerned. 

War glanced at him sharply. "He did not MAKE me, no one makes me do anything." he said quietly. 

Disease nodded quickly. Then he grinned. "Must have been quite a little show. What'd he threaten you with?" 

"If you know what's good for you, you'll shut your mouth." War advised. 

Disease shrugged. A moment of silence, then, "So who's the girl?" 

War smiled slightly, showing his teeth. "Something I found in the marketplace. Quite a lovely specimen. Have you seen her?" 

Disease nodded. "For a moment only, when you two first arrived on horseback. I admit she is very lovely." 

"Isn't she though?" War sighed. Then shaking his head slightly, he said, "She is the only thing about humankind that does that race justice. She is most definitely a gem." 

"Hm...coming from you, that sure is a compliment." Disease remarked. 

War looked like he was considering something, then, "I think I'll add her to my collection." he said. 

Disease smiled appreciatively, "She MUST be good then. Have you fucked her yet?" 

War shook his head. "Hadn't had the time." 

"Can I fuck her then?" 

War looked sharply at him, "She's off limits. Besides, I think I'd rather have her preserved as a virgin, seems more...holy that way." he smiled. 

Disease pouted. "Where's the fun in that?" he demanded. War glared at him. "All right! All right! It's your call. I'll find my fun somewhere else. But, uh, when are you going to do it? I want to be there." he grinned. 

"Tomorrow night, I think. Yes, there's a full moon tomorrow. I like full moons." 

Disease nodded. "Right. Shouldn't you be preparing for tomorrow then?" he asked. 

War nodded, but then glanced about him in frustration. 

"Don't worry, I'll look after this for you." Disease offered. At War's sharp look, he said, "Don't worry! I won't further damage your damaged goods!" 

After a moment to consider, War nodded curtly and headed for the stairs. 

Disease rubbed his hands together joyfully. "This should be fun!" and turned back to supervise the moving of bodies. 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

I think I dislike War. He's a bloody bastard. ^_^ Good...that's what I was aiming for. Hmm...I think this turned out better than last chapter. Oh! Did you like what I did with Rage? Instead of having him fight **_against _**Clow Reed...I had him fight WITH him! Nice twist, ne? Okay, I don't know when the next chapter will be out 'cause I have exams to study for. Until then! 

The thing I said I was going to put at the end...you know...the thing I'm excited about? Well, I haven't told you, but I haven't seen the second season of Cardcaptors! You know, with Eriol? And I didn't ever think I was going to because, living in Canada and all, I don't get to see too many Japanese Anime. Well!! Guess what?!? On June 23rd...the second season is coming out on T.V.!! I get to see the second season!! YAY!!! ^_^ I'm really excited about this!! I've been going on about it since I found out. And I've seen the previews for the series and...damn!...they look good! And you know what the best part is? I get to see Yue, Yue, and more Yue!!! Hurrah! ^_^a I'm gonna go now... 

One last thing, I don't know when I'll check up on the present. I'll try to get there next chapter, or the one after that. I know one of you in particular want to know what's going on there. We'll see... ~.^ 


	22. A Diamond in the RoughCh21

Cardcaptors21 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: VERY IMPORTANT!! I replaced this chapter with different text because of one lousy mistake! Instead of writing 'Disease' I wrote Famine instead when Sakura was thinking about the painting of the Four Horsemen!! I had to change it back because I said Disease came off like a weasel...well Famine certainly doe NOT!! I couldn't leave it there...poor Famine! Another little boo-boo, and I thank Shevey for pointing it out. When Sakura captures War...Rage is not on the card. Geez, when I'm writing about the cards I seem to have the others stuck in my head and then I end up typing the wrong name! Hehe...^.^a Sorry. 

Okay...hmm...I'm a bit stumped. You see, I have a pretty good idea how things in the past-with Sakura and Clow Reed-are going to turn out...but, I confess, I'm in a bit of a pinch with the present. Hehe ^_^a...I've been completely into the past stuff and hadn't been thinking about what's going on in the present. Well...I guess I'll have to pull myself together and type **_something._** ^__^ Let's see how this turns out. 

Now...for the beginning of my ramblings(that I'm beginning to enjoy ~.^) to my reviewers. Did I say you guys were nice in chapter nineteen!?! Wow, that's nothing compared to chapter twenty. ^.^ Again, a BIG thanks to all of you guys who make this fun!! ....... Umm... *scratches head and grins like an idiot* Shevey, I will so try to add a 'spice of romance' as you said, but probably not with the couple you think, ;). Also...**_I'm sorry I can't bring Sakura and Rage together!!!_** ^_^ It just isn't meant to be. Hey! I want them together almost, ^_^ almost..., as much as you do. Now, maybe, miraculously! you'll oh-so-kindly stop flinging it back in my face, you make me feel more than a little guilty for Rage!! HE doesn't like to be reminded either! *points finger* do you see him?! He's over there, sulking in the corner! because you've made him miserable! And we all know what happens when he's in a foul mood! *lowers voice* if he freezes my computer room, I'm blaming YOU! 

Okay!! Now that we're done with the good natured teasing!! *smiles with twinkle in eye* we'll try to get things moving...^_^ I would like to thank Teardrop for her effort...:) I don't think I know the meaning of all those nasty words! I'll try to fit some of them in, even, when I've got War playing his part in this chapter. And I'm SO glad you hold him in as much high esteem as I do! ^.^ *psst!* And I do appreciate it! ~_^ Same goes for Kitty in her feelings about War. 

Oh!! Do any of you have any tranquilizers? O.oa...Why you ask? I'm afraid, that ~*~Starlight Princess~*~ likes this fic a little too much...have you seen her reviews!!! I will not be responsible for death by heart attack!!! ^_^ But other than that...thank you for your enthusiasm Starlight!! ^___^ 

I would like to thank Ashandarei for wishing me luck on my exams! You're the best!! And I'll TRY my best!! Thank you!!! 

~*~Sakura-chan~*~, ...*shakes head, exasperated* GET SOME SLEEP!!! Oi! On a school day no less?! I hope you were able to catch up on sleep in Math class ~.^ Same goes for you dreamyblue. Except, I'm sorry, but...there is no WAY War is going to be a good guy. Uh uh. Even though both of you are insomniacs!! ^.~ I thank you for reviewing nonetheless. 

To Suzaku no Miko(and for everyone else, too...**_in case you don't read what I write at the end of each chapter!!! ;p _**I can't bring Eriol in, Suzaku, on account of the fact that I haven't see the second season of Cardcaptors...you know...the one with **_Eriol?_** I'm sure, though, that I'd have included him if I'd seen him. Maybe next Cardcaptor fic I write? Who knows? 

Sue...those are some very great questions. ^_^ Unfortunately...they relate to future issues and I'm hesitant to say anything...but here's what I WILL say! ^.^a You're right...I have been hinting at Sakura's great power...and I do something about that...but you'll have to be patient. And as for the times that she cusses...come on...she's, what did I say? eighteen in this fic? She's still good and everything, but, an eighteen year old tends to be allowed to cuss when angry, ne? ^_^ 

For all of you that I didn't mention...well...I CAN'T GET ALL OF YOU IN HERE!!! Please don't feel neglected, I appreciate you guys just as much as everyone above. Again, I only take care of the more...um...pressing, reviews. Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed!!! 

(And don't mind all my teasing...it just shows that I love you all!!!) 

Oi!!!!! Get ready for a LOOONNNNGG chapter! *whines* my fingers are cramped!! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

**Cardcaptors: A Diamond in the Rough-Ch.21**

~*Present*~ 

"Come on, Tory," Madison cajoled softly, tugging on his arm. "This is more important than you know." 

Tory was being dragged along towards the Avalon(Kinomoto) residence against his will...in his opinion. They had left the fateful scene of Sakura's disappearance fifteen minutes ago. As they walked away from the place, Tory had slowly, ever so slowly, regained his thoughts and the ability to use them properly. He still didn't have the faintest clue as to what was going on...flying, talking stuffed animals, winged angels, a man straight out of a Medieval Times movie. And most unbelievable of all...his sister, Sakura, was some sort of captor, that had magic and the lot. He still didn't believe it, even with the proof to back it up. When he saw Sakura again, he HOPED he'd see Sakura again, he was going to have a nice, long, talk with her. 

The further he walked, the closer he got to his home, one thought made it's way to the forefront of his mind...he was about to lie to his father. How could they have asked him, told him! to lie to his own father? And why...? to cover up the disappearance of Sakura, something, in his opinion, his father should **_know_**. And all because a little stuffed animal told him to. 

He dug in his heels suddenly, right in front of his front lawn. Madison was forced to stop as well, her grip on his arm not letting her go any further. She looked up at him with a frown, and Tory couldn't help but wonder how she'd gotten messed up in this madness. "I'm not going to lie to my father, Madison." he explained, in a no nonsense tone of voice. 

Madison let go of his arm, sighing in exasperation, and running her fingers through her shoulder length hair. "Look, Tory," she said slowly, "I know not much of this probably makes any sense to you right now, but you've GOT to do this." 

"Why?" Tory crossed his arms over his chest and regarded her curiously, and not a bit confused. "Wouldn't it be best to let my father know? I mean, if there's any sort of truth to anything I've been told in the last little while, don't you think Sakura's family should know about it?" 

Madison regarded Tory much the same way he did her, only there was no confusion in her gaze...only steely determination. "You don't understand. The reason why you can't tell Mr.Avalon is because he won't know how to handle it, like you don't know how to handle this now. Also, what do you think telling him will accomplish? Nothing besides worry. There's nothing either of you can do to help Sakura, whether you want to admit that or not. That's the other reason why you were never told. The only thing that could be gained by that is worry. Kero and Yue will find a way to bring her back, trust me. If anyone can, they can. And, unless you've gained some Magical abilities since the last time I checked, what could you do?" Madison knew she was being brutal, but she had to make him see. 

Tory glanced about, unsure. Did she have to keep bringing up the fact that there was nothing he could do? She did have a point, though, and he didn't want to worry his father. However, he still couldn't get over the fact that NOT telling him was wrong somehow. "I'm telling him, Madison." he said quietly. 

Tory headed towards his house resolutely and with determination, an anxious Madison trailing behind him. Opening the door, he headed straight for the kitchen where you were ALWAYS guaranteed to find Dad, seeing as how he was always baking. He was right, but Mr.Avalon wasn't baking. He was wearing his work clothes and it was obvious he was just about to go out the door and TO work. 

Looking up from the cookie he had just grabbed as a quick snack on the go, Mr.Avalon took one look at Tory's face and was asking, "What's wrong?" 

Tory opened his mouth, opened his mouth to tell his father everything, "Sakura's sleeping at Madison's tonight, Dad." whoa... that was NOT what he had planned to say. He could feel Madison's eyes boring a hole into back of his head and he tried to take no notice. 

His father looked at him for a long moment before saying, "Why isn't Sakura here to tell me herself?" he asked. 

It was Madison who replied to that, "Well...I couldn't leave Rodney, my hamster, alone in the apartment by himself...he gets lonely, don't'cha know...and...**_I_** would have watched him myself, but, getting to spend so little time with Tory, Sakura suggested I go out and spend a couple hours with him." Madison walked up beside Tory and hugged his arm. Grinning up into his stricken face, Madison reached up and pinched his cheek lightly, "Isn't that right, Touya-kun?" (couldn't write Tory-kun... didn't sound right) 

Tory didn't say a word and Mr.Avalon's eyes narrowed slightly. Madison prodded him in the ribs. "Uh...yeah." 

Madison smiled sweetly at Mr.Avalon. "He's shy, doesn't like to show public affection...makes him nervous." 

"I didn't know you were a couple." he commented. 

"Neither did I." Tory murmured quietly. Madison prodded him again. 

"Well..." Mr.Avalon looked at his watch. "If Sakura should happen to call, Tory, tell her that I love her and not to stay up too late. I'll see you tomorrow." 

As Mr.Avalon walked by, Tory said, "I'll tell her, Dad." and then he was out the door. 

Giggling, Madison looked up through her lashed at Tory, acting coy, "So, Touya-kun...what did you think of my performance?" In truth...this was probably the only time Madison would get the chance to do something like that to Tory...so she'd played it for all it was worth. She wanted to kiss him, on the cheek only! but she figured that might have been going too far, even for her. The cheek pinch had just been teasing. 

In response, Tory glared at her, even though he had to admit to himself, that it was a fake glare. He'd never say so, but he had enjoyed having Madison so close to him, and had liked the way she'd said his name. "I **_think_**...you'd better not do that again." walking into the living room, he looked over his shoulder and said, "Although, it **_was_** quick thinking." he admitted. 

Madison grinned behind his back. 

Sitting down on the couch, Tory felt pretty awkward being alone with Madison in his house. Whenever he's seen the girl, she'd always had his kid sister with her, and he could get over his nervousness by teasing Sakura. Now, however, he had no one to tease...except Madison, but he didn't know how she'd take that or how it would be viewed. 

So, he said the one thing that came to mind, "I suppose now that you've gotten me to lie to my father, you'll be going now?" Tory winced mentally. Oh yeah, real smooth idiot. 

Madison came into the living room and sat down on the chair, wanting to sit on the couch but not daring to. "I'm sorry about that, Tory, but I told you, it's for everyone's own good." then she grinned. "As for leaving..." she looked around the living room. "I like it here. Besides...where would I go? I'm not going to my apartment with no one there, I'll just end up worrying myself to death about Sakura. In case you hadn't noticed, taking helps me calm myself down when I'm nervous, and at the apartment, I'll have no one to talk to." 

Tory's lips twitched. "I hadn't noticed." he said seriously, though he was amused. 

"Yeah, well, not many people do...except Sakura. But she's an exception because I've known her, for like, ever! And there's no WAY I'm going back to watch those four tear each other to pieces. Boy, if you've seen Rage and Kero together...they're like oil and water...I'm not sure which is which. Besides, they'd just be talking a lot of Magic mumbo jumbo, and I don't get that stuff. So...I think I'll just stay here, that, is, if it's okay with you." Madison added as an afterthought. 

"It's fine with me." Tory said, but this whole 'Cardcaptor' thing was bothering him. "You can't honestly believe this nonsense about Magic and stuff...do you?" 

Madison nodded. "Of course I do. Trust me, I've seen enough of it. In fact, I have almost all of Sakura's captures on film. Except for the most recent ones," she grumped. "Sakura wouldn't let me come for one and didn't tell me about the other. Hey!" she exclaimed, a thought just coming to her. "Do you want to them?" 

"See what?" Tory asked, not having been paying that great attention, Madison's black, glossy hair having caught his attention. 

"The videos." Madison explained calmly. "The ones of Sakura capturing the Clow cards." 

"Yeah, I'd like that. Clow cards? What are those?" Tory asked, confused. 

"Those, are what make Sakura a Cardcaptor. They're creatures she had to seal so they didn't cause any trouble. I'll explain later, after you've seen the videos and gotten a better idea of what they are. Unless...my tapes are at my apartment, would you like to come over?" she asked shyly, fearing he'd say no. 

Tory stood up. Holding out his hand to her, he said, "I'd love to." 

Madison took his hand and heaved herself out of the chair. They stood, almost face to face, staring into each other's eyes and holding hands. Tory snapped out of it first, cursing his stupidity. Taking his hand back, he walked to the door and opened it for her. "Shall we go?" he asked. 

Madison giggled heading out the door. "Such a gentleman." 

It was Tory's turn to grin behind her back.   
~ 

Rage thanked the stars that Love had slapped some sense into him earlier, literally, or he'd have been way past the breaking point now. 

Right after Sakura disappeared, Rage had been shocked speechless, which didn't happen often. At first, he simply refused to believe his eyes. She couldn't just disappear, she didn't know **_how_** to teleport. Then had come the blame. He began to think it had been **_his_** fault she'd disappeared, that, he had forgotten to tell her something, that he wasn't watching her closely enough. Then Kero Beros had been kind enough to put his two cents in and he just ended up feeling worse. Then, the anger came, the rage, a welcome block against the guilt and shame assailing him from all sides. Of course, that Spawn of Clow Reed hadn't helped there, and he was back in the blame game again. 

He was fearing he would drown in the guilt when another spectator made himself known. At first, Rage hadn't a clue who he was, and the thought of killing him ran through his head as something to do to relieve the guilt. Then he'd sensed the boy's aura, it had been very weak, apparently, the boy had not much Magic to speak of, if any. But the sense was clear...this was another descendant of Clow Reed. 

Again, he couldn't believe what his senses were telling him, but then the boy spoke up, reveiling that Sakura was his **_sister_**! That's when the anger began to come back again...only to be swept away once more at the realization that this one knew nothing about Magic...at all. 

He had never had a day in his life when his feelings played such havoc with his mind. 

Anyways...next came Love's antics with the human, and even though Rage disapproved, he was amused at the same time... although, he'd never let Love know that...he'd never hear the end of it. That's when the human decided to grab Love. Knowing very well Love could have handled the boy with next to no effort, Rage still found himself with his sword drawn and against the foolish man's throat before he could think. Sometimes...the protectiveness he felt for Love exasperated the hell out of him ...and then, of course, there was the 'why' of it. He didn't know why Love evoked such protectiveness in him...Love really was a jackass. 

That's when that girl...what was her name?...Sakura's best friend, Madison, had kindly reminded him that Sakura would not be too happy with him if he killed her brother. Just the thought of Sakura never talking to him again made him feel sick to his stomach. So he did the only thing he could...he let the boy go. Then Love proceeded to wink at Madison...he'd seen that. 

When he'd begun to think out aloud about his thoughts on Sakura's disappearance, he only began to worry more. Kero Beros helped him in that regard by angering him once again, which was an easy feat since his worry was easily converted to anger. More thinking out loud brought his emotions under control and he succeeded in acting rationally. Lucky thing, too, or he might have missed the clues pointing to Sakura's trip through time...and then they'd **_still_** be wondering where she'd gone. 

Then the boy had to open his mouth and ruin everything. His complete ignorance, bigotry, and ridiculous naivety, grated on Rage's last nerve. Having his emotions warring with him since Sakura disappeared-anger, guilt, shock, shame, surprise-he had just snapped. 

That was when Love had intervened. 

Love knew him so well...although Rage still couldn't figure out how. He did so well hiding his emotions, except the anger, so how did Love know so much? Anyways...Love knew exactly what was bothering him. His worry over Sakura. Love had kindly pointed out, at first, that anger would only cloud my thoughts and I wouldn't be able to find a way to bring her back. Then Rage pointed out that he couldn't get any thinking done with children(Tory) setting his temper alight. Rage thought he might have raised his sword, but he couldn't really remember. That's when Love had began speaking more intensely, telling Rage that if he didn't calm down...he'd have to resort to drastic measures. He didn't, of course...and that's when Love had done the prudent, but not so safe, thing, and slapped him. 

Rage remembered his mind had just gone blank for a moment, completely shocked that Love, Love! had slapped him! Then his thoughts began rearranging themselves and got back on track. 

And now, here he was, sitting down with two former Guardians of Clow Reed, trying to figure out how to bring Sakura back through time. In his opinion, his very bleak opinion, it was impossible. There was no way to cast a time spell...there just wasn't! Clow Reed had confirmed that. But...Rage would keep trying, for Sakura, he would keep trying. 

Just then, right in mid sentence, Kero suddenly stopped talking and stared into space. Yue, who hadn't been talking, did likewise. I exchanged puzzled glances with Love, who shrugged, indicating Rage's guess was as good as his. Suddenly, Kero started laughing like there was no tomorrow, and Yue's face turned as pink as Rage had ever seen it. Love grinned, willing to join in on any joke, but no one seemed to be sharing. Still laughing, Kero just pointed at Yue, shaking his head. Yue sat up straighter on his air seat and attempted to pretend to ignore Kero. 

When Rage judged Kero had enough breath to speak, he asked, "Would you mind sharing what's so funny?" 

That sent Kero off again. In-between guffaws, Kero managed to get out, "I think...it's safe to say...I didn't end up eating Sakura." taking a deep breath, Kero got out, "I just saw her in a memory, and judging by Yue's reaction," Kero snickered, "He saw it, too." 

"What? What is it?!" Love asked, quite exasperated by now. 

Kero, his face entirely straight, said, "Yue just hit on Sakura...about a thousand years in the past." and then he was laughing again. 

Rage stiffened in his seat. Love glanced covertly at him from under his long eyelashes, wondering if he was going to be angry. 

But Rage said nothing. He could admit that he respected Yue too much to say anything about the situation to him. Besides, by the look on Yue's face, he wasn't proud of the fact now. Instead, he decided to pick on Kero, "If you're quite finished, now, Kero Beros, may we get on with it?" Rage asked, seemingly impatient. 

Kero nodded, managing to get his laughter under control. "Okay...I'm done..." he had to take several more deep breaths, though, before he could go on, "All right, since we've determined that none of us have the power of Time, then taking a short cut is out of the question. The way I figure it, then, is to either wait for the Kid to come back, see if he found anything in his texts, which I highly doubt, considering how secretive Clow Reed was on the subject...or! We can create a Time spell." 

Love stared at him. "And here I thought **_I_** was the joker." 

Kero glared at him. "I'm serious." 

"Wizard, do you have any idea how to create new spells...from **_scratch_**?" Rage wanted to know. 

"Of course I do!" Kero replied indignantly. Then he scratched his head. "But I've never actually done it before." the others sweat dropped. "Hey! Clow Reed taught me how...it's just, I never had a reason to practice." 

"Well...that helps immensely." Rage commented dryly. He watched as Kero opened his mouth to retort, waiting to see what the Wizard could think up this time...when his skull suddenly felt like it had been hit with a ton of bricks. Flinching back, Rage toppled over onto the grass, grunting from the pain in his head. The memory came **_after_** the pain did. It hadn't hurt quite so much, he mused to himself, when he'd been wearing his helmet. Without it...well...being sent a flying kick to the head full force is something you **_don't_** want to happen to you. 

Love leaned over him, completely confuzzled, although Rage could tell he was worried...the damn idiot showed too much emotion through his eyes...it'd be the death of him someday. "Uh...you okay there, Rage?" 

Sitting up, he grabbed the side of his head and glared, "I'm fine." he managed to grit out. 

"What happened?" Love wanted to know. 

Rage glanced around at the other two, one wary, the other concerned. "I just met Sakura for the first time...compliments of her foot. Thank God she wasn't wearing boots." he muttered. 

Everyone blinked. 

Smiling wryly, Rage said, "I was just delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Apparently, Sakura wasn't too happy with me." he omitted the part about being anywhere near Clow Reed, seeing as how the others, beside Yue, would never believe he ever fought for the sorcerer even if he was willing to tell them...which he wasn't. 

"What were you doing with Sakura that she'd think it was necessary to harm you?" Kero asked, suspicious. 

Rage narrowed his eyes at the implication. "Minding my own business, Wizard, I swear. She just thought I was dangerous because I was a card." 

"But...she knows you're 'teaching' her right now and not a danger...sort of." Kero amended. The jury was still out on that one. 

"She knew me in the future, Wizard, not then. For all she knew, I could have been a murderer who killed people with abandon." 

"Aren't you?" Kero asked quietly. 

Rage didn't reply to that. 

Love, hating awkward moments-unless he was the cause of one-got the conversation rolling again. Rage paid no attention. _Come back, Sakura. Find a way...before you decide to kick me again,_ he thought, amused.   
~ 

Sakura and Kero appeared back in her room in Linth manor. Sakura hopped off Kero's back lightly, noting the fact that she didn't feel dizzy this time. Sighing to herself, she glanced around her room resolutely, cursing Clow Reed, cursing herself, and most of all, cursing War and his little pals for making her be here. She figured, as long as she didn't have to see any of the servants, or anything else, she should be relatively fine...as long as Death didn't glide by, that is. 

Sakura glanced over at Kero, and, raising her eyebrow, she asked, "So...I suppose you're going to disappear now?" she asked dryly. 

Kero nodded. "Of course. Do not worry, I shall be nearby and watching." he reassured her. 

Sakura sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, you were a lot more fun to be around in the future." she pointed out. 

To Sakura's surprise, instead of teleporting out without a comment, Kero abruptly sat down. "Is that so?" he asked, sounding amused, yet curious. "I find this all rather perplexing," he confessed, "that you could know me, and yet, I do no know you. Tell me," he said slowly, "What...is my future self like?" 

Staring at Kero for a moment, as this was the most amount of words she'd heard out of his mouth yet, Sakura slowly sat down on the chest by the foot of her bed. Scrunching up her nose in thought, she began, "You're...dedicated to your work." she started. Smiling fondly, she continued, "You were always there to help me when I needed it," she frowned, "Although, you never actually TOLD me anything you weren't **_supposed _**to. You don't look like you do now. You have a false form, something that keeps you from being noticeable by people who are near me." she smiled even more as she was about to go into more personal things. "You're a very good friend to me, Kero, one of my best friends. You have a great sense of humour but are quickly angered when your 'sensibilities' are insulted." Sakura grinned. "And you LOVE food. You can't get enough of it. Speaking of loves, you have this addiction to videogames. A sort of false reality where you can be other people, or things, and take on certain quests." she quickly explained. "Mostly, you watch out for me while always reminding me that I have many faults and you have none." she joked. 

Kero sat there, staring at her. Sakura was beginning to think he wasn't going to say anything, when he finally opened his mouth, "I find this very hard to believe. That does not sound like myself at all." he pointed out, frowning. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Apparently." she eyed him critically. "Maybe you mellow over time?" she suggested. When Kero gave her an unpleasant look, Sakura muttered, "Maybe not, maybe the word I'm looking for is cynical. Well, it's true." she said, shrugging. She grinned suddenly, making Kero a bit uneasy. "I know what you need! A good night out on the town! Well, what I mean is, you need to have some fun." she said cheerfully. 

Kero looked like he thought she was insane. "And when will I have time for this? I must look after my Master." 

Sakura's breath whooshed out of her in a great gust. Exasperated, she exclaimed. "Oh! Come on Kero! Clow Reed isn't going to fall apart if you're not there twenty four seven. When all of this is done and over with, I'm taking you somewhere...ooh! Yue can come, too!" she said, as an afterthought. 

Kero stood suddenly, and Sakura watched him, wondering if he was going now. "I must leave you now." he said, but Sakura noted that he sounded a bit apologetic and tried not to grin. It was an improvement! 

Instead, she said, "Well...what am I supposed to do for the rest of the night? You honestly can't expect me to sleep in this God forsaken place." 

Kero shrugged and with an, "It's none of my concern," blinked out. 

Sakura stared for a moment, and then muttered, "I'm going to get you for that." looking about her again, she couldn't help but sigh again. Gee...she seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Bending down and untying the Key of Clow from her ankle, Sakura retied it around her neck. She didn't know why she did it, she just did. Then, remembering that she was supposed to reapply that potion of Clow Reed's, Sakura walked around the side of the bed and opened her bag. Rummaging through her dresses, she took out Clow Reed's book of Magic, and then took out the vial. Putting the book on the bed, she unstoppered the vial and, very gently, placed her index finger over the rim. Then, being very careful, she upended it quickly, making sure only a little of the mixture got out, very aware of what Clow Reed hinted at would happen if she put on too much. 

When that was done, she replaced the vial in her bag and hid it under her gowns. Then, picking up her book, she made a quick decision. If she had to stay here, she might as well try and make the most of it...she'd catch up on her reading. _Verata Noctus Feramus. _Sakura had memorized those three little words, just like Clow Reed had said. She was still immensely curious what they were for or what they do...but...she'd just have to continue being curious, because Clow Reed obviously wasn't going to tell her, or he already would have. She was very tempted to just say the words out loud, just to see what would happen, but, remembering that Clow Reed had told her not to say them until the time was right, Sakura kept them inside her head. Sakura smiled wryly. Not that NOW couldn't have been the right time for all she knew. 

Sakura walked to the door that led out into the hallways. She remembered how War had said there was a garden inside the castle somewhere, Famine's garden. And, also remembering the fact that War said Death was forbidden from going there, Sakura thought it was a spectacular place to spend the night. Also, she wouldn't mind seeing a bit of greenery in this place. 

Opening her door, Sakura wondered how she was going to find this place. Sakura briefly considered searching War out and asking him, then dismissed the thought for the insanity that it was and made a mental note to have her head examined when she got back to the future. Her problem was solved for her, however, when she closed the door behind her to see a servant standing quietly right beside the door. 

After getting over her startlement, Sakura asked, "Could you please show me to Famine's garden, please?" she whispered. She didn't know why she whispered, but she had. Maybe it was because of the fact that she felt guilty that she was able to speak and the girl wasn't. 

After nodding quickly, the girl set off. Sakura followed closely behind her, trying to ignore the intimidating stone on all sides of her that practically reeked of dark times. She was so glad walls couldn't speak. Distracting herself, Sakura began to think about what may be going on in the future. However, from no desire of hers, the image of that great painting in the dining room came unbidden to her mind. Why had War kept that painting of them all in there, where he could view it anytime he wished? Easy answer, probably form some sort of twisted sense of humour. He was a horsemen of the Apocalype...why not advertise it? 

She remembered how real the thing was, how she thought the four cards in the picture could have jumped out at her at any moment. The artist was very good. Not only was his skill superb, but the detail, the likeness of each and every one of those four was entirely accurate. You could tell from the painting that War was powerful and arrogant, uncaring for any that stood in his way. Disease had his own air of danger about him, but he came off more like a weasel in the painting. Death was menacing and downright terrifying, but the sense of danger around him was a very quiet sort. Not that he was any less dangerous than War, just that, you'd never know anything was coming for you until it was too late. Sakura shuddered slightly, thinking that Clow Reed's speculation that he might have come too close to the real thing in Death, was right. 

But then...then there was Famine. Out of the four of them, Famine was the only one Sakura hadn't seen up close. If the painting was anything to go by, and it was, Sakura would have to say Famine was...different. His was a patient sort of danger, kind of like Death's, but unlike the rest of the group, Famine had something they did not. As Famine had his back arched, his wild red hair blowing through the breeze, ready to let the arrow fly, there was a sort of...serenity...on his features. It wasn't peace, Sakura wasn't foolish enough to assume that, but, compared to the others, there was a calm about him. 

Sakura came to a stop suddenly, going up on her tiptoes to avoid running into the girl in front of her, having not been paying attention where she was going and not taking the time to notice the girl had stopped. Curtsying slightly, the girl stood rigidly beside a set of double glass doors. Eying the girl for a moment, Sakura slowly reached forward and pushed the door open, thinking as she did so that glass in this time was very expensive and hard to come by. 

Letting the door shut behind her, Sakura steeped into the room...and then stood frozen, gaping. The cold, empty gray walls of the castle were turned into a veritable greenhouse. All around her was greenery of all shades and sizes. She vaguely noticed that the floor under her feet ceased to be floor...and was, instead, green grass. Pulling herself together, Sakura walked slowly, almost reverently, down a narrow path in the foliage, going deeper into the garden. Her head turned left and right, noting all of the bright colours around her from the flowering buds on various branches of small trees. On the ground, near her feet, were several sets of flowers; daisies, petunias, geraniums, and other species she couldn't identify. There were even bunches of tall sunflowers set along this pathway. She didn't know where this path was taking her, and, to be frank, she didn't care. 

If Sakura thought what she was viewing now was spectacular, that was nothing compared to what greeted her when she reached the end of the path. The greenery parted here, and the plants were swept into a circle, surrounding a clearing in what was sure to be the centre of this dense little forest. There was a babbling little brook running through here, and it emitted a nice, soothing sound as the water ran over the rocks. There were little water cresses surrounding the little pond that were sharing their chosen spaces with water lilies. Next to the pond, overshadowing it, was a small cherry blossom tree. 

Smiling with delight, Sakura bent down and placed the book clutched in her arms on the soft grass. Then, as a second thought, she took off her soft shoes and put them beside the book. Grinning, she wriggled her toes between the cool blades of grass. Looking around bemusedly, Sakura caught sight of some pink, white, and red roses among the edges of her little hollow. Stepping up to them, she grasped hold of one, very gently, and inhaled deeply, her smile melting into one of bliss as she caught the alluring scent. Spotting some yellow tulips that matched her dress, Sakura moved over to them. Sitting down on her knees, she leaned towards them with the same intent she had with the roses. 

Sakura sat back in surprise as, when she neared one of the flowers, something came darting out of it. Her surprise turned to awe, though, when she realized what the thing was. It was a hummingbird. Watching in amazement, Sakura stared at the little bird, it's wings flapping a mile a minute, in complete stillness, not wanting to scare it away. The little myriad of colours hung in the air, just in front of her face, darting from left to right. Sakura wasn't sure, but she could have sworn the bird was watching her much as she was watching it. After a few minutes of observing each other, Sakura finally got up the nerve to try and touch it. Lifting up her hand, slowly, she extended her index finger towards the creature. She was so close, merely a few centimetres from the bird's feathers, and the little thing waited, regarded her curiously, no fear evident in it's stance. 

"I see you like my hummingbird." 

Sakura whirled around at the quiet voice, the hummingbird darting away from her. Famine crouched near the pond, his hair in a loose ponytail, watching her curiously, if a little bit warily. He wore no shirt and his skin was bronzed from being in the sun for long periods of time. He wore buckskin breeches, much like those indians in the movies, and he had doeskin moccasins covering his feet. 

Sakura swallowed a scream and couldn't help but feel she was in trouble now. She watched him for any sudden movements, fighting the urge to reach up and grab her Key. He didn't move, and neither did she, so there they sat, staring at each other. 

The little hummingbird Sakura had been admiring a few moments before suddenly darted back into view. It flew straight towards Famine and settled comfortably on his bare shoulder, chirping happily. Famine absently reached up and stroked the bird's chest affectionately, gazing at her all the while. "I'm sorry, My Lady," he said quietly, "I did not mean to startle you." 

Sakura continued to stare, but this time, it wasn't so much from wariness as it was from startlemement. At first, when the bird had flitted over to Famine, Sakura had been deathly afraid for it, fearing Famine would crush the poor thing as soon as it got within arm's length. Imagine her surprise when, with infinite gentleness, Famine had simply reached up and pet the creature. 

"Um..." Sakura said for lack of anything better, the single syllable sounding more like a squeak. "I...I didn't know anyone was in here." 

Famine smiled a bit shyly, "That was my aim, if you had known I was here, I would be very embarrassed." 

Sakura eyed him a moment, wondering at his almost...shy attitude. Determining he was no threat, for now, Sakura settled down on the grass. "My name's Sakura," she said softly, "What's yours?" she asked, sticking to the playbook. 

"Why are you here?" Famine asked curiously, not answering Sakura's question. 

Sakura blinked. At any other time, Sakura would have considered his abrupt change in topic rude, but...the question had been phrased so softly, so curiously, that Sakura found it impossible to take any offense. "I...wanted to find someplace quiet and out of the way so that I could be alone." she confessed honestly. For some reason, she wasn't picking up any danger signs from this card, nor did he make her extremely nervous as the others' did...namely War. 

Famine didn't say anything at first, just crouched there, staring at her, blinking every thirty or so seconds. Then, as if suddenly coming to some sort of internal decision, he said in that quiet way of his, "My name is Famine." 

Smiling gently, like she would when approaching a skittish horse, Sakura murmured, "What an odd name." 

Famine wrinkled his nose slightly and sat down, sitting cross-legged. "I didn't exactly have a choice in what I was to be named." he smiled thoughtfully, "But you get used to it." 

Sakura smiled at him, she really couldn't help it. There was something...nice...about this man, as insane as that sounded, considering he was one of the Forgotten and all. Not to mention the fact he was in cahoots with War, Disease, and Death. 

The hummingbird had hopped off Famine's shoulder and was now sitting on his wrist, eyes closed blissfully as Famine continued to pet it. Sakura noticed that Famine kept glancing in her direction every so oftten, and then looked back down at the bird quickly, frowning slightly. At first, she thought this was because he was suspicious of her. But then, thinking about it, Sakura realized he just didn't know what to say to her. She wanted to smile comfortably at him, but she didn't think he'd take it too well and only view the gesture as patronizing. So, instead, she said, 

"Maybe I should go." 

"No!" Sakura, in the motion of getting up, abruptly sat back down, blinking at Famine in bewilderment. Sighing, exasperated with himself, Famine looked all around them, as if willing the right words out of the air and straight into his mouth. "It-it's been, a long time since...since I spoke with anyone...remotely hospitable." he said, sighing again. 

Sakura's mouth formed a silent Oh of comprehension. Looking into sea green eyes much like her own, Sakura's suspicions were only confirmed. Famine was lonely...but he would never admit it. Clow Reed may have been right when he said Famine cherished his solitude, this garden was testament to that, but, even the most secluded of people crave human contact at some time or another. Sakura didn't think that with companions like Death, Famine got in too much conversation time. 

So, smiling as gently as possible, Sakura murmured, "I like your garden. How did you manage to grow all of these exotic plants? Some of them, by rights, are impossible to grow this far north." 

Famine looked at her for a few moments before the tension seemed to drain out of his shoulders. Shrugging uncomfortably, he said, "It was not so difficult. Besides, when you have Magic, growing these plants was easier than growing them the old fashioned way." 

Eyes widening in fake astonishment, Sakura murmured, "Magic?" 

Shrugging, he said, "Yes." then, leaning forward, the hummingbird taking flight and disappearing into the bushes, he planted his thumb firmly onto the ground. Leaning forward herself, Sakura watched him curiously, wondering what he was up to. His thumb began to glow, a light, green light surrounding it, and Sakura watched, fixated. Glancing up into Famine's eyes, Sakura noted that they had darkened and turned to a forest green. Pulling away his thumb, Famine sat back with a satisfied air about him. In the spot where his thumb had been, a little sprout began to slowly make it's way out of the grass. As Sakura watched, the little thing grew until it was about fifteen centimetres from the ground, a little bulb forming at the top. Sakura blinked, startled, as the bulb suddenly flew open, a yellow flower unfolding from the green shelter it had been incased in. 

"I tried to get the colour just right." Famine murmured, glancing at her yellow gown. 

Sakura's gaze remained on the flower. "It's beautiful." she said honestly. Pulling her eyes from the small flower, Sakura looked up at Famine. 

Ducking his head slightly, Famine said, almost too quietly for Sakura to hear, "I am happy you like my sanctuary." 

"How could I not?" Sakura looked down at the flower, "God, I wish I could do that." she was thinking of her inability to create Magic of her own and perform spells, but she figured Famine would take it to mean that, because she was human, she had no Magic, period. Which was just as well. 

Switching the subject, uncomfortable with Sakura's praise, Famine said, "How did you get here?" he wondered. Sakura's head snapped up in his direction, but there was only curiosity in his gaze. "I mean, there really aren't any people living here." he explained. 

"Well, War brought me here." Sakura said, watching for Famine's reaction. 

Famine's gaze became shuttered. "War...brought you?" he repeated, his voice suddenly hardening. 

"Yes, he really has been very kind." Sakura lied, eying Famine. 

"Is that so?" Famine's gaze was distant and it looked like he was thinking of something. His mouth was set in a downward arc as he said, "Has War mentioned anything about a ceremony, or anything of the sort?" Famine asked slowly. 

Sakura's brow furrowed. Looking at him in puzzlement and wondering at Famine's sudden swift change of expression, Sakura said, "No. Why?" 

"Has he mentioned his collection at all?" he asked, ignoring her question. 

By now, Sakura was as curious as hell. Why was Famine asking all these questions? What was the point to it all? "No. Why?" she asked again. 

Famine shook his head slightly and smiled. "It does not matter. But, if War should happen to offer you a tour of his collection, politely refuse." Famine advised seriously. Sakura opened her mouth to try and ascertain the reason for Famine's odd line of questioning, but Famine's attention suddenly fixed itself to something just below her chin. "That is...an odd piece of jewelry you are wearing." he commented. 

Sakura's hand moved up and reflexively covered the Key of Clow. She had forgotten she was wearing it! Trying to act casual, Sakura said, "Yes, it was a gift, from my father." she said lamely. 

Famine arched an eyebrow but said nothing. Finally, he commented, "It is unique." and that was all. 

A bit unnerved, Sakura said the first thing that popped into her head, "Don't you get lonely here?" then her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she'd just uttered. "I mean!...you don't have to answer, I don't want to pry..." 

Famine shook his head at her, chuckling softly. "It is all right. I do not mind." staring in to the trees over her head, Famine said, "I think it is about time I told my life story, as it were, to someone." he smiled wryly at her. "I have my trees, and my animals, and Cherlindrea," when Sakura looked at him in puzzlement, he clarified, smiling, "My hummingbird." Sakura grinned. "And while I care for these creatures of nature, I fear that, they are not enough." he grimaced slightly, thinking. "I do not particularly care for large crowds or many people, but I also do not mind sitting down and talking with just one person." 

"Like me." Sakura said softly. 

Famine's gaze slid towards Sakura and then quickly back up into the trees again. "All of this time, living with characters like War, Death, and Disease...I do not care for them." he finished lamely, looking sheepish. 

"Then, why do you stay with them?" Sakura asked, exasperated but not letting it show. Famine, even though he was one of the Four Brothers, seemed like a nice guy. So what was he doing with the other three? Famine opened his mouth and Sakura leaned forward, wanting to hear the answer. 

"I...do not have anywhere else to go." he looked down at the ground and his eyes were infinitely sorrowful. 

Sakura sat, frowning at him. "Surely you have **_somewhere_** to go. Someone you must know." Sakura stressed, thinking of Clow Reed. If Rage could make the decision not to betray Clow Reed, so could Famine. 

Famine looked up at her, meeting Sakura's eyes for a very rare moment. "I did have someone...once." he sighed wearily, staring into the pond. "But that does not matter. I can never go back to that person." 

If Sakura leaned forward any more, she'd be face to face with the ground. "Why not?" she asked softly. 

"I have done too many things, betrayed his trust too much. He would never take me back. Never. He is the epitome of goodness and light, and I...I have shadows surrounding my very soul." 

They sat in silence for a time, Sakura staring at her hands in her lap thoughtfully, Famine staring blankly into space. Finally, shaking herself out of her funk, Sakura made a decision. Putting all of her emotion into her next words, and throwing caution to the wind, she said earnestly, "He would take you back, you know." awareness came back into Famine's green eyes and he fixed Sakura with an intense look. "No matter what you've done, he'd forgive you. As long as he knows you regret what you've done. You shouldn't be here, Famine, you don't belong here." she finished quietly. And, Sakura thought, he really didn't belong here. 

Famine continued to stare at Sakura, all of his awkward shyness apparently forgotten, trying to get inside her head. Noticing this, and thinking perhaps, that she'd made a huge mistake, Sakura laughed nervously and looked everywhere at once. "I mean, I'm sure that whatever you've done, it can't be nearly as bad as you say. And...I'm sure that this...person, whoever he is, would forgive you." 

Famine, his gaze unreadable, didn't say anything. His gaze moved down and his eyes narrowed on Sakura's Key. Then, his eyes moving over her face and taking in the colour of her hair, he seemed to scrutinize every inch of her. Sakura sat in silence trying not to fidget, waiting for some sort of reaction. 

Famine blinked, and then, shrugging, reclined back on his elbows and seemed to forget about the whole thing. Watching him in bemusement, Sakura relaxed a little. They both sat in companionable silence, just thinking. Sakura figured she should have felt uncomfortable because of who Famine was, that and the fact that she was never a quiet person to begin with, but just sitting here, listening to the babbling brook and the sound of songbirds off somewhere in the trees...Sakura couldn't imagine another place she'd rather be. 

Famine snapped out of his thoughts and he turned his head in the direction of the path. Before Sakura could wonder what had grabbed Famine's attention, War came striding into the little hollow, a look of distaste on his face. His eyes lighting upon Sakura, he said, "Ah, my dear, there you are. And I see that you have...company." War nodded his head at Famine and smiled, though it looked so much like a sneer. Famine regarded War without expression. "Whatever are you doing here?" he asked, addressing Sakura. 

Reaching over and grabbing her slippers, Sakura said, "I was just leaving." she glanced covertly at Famine, trying to say good bye with her eyes. Lips twitching, Famine nodded almost imperceptibly. 

War looked from Famine to Sakura. "Good," he said at last, "It is late, or early, depending on how you want to view things. I think it is far past time you retired. You're going to need your sleep, we have a long day tomorrow." 

Shoes on, Sakura stood up and looked at War curiously. "Do we? What are we doing?" 

"It is a surprise." War said vaguely, smiling with his own secret. Extending his arm to Sakura, he waited. 

Placing her hand in the crook of his elbow, Sakura took one last look at Famine, the one nice person in this entire place, and then left. 

Famine watched the trees where Sakura had disappeared. Then, looking down at an object in the grass, Famine raised his eyebrow. Picking up Clow Reed's book that Sakura had forgotten with the appearance of War, Famine stared at the cover and it's title. His gaze returning to the path, he tapped the book with his index finger, an amused smile playing about his lips.   
~ 

The next morning, Sakura woke up to the sunlight streaming in through the window by her bed. Sitting up slowly and letting out a huge yawn, Sakura pulled the covers off of her and heaved herself out of bed. Walking like a zombie over to the washbasin, which the servants had filled earlier that morning, Sakura stuck both her hands in the water, cupped them together, and splashed the water over her face. 

Sucking in a sharp breath, Sakura cursed and exclaimed, "That's cold!" fully awake now. Blinking, Sakura looked around her room, trying to remember where she'd put her bag. Finally locating it in the chest at the foot of her bed, Sakura opened it and extracted her sky blue gown, the yellow one having been taken by the servants to be cleaned after she had gone to bed yesterday. 

Currently, she was only dressed in a shift, the one she had worn under her dress the day before. To Sakura, it was like wearing one REALLY big undershirt. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Sakura began loosening the strings on the gown so that she'd be able to actually fit into the thing...not that she exactly fit into the other one. Sakura made a wry face. 

Yue suddenly appeared out of the blue right in the middle of her floor. They stared at each other for a moment before Sakura yelled, "Yue! Get OUT!!" 

His cheeks flushed, Yue abruptly whirled around, "I am sorry, Mistress! I did not know." 

Glaring at his back, Sakura quickly began pulling the gown on. "Yeah, well...can't you like, knock or something before you orb in here?" 

Yue, back in his white ceremonial robes once more, quickly explained, "Kero Beros had just gotten back to the Master's labyrinth and it was time to change shifts. I had not thought that you might be...Kero Beros had said you were still sleeping..." he said, flustered. 

Sighing in half exasperation, half amusement, Sakura said, "It doesn't matter, Yue, truly. But, since you're here," Sakura turned her back and asked, "Can you help me tie this thing? It's annoying as hell." 

Yue immediately turned around and began fastening the lace strings on the gown from almost her tailbone to her shoulder blades. Sakura grinned, knowing Yue couldn't see her, as she wondered how it was that Yue knew HOW to lace up women's garments. Yue didn't say a word throughout the entire thing, but Sakura noticed his hands were shaking slightly. She decided it might be prudent if she didn't mention that fact. 

Tying the last string into place, Yue stepped back as Sakura turned around. After staring for a second, Yue abruptly shook his head as if clearing it, and got down to business. "Have you anything you'd like me to tell the Master, Mistress?" 

Walking over to the bed, Sakura sat down with a thoughtful frown. After grabbing the Key of Clow from the table by her bed, where she'd put it after taking it off, Sakura asked, "Yue? Have you ever met Famine?" 

Yue gazed at her questioningly, but when Sakura didn't volunteer an explanation, he said, "No, I have not met him directly. I've seen him on the battlefield and from afar, but we've never come across each other." tilting his head to the side, Yue asked, "Why, Mistress?" 

Sakura shrugged slightly. Thinking back to yesterday, she smiled slightly. She had to admit, she liked Famine. He was all right. Judging by his facial expression when they'd talked yesterday, Sakura thought he was rather regretful of his situation. In Sakura's opinion, she thought Famine would much rather not be here at all. But, the fact is...he IS here, and his guilt won't allow him to go back to Clow Reed. Sakura grimaced. Yes, when Famine had been talking about that one person who he knew in the past...she knew he had meant Clow Reed. Apparently, he thought that because of the things he'd done with the other three cards, he was no longer good enough to fight with the sorcerer. To Sakura...that sounded like a load of bull. But then, she wasn't inside Famine's head and didn't know how he thought. All she knew was that he wasn't going to allow himself to go back. Of course, the real question was, why did he leave in the first place? If he regretted his decision so much now, why had he left in the first place? Sakura didn't think she'd ever know, she doubted Clow Reed himself knew. 

Blinking herself back to the present, Sakura took in the absolutely confuzzled look on Yue's face. "I just...don't think Famine is like the other three." 

Yue frowned. "Mistress, I may not know him, but I can assure you, his actions speak louder than anything else. If his battles alongside War, Death, and Disease do not prove he belongs with them, I do not know what does." 

Sakura shook her head. "You don't understand." sighing in frustration, she said, "It's hard to explain. If you listen to him speak, watch him and the calmness that seems to surround him almost as thickly as sadness does..." Sakura trailed off. 

Yue watched her, concerned. "Mistress, you must be very careful with Famine. You should not heed anything those four say. Famine is one of the best in concealing himself, I would imagine that applies to his emotions just as well. If he did not want you to see something, or if he wanted you to see something specific, then you would only see what he would let you." 

Tying the Key of Clow around her ankle, keeping in mind that War was planning on seeing her today, Sakura said, "It is possible you're right, Yue. But I don't think you are." straightening back up, she looked him square in the eye. 

Yue nodded slightly, "Whatever you decide, of course, is the best course. But what I said still stands." 

Smiling at him, she said quietly, "Thank you, Yue." 

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Turning her head slightly, thinking it was a servant, Sakura was about to yell that she'd be just a minute, when a voice sounded through the door, 

"Sakura? My dear, I hope you're awake for it is late." 

Sakura winced. War. Great. 

"Sakura?" 

Sakura turned around to tell Yue to go, but he had already gone. Sakura took a deep breath and took a step towards the door. Halfway there, she felt like she was forgetting something. Stopping as a sense of dread seemed to assail her, Sakura tried to think what she might be missing. 

"Sakura?" War sounded like he was quickly losing patience. 

Then it struck her...the potion! Sakura looked over her shoulder, ALL the way back across the room, her eyes wide in the beginnings of panic. Clow Reed had said to reapply it every twelve hours...it wasn't quite twelve hours yet, but it would be soon. Sakura stood, like a deer caught in the headlights, trying to decide whether or not she could make it back, take her bag out of the chest, find the vial, put everything back, and make it to the door without looking suspicious. 

"Sakura! Are you all right, my dear?" 

"Just a minute!" Sakura called, making a split decision, already turning to get the potion. "I have to get something!" 

The door opened suddenly, and War strode through, unmindful of the fact that he'd just come in without an invite. Smiling, he greeted, "Ah! Good morning, Sakura." his smile widened when he noticed Sakura's stricken expression. "Ready for that surprise I promised you?" 

"Uh..." Sakura said lamely, stalling, "Of course, War, just give me a moment while I go and get something." 

Walking forward, War gently took Sakura's elbow in his grip and tsked. "Nonsense, my dear. What could you possibly need? Whatever it is you can get it later." he said, ushering her to the door. 

"But..." Sakura stuttered. 

"Nevermind that, Sakura. Come,...you must see something." 

Quelling any other protests that tried to lodge their way up through her throat, Sakura went quietly. 

Walking towards the huge staircase that led from the second floor to the first, Sakura thought that whatever War wanted to show her, must be on the first floor. She hoped that whatever it was, she would see it, say it was nice, and then high tail it back up to her room to put on the perfume. Much to her surprise, however, they walked right by the staircase with slowing their stride. 

Looking back over her shoulder, Sakura asked, "Where are we going? I thought we were going downstairs." 

War, who had been unnaturally quiet, smiled distractedly, apparently lost in his thoughts. "I do not think you have had time to explore the east wing. That is where we are going. I reside in the east wing." 

Deciding it would be unhealthy to start pulling her hair out from frustration, Sakura settled for sulking in silence, angry over the lack of sharing War seemed to be doing with this 'surprise' of his. That was another thing...even though Sakura suspected that War was a lot more friendly, or appeared to be, with her than he probably was with other women...she didn't think she was getting much of anywhere. She was supposed to get War to trust her, right? well...she wasn't doing too well. She didn't know if that was because of something to do with her, or, as she suspected, War never trusted anyone...period. 

Walking down a long corridor without tapestries, candles, tables, or carpets...Sakura frowned, wondering why this part of the castle seemed so bare. "War, why isn't this part of the castle furnished like the rest?" she asked, deciding there was no harm in following through with her thoughts. 

Turning the corner, War waited until they had stopped in front of two, huge, double doors with some sort of winged demons in the centre of both wood structures. Turning towards Sakura and smiling brilliantly, War said, "Why, because, Sakura, I cannot tolerate any sort of form of beauty within my sight that does not live up to my standards. Most **_attempts_** to create beautiful things turn out to be nothing but...insults to the real things." War sneered, obviously getting caught up in his ranting. 

"Oh." was all Sakura could say, thinking War would do just fine locked up in some mental institution. 

"But," War said, coming back to the real world, "That is one reason why I have brought you here." at Sakura's puzzled look, War smiled, a gleam in his eye. "Would you like to see my collection Sakura?" 

Warning bells went off in Sakura's head as she remembered what Famine had said about War's collection. Politely decline, he said. Well...she'd try. "War, I-I really don't have time. I should be asking around the marketplace, try to determine how long it will be before my Aunt gets word of my predicament." she lied smoothly. 

War waved away her dismissal impatiently. "Nonsense. That can wait." 

Raising his hand, palm towards the door, war muttered a few words under his breath. With a red shimmer, a force Sakura hadn't been aware of being there before, made itself known. It lasted but a second, and then vanished. "Just a little something that ensures no one but myself should...accidentally, stumble into my sanctum unawares." he explained without Sakura asking. Then he placed both hands against each door and pushed the heavy wood open. 

With not so subtle urging, War prodded Sakura into the room. Sakura stood inside, blinking owlishly in the complete pitch black. No lights shone in the room and Sakura had just enough time to feel more than a bit nervous about why she was alone with War in a pitch black room. Then the lights blazed on suddenly, more than a hundred candles flaring to life with no small amount of Magical assistance. Sakura shut her eyes tightly, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. When her eyes were good enough to take the light, she opened them...and stared. She felt like she'd just stepped into a museum. 

All around her were glass cases standing on thick, wooden stands. Inside the cases were an assortment of various items from one place in the world or another...and all beautiful enough to take Sakura's breath away. There were paintings, sculptures, tapestries, vases, statues, and too may other things Sakura couldn't name. Moving farther into the room, the objects fascinating her so much that she forgot who she was here with, Sakura noticed that as she went the objects got larger in size. When she was fairly close to the end of the room, she began to the inanimate objects began falling away, and Sakura began to encounter living things. 

Parts of plants were kept in the glass cases, and Sakura quickly noticed things like roses, orchids, and lilies. Wondering how War managed to keep the flowers alive, Sakura walked on. The next 'exhibit' practically had Sakura's mouth hanging open... there, separated from the other cases, in a class all it's own...was a white tiger. As bright as any light and the exact colour of snow, the beast was very impressive and quite large. Walking over to the glass, Sakura reached her hand up and traced the outlines of it's fur near it's face. In her time...War could get a life's worth for this, white tigers were nearly extinct. 

Turning her attention to the case right beside this one, Sakura took in the next display with just as much wonder. These cases had no podium to stand on and went down straight to the floor, like those cages in Superman when Lex tried to clone him. Which was a good thing, too, otherwise, Sakura didn't think there would be enough room to house this display. A sleek, black, Arabian stallion stood, rearing it's hind legs in this case. It's eyes were intense and it almost looked alive, it's lips were pulled back from his teeth and Sakura thought this horse looked ready to come down on someone full force. His coat was full and thick and shone with black radiance. This horse easily stood feet above Sakura's head, and even if it hadn't been rearing, Sakura thought it would still stand feet above her. 

Sakura turned from the cases and saw War standing directly behind her. Swallowing a gasp at her surprise, and remembrance that he was still here, Sakura asked, instead, "How do you get such a likeness from these creatures. Why...it's almost as if they're alive. It must have cost a fortune to have these made." 

War's lips twitched. "Have them made?" he murmured. Shrugging, he said, "I guess you could put it that way. They are remarkable, are they not?" 

"Yes." Sakura said quietly. She noticed an empty space beside the stallion's case, and Sakura supposed at any other time, it could be considered just another spot on the floor. However, Sakura suspected something was supposed to be there. Turning to War, she inquired, "Are you putting another display case in?" Sakura really liked his collection and was beginning to wonder why Famine had been so serious when warning her away from it. 

"Yes...you could say that." War said quietly. 

"What do you plan to put here?" 

Gesturing towards the spot, War said, "Why don't you read the inscription and find out?" 

Looking back to the spot, Sakura saw a sort of sign post standing erect on the floor. To be honest, Sakura had to admit that every display case here had one of those, and they all had the names of the objects in the cases...it was just that Sakura had been too preoccupied to notice. 

With a backward glance at War, Sakura moved slowly towards the sign, her curiosity getting the better of her. Reaching the sign, she stood directly in front of it and looked down, reading the inscription. In bold, gold letters, CHERRY BLOSSOM stood out. Sakura thought that was nice, she liked the trees herself, then she noticed something else was written just below that...SAKURA. 

The only thing Sakura managed to do was whirl around before War had lifted his hand and said an incantation that had the air shimmering around her. Then, the air solidified and changed into the same glass casing that surrounded eveything else in this room. Pounding on the glass with her fist, Sakura yelled, "Let me go!" 

War, a smile of pure triumph and glee on his face, strolled up to the case and just stared at Sakura until she stopped pounding on the glass. Then, "You're beautiful when you're angry." 

Sakura glared at him, anger and panic warring for dominance of her emotions. "Let me out of here." she said more calmly, her teeth gritted together. 

War shook his sadly. "I'm afraid I cannot do that, my dear." he said, sounding sad. Then he grinned and dispelled the illusion. "I thought you liked my collection, Sakura? And you, being the most beautiful thing in this room, belong here." 

"I **_belong_** where **_I _**choose. And I certainly don't belong to you." 

"Sakura, everything of true beauty belongs to me." War said, as if this was law. "You should be proud! I am a very picky critic." 

"Let me out." Sakura said again. 

"I'm doing you a favour, my poor girl. You see, this is a two way deal. Not only will I be able to gaze upon you for all eternity, but you will not age in there. I will cast a spell that shall put you into an eternal sleep, and while you sleep, you shall lose none of the perfection of your youth. So really, we both get something out of this." 

"Yeah...I get to be gawked at for a thousand years or more while in a coma...oh yeah, I can see the benefits." Sakura said sarcastically. 

War shook his head, exasperated. "You really do not get it. No matter, you really do not have a choice in the matter." 

"Like hell I don't." anger was winning over the panic, mostly because Sakura knew Yue was somewhere nearby, and that any second now, he'd be coming to save her...so why wasn't he here yet? 

The case next to her caught her attention again and Sakura stared at the horse, wondering if they'd be neighbors for the next millennia, wry humour making itself known. The horse's eyes caught her gaze again, and Sakura still couldn't get over the fact of how real they looked...how...alive...Sakura looked at War in dawning horror. "They were alive. You put those poor creatures here when they were **_alive_**." 

War looked at her as if to say, 'Duh!' "Of course, the only way to capture their true beauty is to get them alive. If you trap them dead, they're essence had already gone or is fading fast, along with their appeal." War raised his hand again, "Now, say good night Sakura. I'll be visiting you every day, I promise you." 

Sakura glared stubbornly at him, was in truth was very afraid. So much for Yue...if she ever saw him again, she'd let him have it. Same went for Clow Reed for getting her into this mess. And she'd have to thank Famine for trying to warn her about this, even if she hadn't heeded that warning. 

War opened his mouth to start the spell...but never got a chance to utter the words. A soft plunk, and then an arrow had embedded itself into War's hand. Sakura stared and War swore. Yanking out the arrow with apparently no concern over the fact that his hand was bleeding, War looked around for the intruder, looking quite pissed. 

Famine materialized a few metres away from War, bow in hand, another arrow already nocked and ready to fly. The other arrow had been an ordinary one, but the tip of the arrow on this one glowed with a blue light. Sakura did not doubt that arrow was meant for something other than a hand. 

"Famine!? What is the meaning of this?" War demanded. He started to raise his other hand. 

Famine moved his bow so that if he let the arrow go it would thud right into War's heart. "I wouldn't do that, War." Famine advised softly. "I can get this, and two more arrows into you before you have time to create a fireball." War's face tightened with fury. "Let her go, War." Famine said into the silence. 

With that last statement, the anger seemed to drain out of War. Smiling politely at Famine, he said, "Why, I did not know you had designs on her, Famine. But, you see, she's mine. I found her first." 

"Let her go, War." Famine repeated quietly. 

Snarling suddenly, War tensed, "If you want her, you'll have to fight me for her." and with a flick of his wrist, the glass cases all around Famine exploded outwards, showering him in a rain of glass. 

Famine was distracted for a mere second, but that was all War needed. Springing forward, War tackled Famine, sending bow and arrow sliding across the floor. Sakura watched as they grappled with each other on the floor, taking the time to transform her Key into her wand while they were distracted. Bringing the wand back enough, Sakura swung it forward and sent it crashing into the glass. It didn't so much as vibrate. Hitting it twice more before determining that she wouldn't be able to break it, Sakura cursed the glass and crossed her arms over her chest. 

Meanwhile, War seemed to have gotten the upper hand on Famine. Both hands around Famine's throat, War was choking him to death. Sakura watched in trepidation. She didn't know why Famine was trying to save her, but she didn't want him to die. 

Just then, Famine disappeared. War, who had been on top of him, fell about an inch to the floor and bumped his elbows, sending sparks of pain through his nerves. Sitting up, he looked everywhere about him and growled, "Come out Famine! Fight like a man! Not some bloody shadow." 

Nothing. 

Sakura glanced about her, trying to determine where Famine had gone to, and hoping he hadn't decided she wasn't worth this and left. Both War's hands were covered in a red light now, and he stood still, tense, listening for any sign of the invisible Famine. The bow and arrow of Famine's that had been thrown to the ground suddenly disappeared, and War immediately sent a ball of red energy to the exact spot where it was. With a thud, the energy ball connected with flesh and Famine's cloak of invisibility vanished and he was sent crashing into the wall with a grunt. War sent another energy ball careening towards the motionless Famine, but Famine didn't stay there to see if he could tolerate another such blast. 

Ducking and rolling, Famine managed to nock another blue tipped arrow on his bow and as he came out of the roll, sent the arrow flying into War's chest with an echoing thoing from the bowstring. Everyone froze. War looked down at the arrow in his chest disbelievingly. Then, looking back up at Famine, he slowly sunk to his knees, then fell backwards to lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. 

Famine got up from his crouch slowly. Once back on his feet, he vanished his bow and looked at Sakura, Sakura stared back at him silently. Walking over to the glass, Famine seemed to examine it, looking for a flaw. 

"What do you plan to do with me now that you have me?" Sakura asked suddenly. 

Famine looked at her, blinking, as if the question made no sense. "Do? I don't plan to do anything." and he went back to staring at the glass. 

Sakura frowned at him, not entirely sure she believed him. "Yeah, right. You just shot your partner there with an arrow, you can't tell me you saved me for the sake of saving me. That doesn't make any sense." 

"Do things always have to make sense?" Famine asked quietly, not looking at her. 

Sakura shrugged. "It would be nice." 

"Believe me, My Lady, there was no love lost between War and myself." he said, still looking at the glass. "I have been wanting to do that for the longest time, but never had enough of a reason to, nor an opportunity." 

Sakura looked at War's prone form. "Is he dead?" she asked quietly. 

Famine looked at War then back at Sakura. "No, merely paralyzed. I put a spell on my arrow to make it so." Famine chuckled softly. "To tell you the truth, I do not know if my kind CAN die, we heal very quickly." shaking his head suddenly in exasperation, Famine muttered, "I do not think I will be able to get you out of this. War is the only one who knows how to undo what he did. I am sorry." 

Sakura sighed, frustrated, "Great. Well...I'll just sit here for a few hundred years while you try and figure this out." she joked. Famine didn't smile. "I know, I know...bad joke. Well...what's to be done? Couldn't you...get someone from the outside to help?" she asked, not mentioning who would be able to break this enchantment. 

Famine shook his head. "There is a shield around this room, no one can get in, and if I leave, **_I _**will not be able to get back in." 

"Then how did you get in here in the first place?" Sakura wanted to know. 

"I simply followed both of you in when War let down the shield so you could get in." 

"Figures." what she wouldn't give to be able to teleport right now. "Couldn't you just...remove the paralyze spell from War and kindly convince him to let me out of here?" Famine looked at her like she was mad. Sakura sighed. "Okay...again, bad idea." 

Sakura stood there, thinking. She didn't know exactly know how to go about thinking about this, considering how there was no way she could get out of here. So she stood there, mind blank, a big fat nothing coming into her head. But that wasn't entirely true...something was in her head...right in the corner. That phrase from Clow Reed's book. _Verata Noctus Feramus._ Sakura tried to ignore the words, but they wouldn't go away. In fact...the harder she tried to ignore them, the more persistent they became in trying to get her attention. Sakura had a sudden urge to say them...but remembered Clow Reed told her not to say them until the time was right...so...was the time right? 

Getting frustrated because she couldn't think of a way out of here, couldn't get those stupid words to stop circling in her head, and angry because she had been stupid enough to let her guard down around War, Sakura finally snarled, "Fine!" startling Famine enough that he stared at her with wide eyes. "_Verata Noctus Feramus!_ There! Are you happy?" she demanded of the words. 

Suddenly, Sakura disappeared. Just as quickly, she reappeared, **_outside_** of the glass. Sakura blinked dumbly for a moment, not entirely sure what just happened. Famine slowly turned from the glass and looked at Sakura. Then, just as slowly, turned back to look at the glass again. A frown marring his face, he asked, "How did you do that?" 

Sakura, coming back to herself, snorted and said, "You're asking me?" 

Shrugging as if the it did not matter any longer, Famine went over to stand above War, looking down into the card's face. Sakura joined him. 

War's face was firmly set in a scowl, his head the only thing he was able to move. Glaring up at Famine, he demanded, "Why?" 

Famine had his arms behind his back, clasped together, and he shrugged. "I could not let you imprison the Daughter of Clow Reed." [1] 

Sakura's eyes widened almost as much as War's...almost. "What?" he whispered incredulously. 

"How did you know? And what are you going to do with me now?" Sakura asked him. 

Famine glanced at her. Smiling wryly, he said, "I do not know why I did not catch it at first. You are so much like him," Sakura snorted in disbelief and Famine grinned. He quickly squelched the grin, though, and continued, "Also, I knew that necklace of yours seemed familiar." Sakura glanced at her Clow wand. "I admit, it looks nothing like Clow Reed's staff now, but it is undoubtedly his. And, of course, there was the fact that you seemed to know more than you said you did, especially when I was speaking about him." Famine held out his hand towards Sakura, and a book suddenly appeared in it. "And, of course, there was this." 

Sakura took the book from him with wide eyes. "Thank you." she whispered, not knowing what else to say. 

Brushing away the apology, Famine said, "Are you going to seal him?" 

"Right." Sakura said, putting the book down and raising the Clow wand. 

War's eyes widened further. "Sakura! No! Wait! I can, we can make a deal! You could rule the world with me, be my Queen! You can't do this to me! I'm War, Horseman of the Apocalypse! You cannot seal me! I'll break free, you can be sure of that!" War ranted, incensed. 

"Not this time." Sakura whispered. "War card! Return to your Power, confined! War card!" and she brought the Clow wand down on the blank card that suddenly appeared below it. 

"No! NO!!" War was slowly sucked into card, his rage filled voice echoing off the walls even after he'd been sealed. The card floated over to Sakura, and she took it, gazing at the picture on the front. There was War, right hand raised, red energy emanating from his hand. 

After placing the War card in Clow Reed's book, not having much of anyplace else to put it, Sakura detransformed the wand back into the Key and looked at Famine. "Good...he won't be plaguing the world anymore." Looking back at the two cases with the animals, Sakura asked sadly, "Isn't there anything we can do for them?" 

Famine opened his mouth to reply, but just then, every single glass case in the room began to crack. Sakura watched with wide eyes and Famine lunged towards her suddenly, pushing her down to the floor and covering her body with his just before the cases began shattering one by one, raining glass everywhere. Sakura covered her head as best she could and shut her eyes tightly. She felt relatively safe, however, cocooned as she was in Famine's arms. 

When the last case had shattered, Famine slowly got up slowly, glass falling from his person in waves, and looked about the room with a frown. The whole floor was covered in jagged pieces of the sharp, clear, shards. Waving his hand, the glass in the immediate vicinity was swept back as if a gust of wind had come in and blown the shards away. 

Sakura began to make her way to her feet and Famine immediately offered her his hand. Standing up, only a few shards of glass dropped off of her gown. Looking around bemusedly, Sakura asked, "What happened?" 

Famine glanced around as well. "When you sealed War, you sealed away his Magic as well. The spells must have been directly linked with him for them to have broken this quickly." then his gaze fixed pointedly on something over Sakura's head. 

Sakura turned, puzzled, and wondered what Famine was looking at. It didn't take her long to figure out what it was. The animals...they were...moving. Very slowly, granted, but they were moving. The white tiger was slowly flexing it's legs, trying to get them to work after so long. His tail began swishing lazily behind him, and he let out a huge yawn, showing teeth that were just as impressive as Kero Beros'. The horse was slowly lowering itself onto all fours, as if someone was controlling it with marionette strings and slowly working the strings. The stallion moved his head from side to side and his tail swished against his legs. 

The animals froze suddenly, and, in unison, both turned their heads towards Sakura and Famine. Sakura gulped, not exactly comfortable with being in the same room as two very wild, very dangerous animals that could kill her with hoof and claw. She was really uncomfortable when the tiger suddenly bared it's teeth at her and the horse began pawing the ground. 

There were two zings behind Sakura and, almost faster than Sakura could see, two blue tipped arrows flew towards the animals, both going into the animals' shoulders. Looking over her shoulder at Famine, she saw the bow still in his hand. "You shouldn't have shot them." she admonished. 

Famine raised his eyebrow at her. "And what should I have let them do? Charge us?" he asked in a rare show of humour. "Do not worry, My Lady, I have not injured them too much, and they will not die. The arrows were only to freeze their muscles." Famine waved his hand and the arrows disappeared, then, waving his hand again, the animals themselves disappeared. 

Sakura's eyes widened. "What did you do with them?" 

"I simply sent them outside. They will find their own way, it is as nature intended." 

"Oh." book clutched firmly in hand, Sakura asked, "So...how do we get out of here?" 

"Why, you walk, of course. War's Magic is no longer active." 

Sakura grinned, even though she'd just made a fool of herself. "Right...I forgot." turning, she made for the door. 

"Where are you going?" 

Sakura turned back to Famine, a small frown on her face. "I thought..." 

Famine smile faintly, but he looked resigned. "You have not finished here, yet." 

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, having no clue what he was talking about. 

"I have one last favour to ask you." calling his bow to him, Famine grasped the weapon tightly and nocked a blue arrow, setting the bow against his side, pointing the bow and arrow towards the ground. "You have sealed War, now you must seal me." 

Sakura stared at him for a moment. Then she burst out laughing, must to Famine's consternation. "Oh! That's funny! Yeah, right." when Famine didn't join in on the joke, Sakura sighed, rubbing her arm. "You're not joking are you? Well...why in God's name do you want to be sealed? I have no reason to seal you, you're not like War." 

Famine shook his head. "I do not belong in this world, and I have done enough to prove I am a menace. I should be sealed, that way, there will be no chance of me doing wrong again." 

Sakura shook her head at him. "You could just go back to Clow Reed, you know. Help him fight the others." 

Famine shook his head again, vehemently, "No...I have told you..." 

"Yes, yes," Sakura said, interrupting him, exasperated. "Clow Reed is pure, you are not...blah, blah, blah. No offense...but that's a load of bull. What you did today made the world a better place in sealing War! And if that doesn't prove you're good, I don't know what does." 

"You cannot change my past, Sakura," he said, using he name for the first time. "I am what I am. Seal me." 

"I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?" Sakura sighed, pulling the Key from around her neck and over her head. 

Famine shook his head. "Seal me." he repeated. 

Placing the book back on the floor, Sakura chanted, "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic, Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" taking one last look at Famine, Sakura whispered. "Bye." and raised the Clow wand. "Famine card! Return to your Power, confined! Famine!" 

The pattern on the Clow book appeared below Sakura's feet and another blank card appeared under her Clow wand. watching sadly as Famine was sucked into the card, Sakura waited. When Famine had been sealed, the card floated over to her. Looking at the card, Sakura saw Famine, his famous bow in hand, arrow glowing slightly with a blue radiance. His expression had Sakura smiling, a tear coming to her eye. His expression was as calm as it always was, but he was smiling. And his eyes, his soul tortured eyes, had an emotion in them that had never been there before...Peace. 

Tucking Famine inside her book, but in a completely different spot from War, Sakura picked her way carefully across the rest of the glass covered floor and made her way towards the door. Once there, she pulled the door with all her might, but it wouldn't budge. At first, Sakura thought she was stuck in here, even after all of the trouble she just went through. Then, pulling harder, no desire to be trapped in here, the door finally gave way, and Sakura walked out into the corridor. 

"Yue." Sakura called wearily. 

Yue appeared immediately, wings folding behind him. Seeing the expression on her face, he asked, "What's wrong, Mistress?" 

Sakura looked up at the ceiling. "Oh...nothing. You missed one hell of a show." when Yue looked at her, puzzled, she asked, "Why didn't you follow me into the room, Yue?" 

"The room was shielded, Mistress, I could not get in." 

She sighed, feeling very melancholy. "That's what I figured." 

Tilting his head to the side, Yue questioned, "May I ask what it is I missed, Mistress?" 

Sakura smirked. Opening the book, Sakura pulled out War and Famine and showed them to Yue. After enjoying the way Yue's face seemed to go slack for about a minute, Sakura put the two cards back. "I'm ready to go now, Yue. I've captured War and that was all I was sent here to do." 

Yue nodded, but he looked rather dumbfounded. Taking hold of his arm, Sakura said, "Oh! And we have to stop by my room before we go...I have to get the potion and the rest of the gowns to return to Clow Reed." 

Yue nodded again without speaking, and they teleported to her room. Sakura immediately went for the chest near her bed, making a mental note to be proud of the fact that she hadn't gotten dizzy after teleporting this time later, and extracted the bag. Opening it, she placed the book inside, and then walked over to the nearest dresser where the servants had returned her yellow gown and place that inside the bag as well. She was glad it had been returned, but even if it hadn't been cleaned by now, she still would have left without it. 

Closing the bag, she walked back over to Yue. Without a second glance back at anything, glad to be gone from this place, Sakura said, "Okay, now we can...no! Wait!!" Sakura cried, stopping mid sentence and startling Yue. "I forgot something!" tossing her bag at Yue, Sakura hitched up her skirts and ran out the door, calling behind her, "I'll be right back!" 

"Mistress!" Yue called, completely baffled. Then, he used an invisibility spell and flew down the halls after Sakura. 

Sakura sprinted down the staircase, seriously hoping she remembered how to get to Famine's garden. Going around corners just as fast as she ran down straight passages, Sakura was surprised she hadn't fallen flat on her ass yet. Ignoring the startled looks the servants threw her blurry form, Sakura kept running. 

Grinning in triumph as she caught sight of the glass doors, Sakura slowed just enough to stop herself from barreling into them, and then sped up again as soon as she was through. Running down the path that led to the little hollow, Sakura stopped and panted for breath when she got to her destination. 

When she'd caught her breath enough so she could speak, she called, "Cherlindrea!" she didn't really think you could call hummingbirds, but, she figured she'd try. Imagine her surprise when the little thin came darting out of the trees and straight towards her. Grinning like an idiot, Sakura held out her index finger and the bird settled on it. Well...guess hummingbirds can be called after all. 

Turning around to head back the way she'd come, Sakura was surprised to see Yue materialize. "Yue, I thought I told you I'd be right back." 

Frowning in extreme disapproval, Yue said, "You should not have been running that fast through the castle, Mistress, especially so unaware of your surroundings. Why, you could have run into the Disease card, or..." Yue stopped in the middle of his lecture and blinked. "What is that?" he said, looking at the hummingbird. 

"This is Cherlindrea." Sakura said proudly, petting her on the back. 

Yue looked wary. "Why do you have it?" 

"I'm bringing it with me!" Sakura declared. 

"Mistress, you cannot bring stray animals back with you, I do not think Clow Reed would approve..." 

Sakura cut him off. "I don't care. I have to bring Cherlindrea with me...I'm doing this for a friend, Yue. Please." 

Yue sighed, giving up. "And where will you put it?" 

Sakura frowned. "I don't know. Oh! I'll put it in the bag! Just until we get to the labyrinth, of course." Sakura quickly amended. At the look she got from Yue, she exclaimed, "What!? Where else am I supposed to put her?" 

"How about back where she belongs...in the flowers." Yue suggested. 

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him. Stepping up, she tapped her foot impatiently until Yue rolled his eyes and opened the bag. Placing the bird in there gently, Sakura took the bag from Yue and closed it. "There! See? No problem." 

"Are we going now, Mistress?" Yue asked, wisely changing the subject. 

"Oh, yeah, of course we are." taking his arm again, Sakura said, "Okay! This time...I'm ready!" 

Yue teleported.   
~ 

Appearing right in Clow's room, Sakura stepped away from Yue, and, without further ado, announced, "Caught War." 

Clow Reed, who had been sitting and talking with Kero, looked up. "I know." 

Sakura huffed at him. "How did you know? God, you're no fun to be around. Then, if you knew that...you must know..." 

"That you caught Famine." Clow finished for her, nodding. He looked slightly lost for a moment, then shook himself and said, "Good job, Sakura. You can, of course, take those two with you when you leave." 

"I was planning to." Sakura muttered. 

"Well...I'm ready...let's get started." Clow Reed announced. 

"Whoa! Hold it..." Sakura announced. "Back up, I thought that, you know, when I was finished with War, that I could...stay for a little while. I had planned on showing Kero what a sense of humour is." 

Kero glared at her but Clow Reed had a regretful look on his face. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but the only reason I brought you here was to capture War. Now that that has been taken care of, you must go back. It is too dangerous for you to remain outside of your time for longer than necessary. You might change history without intending to." 

"But...but that's not fair!" Sakura exclaimed. 

Clow Reed shook his head sadly, "I am sorry, Sakura." walking over to his shelf, he reached in and behind a book and took out the Clow cards. Taking the bag from Sakura's limp fingers, he placed them inside. Then, her clothes she came here in appeared in his outstretched hand and he went to shove those in there, too, but, something darted out of the bag. 

Cherlindrea flitted over and sat on Sakura's shoulder, chirping angrily. Clow Reed gazed at the bird in amusement, then looked at Sakura and raised his eyebrow. Not in the mood to explain anything to him, since she was bitter that she had to leave before she was good and ready, Sakura simply said, "Do you have a jar or something I can put her in until I get back?" 

Nodding, Clow Reed decided knowing why Sakura had a hummingbird with her wasn't that important, and went to his shelf and plucked a glass jar from it. Opening the lid, Clow Reed held the jar out for Sakura. Taking Cherlindrea from her shoulder gently, Sakura placed her in the jar and Clow Reed quickly closed the lid. Then he put the jar in the bag as well, and, right after, her clothes. 

"Don't I even get to change first?" Sakura inquired. 

Clow Reed shook his head. "No time. You may keep everything in that bag, Sakura. Even the potion." grinning, Clow Reed said, "Who knows? You might need it someday." 

Sakura snorted. "Not likely." then she frowned. "What about the gowns, I won't need them." 

Clow Reed shrugged. "Take them to remember us by." he suggested. 

Well...she couldn't argue with that. Looking down at the book in her hands, Sakura hesitated. 

Clow Reed chuckled. "Go ahead. I won't be needing it for myself. Take it." 

Sakura smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Well, I guess that's it." she said. After taking War and Famine out of the book, Sakura placed it in the bag with everything else. 

As she was doing that, a white sheet of paper fell out of the book and floated to the floor. Frowning in puzzlement, Sakura bent down and picked it up, not remembering coming across any loose sheets of paper in the book. Turning it over, Sakura saw that it was addressed to Clow Reed. Handing it to him, she said, "Here. Do you know how this got in the book?" 

Clow Reed took it, frowning. "No, I have not seen it before. Although...the penmanship does look familiar..." he murmured, staring at it. Putting it down on the table suddenly, Clow Reed decided he would look at it after Sakura left. 

Sakura looked around at everyone present in the room. Her gaze settling on Kero, Sakura walked over to him. Looking down at him, Sakura didn't do anything at first, and he looked up at her with a question in his eyes. Then, without warning, she knelt down and gave him a bear hug. "I'm going to miss you Kero-chan. And I know you'll miss me even though you glare at me a lot and claim to hate it when I don't address you as KeroBeros." Sakura pulled back and stood up. Then she smiled, "Even though your glares are all fake and I know you love it when I call you Kero-chan." 

As Sakura turned away, Kero smiled. 

Walking up to Yue, Sakura had a gleam in her eye as she watched him nervously shift from foot to foot. Then, smiling evilly, she glomped him. Trying to back paddle, but finding he couldn't, Yue yelped as Sakura attached herself to him. Kissing him on the cheek, Sakura whispered, "I'm going to miss you, too, Yue." 

As she whirled away from Yue toward Clow Reed, Yue simply stood there, staring into space. Kero silently laughed at him from his corner. 

Sakura stood awkwardly in front of Clow Reed. "I don't want to go just yet, you know." she said quietly. 

Clow Reed smiled gently, "I know, Sakura, and I don't want you to go. I would have enjoyed teaching you the craft of Magic. As it is, you'll have to leave that to whoever can teach you in the future." he grinned suddenly, dispelling the sense of sorrow, "However, I can give you one last gift." 

Moving forward, Clow Reed placed the middle and index finger of each hand on either side of Sakura's head, over her temples. Closing his eyes, Clow Reed sent what felt like sparks into Sakura's brain. The aftershocks of those sparks were huge. It felt like they traveled straight to the center of her mind and just...exploded outwards, consuming her senses and sending doors slamming open. 

Clow Reed stepped back and Sakura, eyes wide, asked, "What did you do?" 

Clow Reed smiled. "As you know, I've been watching you in the future, Sakura. I know that you are unable to seem to be able grasp the part of yourself needed to perform Magic. While this is certainly very odd, I've never heard of it before...either you have Magic or you do not, it is easily taken care of. You could say I...jump started..." Clow Reed smiled at his mastering of future words, "the part of your mind that enables you to use your Magic. The change will not start right away, and when it does, be careful. Usually, sorcerers and wizards are taught in the Magical arts from a young age, you are quite older than you should be. However, I am confident in Kero and Yue's capabilities in this matter. You should be fine." he assured her. 

Sakura smiled gratefully at him. To think...after all this time...she'd finally be able to use real Magic like Clow Reed and Li do. She couldn't wait. And she even had the book Clow Reed gave to her to study and learn spells from. While the Magic in there was nothing big and only meant for novices, that was fine with Sakura, because, in the Magical arts...she **_was_** a novice. When she was ready to start learning bigger things, she'd get Kero to teach her, or Rage... 

"Thank you." Sakura said earnestly, smiling all the while. 

Clow Reed shook himself. "Yes, well, you should be on your way now. If you'll just take out the Time card." he said, placing the strange letter on the table. 

Sakura did so, the Time card in one hand, the two Brothers in the other, and closed the bag. Standing, ready, Sakura asked, "Is there anything I have to do?" 

Clow Reed flung his arms out in front of him, the sleeves of his robes falling back over his arms. "No, just leave everything to me. I'll have to take some of your Self again, but," and Clow Reed grinned, "That didn't seem to bother you last time." 

So, Sakura fixed her attention on the Time card and waited. 

Clow Reed began chanting under his breath, too low for anyone else to hear, and, Sakura thought, he probably did that on purpose. He wasn't going to share his precious time spell with anyone but himself. Sakura smile wryly...sorcerers and their secrets... 

The pattern on the Clow book appeared under Sakura, but she didn't notice that as her vision was beginning to gray out. It became restricted, as if looking through a tunnel, and pretty soon, Sakura had to close her eyes. 

When she opened them again, she wasn't standing in Clow Reed's laboratory anymore, but she was back in that black place she was in before, when she had first been brought here by the Time card. Speaking of which...there he was, standing a few feet away from her, and beyond him, another gateway in time, leading to HER time she hoped. 

Holding out his hand, Time beckoned to her. "Hurry, Mistress. There is never enough time." 

Sakura took a last look behind her, hoping to catch a glimpse of Clow, Kero, and Yue. But blackness was the only thing that greeted her. Sighing resolutely, Sakura squared her shoulders and walked forward, putting her hand in Time's. Walking side by side, Sakura and Time stepped through the gateway.   
~ 

As soon as Sakura disappeared, Clow Reed slumped into a chair. Kero rushed forward immediately, wondering if Clow Reed needed anything. Waving his hand at both of his guardians irritably, Clow Reed muttered, "I'm all right. I just need a few moments. Leave me." 

"Of course, Master." Yue and Kero said together, and then they were gone. 

Sighing, Clow Reed glanced down at the table in front of him. Chuckling softly, he murmured, "I'm going to miss that girl. She's got quite a bit of spunk...just like me when I was that age." the letter caught his attention. Frowning, Clow Reed picked it up and started at the elegant script on the cover, still trying to remember where he'd seen such writing before. Another mystery was how it had gotten into his book...he was more than one hundred percent sure there had NOT been anything in that book when he gave it to Sakura, and judging by the look on Sakura's face, she'd never seen it before either. Shrugging, Clow Reed opened it...   


****Dear Clow Reed, 

** I'm sorry. Thank you.**

** Famine**

"Oh, Famine." Clow Reed whispered. "I never should have let you go." folding his arms on the table, letter still tightly clutched in one hand, Clow Reed lowered his head into his arms. A single tear had escaped and made a tear mark right beside Famine's signature. [2]   
~ 

As soon as she'd stepped through the gateway, Sakura felt like she was falling...because she was. "OW!!" Sakura cried, landing on her derriere...just like last time. Her bag thudded down right next to her, and the Time card floated gently down to earth, like a feather, to land by her feet. "Time..." she growled under her breath. "I'll get you for this." 

"Sakura!?" 

Turning around, Sakura found four pairs of very startled eyes staring at her. Fighting the urge to giggle at her guardians and the two Forgotten, Sakura said instead, "Hi guys." 

"What...how..." Kero spluttered. 

Grinning, Sakura held up War and Famine for everyone's inspection. THAT made everyone's eyes fairly pop out of their heads. "Guys..." Sakura said, "I've been out hunting for the Forgotten." 

To be Continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Ye GODS!!! This...is a seriously long chapter! I'm so glad I got it done! One more exam to go people!! I've dusted three of 'em! Geez...I don't have a clue what I'm going to do next. Well...I have a clue...but only for the beginning of the chapter, not the whole thing. So, I don't know when the next one will be out. Writer's block's a bitch. I'll try and think of something ^_^ Oh! Two more days!! Two more days and I get to see the first, brand spanking new, for me anyways, episode of Cardcaptors! I can't wait!! Until then!! 

[1] Okay, when Famine said, "I could not let you imprison the Daughter of Clow Reed"...he didn't mean daughter as in...you know...father-daughter. I mean...note the capital on the word Daughter!! What he was referring to was...that Sakura was the daughter of Clow Reed's **_soul_**, not from his loins. ^_^ Does that clear that up? 

[2] Second, you can take the whole Famine-Clow Reed thing anyway you want...I don't care. MY intention was that Clow Reed and Famine viewed each other as having a father-son relationship. When Clow Reed was teaching him, Famine came to respect the sorcerer, and soon their friendship grew and he became like a father to him. Clow Reed was likewise, he viewed Famine as the son he never had. 


	23. The Truth Comes OutCh22

Cardcaptors22 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Okay!...first off...don't kill me!!!!! ^_^a I KNOW it's been more than a week, and I'm sorry about that, but you have absolutely NO idea how busy I've been. To sum it up...I wrote my exams, then was admitted into the hospital for three days and didn't do anything but sleep in bed and almost go out of my mind from boredom, THEN! as soon as I got out, I ended up packing(did I mention I was moving?) and helped my Dad move stuff out of the house...which I am still doing. Now, NOW! I can't even get on the Internet to post this because my Dad took the phone with him to the new place(I'm still in my old house right at this moment) and the phone here(my Mom's) isn't working yet! Therefore...no modem...no Internet. Anyways... you probably don't care about any of that and only want to get on with the fic, but I felt bad about not getting a chance to post this sooner and felt the need to explain. So there's the explanation. ^_^ However! to make up for my tardiness! I'm going to post TWO!(maybe three...we'll see how far I get ~.^) chapters, instead of one! Be happy people!! Skip this next bit if you like ...^_^ I'm going to start my ramblings right now... 

Ack! I feel so bad about Famine! I rather liked him, it's a pity I didn't write him into the story more...but he was one of those here-now-and-gone-in-an-instant characters that you just gotta have. *sigh* I liked Famine. But hey! Everything ended up working out for him...sort of. ;P 

Oh! I just HAVE to mention this, Chelsea! Okay...this is something I just have to tell all of you guys. Okay, you know those three little words, _Verata Noctus Feramus?_, the ones I took from the top of my head? Well...I got a review from Chelsea and she was demanding to know what those words translated to from Latin. Now...I'm completely language illiterate...meaning I can only speak English ^_^a...and have no idea how to speak, write, or understand Latin. However, Chelsea does, and she kindly informed me that my little phrase actually meant something! Imagine that!? I accidentally created a, sort of, real string of words there. Loosely, it means to carry or bare into the night. Verata is a feminine thing, so that pertains to Sakura...SO... it sort of means that Sakura was carried, or transported! into the night! slipping through the glass and into the air to end up on the other side! Boy!...That was a complete stroke of...dare I say it?...genius? *Rage whacks me over the head with the hilt of his sword, shrinking my oversized head back down to size.* Hehe...anyways...I just had to mention that. I really want to thank you Chelsea, for telling me this. You have no idea how much grinning I did when I read what you had to say about this! Thank you. ^_________^ 

*scratches back of head and looks bewildered* Guess what? You know how long the last chapter was, right? Of course you do...how could you NOT? Well...I found out, and I never would have ever known this if it wasn't for Shadowfire, that chapter twenty-one was TWENTY-EIGHT pages long! Holy cow! Wow...^_^a I thought you should know. 

Kitty and Enchantress101...I WILL do what you both asked, I swear! just...I need a bit more time! Please don't think I'm ignoring you!...'cause I'm not! 

Yes Ashandarei, ~.^ Famine is the Diamond. Your question about Rage will be answered later in the chapter...I think. Hehe... haven't written it yet! 

Sanrio...um...your suggestion is certainly something to consider...however, I have no desire to turn this into a Romeo/Juliet type thing. And yes...you are quite evil. ;p 

I am so going to have to read the MOUSE's Dimensions...some of you keep mentioning it. It must be pretty good. *sigh* when I find the time, that's another thing I'll have to do. (there is never enough time! >.) 

**_Something important you all should know!!! _**Okay, I got a review from someone who asked when I was going to use the Forgotten Sakura captured to battle the Forgotten that haven't been captured yet. I just want to make this clear right now...that is not going to happen. You see, as soon as Sakura released the Forgotten, they'd immediately either try to kill her, or escape and come back later when they were better prepared and kill her then. The Forgotten are not like the Clow cards. Sakura is bonded to the Clow cards in friendship and they trust and look after her. The Forgotten feel no kindness towards her and would not obey her if she tried to use them, just like they rebelled against Clow Reed centuries before. The only exception, however, would be Famine, who doesn't feel any malice towards Sakura at all and could quite possibly be considered her friend. But...I don't know if I'm going to have Sakura use him like that. Sakura would never ORDER Famine to do anything for her, she would ask, and she would even feel awkward doing that. Even if she did ask, Famine would regretfully decline. Why? Because, even though he's not a bad guy, he still feels like he owes the Forgotten because they are his Kind, and he would not betray them...nor would he help them. He's kind of like a neutral player. So, I just want everyone to understand that no Forgotten will be used to battle the other Forgotten...except where Rage is concerned. ^_^ But we'll get to that... 

Oh...and about Kero, Yue, and Rage...well...*looks around nervously* let's just say, the conversation between them and Sakura isn't going to be what you're expecting...or hoping for. *ducks for cover under desk and takes keyboard with me, wary of stray readers* ...You'll see. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

Warning: Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, and Insanity belong to ME. If anyone trys to take them, I WILL come for you! So be wary. If you WOULD like to use them, ask me first, and we'll see. Also, the other five Forgotten that I have yet to bring in are also mine...and I'll list them when they appear. ^_^ 

**Cardcaptors: The Truth Comes Out-Ch.22**

Sakura stood up awkwardly and dusted herself off. Ignoring the four males, who were all standing now, Sakura picked up her bag and the Time card, wringing out the moment of complete amazement coming from the guys out of sheer wickedness. Opening the bag more slowly than necessary, Sakura placed War and Famine inside it with the other Clow cards. 

Finally finished torturing them, Sakura turned to the group, smiled, and said, "So...how have things been while I was gone?" 

All four sweatdropped, having expected some sort of grand explanation and tale to go along with Sakura's reappearance. Kero flew towards her and circled her person, looking for injuries. Finding none, he asked, "Sakura...where have you been? What happened? We've...Yue and I...have been very worried about you!" 

Sakura stared at him for a moment. "...what do you mean, 'where have I been?' Don't you know?" 

Kero frowned in puzzlement for a moment. "Well, we had determined that you'd gone back in time. You have Rage to thank for that," Kero said grudgingly. "and, judging from your dress, I can guess the time period now, but no, I don't know where you've been. How could I?" 

Sakura knew she was gaping like a fish. "Don't you remember!?" 

"What are you talking about, Sakura?" Kero asked, completely in the dark. 

Sakura threw up her hands in complete consternation. "I don't believe this! Oh! This just figures. But I don't understand it...how could you guys not remember? You were all there...except Love." a sudden image of Clow Reed's grinning face appeared in Sakura's head and she scowled. "...Not good to know too much about one's future." she muttered to herself. "He erased your memories! I don't know how...maybe he used the Erase card...but that's what he did! He completely blocked me out of your heads!" 

"Are you saying you were in the past and that you interacted with us?" Kero asked incredulously. 

Rage didn't say anything or move, but his eyes were troubled. 

"Yes! If you wanted to know, Clow Reed brought me back through time. He needed me to seal the War card. I can't believe he erased your memories!" Sakura suddenly exploded again. 

"So it was Clow." Yue murmured thoughtfully. "That makes sense." 

Love arched an eyebrow. "Yeah...except for the fact that time travel is impossible, so says Clow Reed himself." 

Yue shrugged slightly. "Clow knew many things that we did not." he said simply. 

Love was silent for a moment, then, "So...none of you three remember anything about seeing or speaking with the lovely lady here?" everyone shook their heads. Love smiled, "I find that immensely funny." he proclaimed. "Especially since **_I_** can remember you guys talking about seeing her in the past yourselves. You don't remember remembering that?" 

"This is not funny, Love." Rage said quietly. 

"Yeah, well...what I want to know, is why Clow Reed would do that? Wouldn't it have been easier if we, especially you two," he meant Yue and Kero, "Knew about Sakura beforehand, so you could have been prepared when you first met in this time?" 

Sakura shook her head and sighed. "No...Clow Reed wouldn't want them to know. Especially not them. Who knows how the extra knowledge might have changed the way Kero or Yue were to react to me? Clow Reed wanted to make sure everything happened exactly as it was supposed to." 

"As much as I would have liked to remember all of this..." Kero jumped in. "I don't. You've gotta tell me everything that happened Sakura." Yue nodded silently, just as curious as Kero. 

Looking back and forth between the four of them, all wanting to know what had happened, Sakura sat down, getting ready for a long story... 

After she was finished, Sakura sat back and regarded everyone. Kero and Yue both looked like they were in deep thought. Love hadn't been too interested in the whole affair, his face a polite mask of boredom, until Sakura told her bit about Rage. It seemed like Love began to listen then...especially when she recalled the part about kicking him-not mentioning Clow Reed. When she had described that, Love's face had abruptly become tight, like he was in pain, and he made a slight choking sound. When Rage stared at him, Love quickly brought a hand up and covered his mouth, but not before Sakura saw the grin. Sakura fought her own smile...watching Love hold in his laughter was rather comical. Rage had been listening intently throughout the entire thing. Sakura noticed that he tensed a bit when his part in the story was told, but when she moved on to other things, he visibly relaxed. Now, he looked extremely relieved about something...and Sakura had no doubt about what... 

He didn't want the fact that he had been 'friends' with Clow Reed known. 

Well...he may have thought he'd gotten off Scot free, but Sakura planned on having a nice, long talk with him afterwards. She was just too damn curious to leave his past alone. There were too many unanswered questions. 

"Well...I'm just glad you came out of this unharmed." Kero said, breaking the silence. Then, "But I didn't like that bit about War. You say he meant to seal you in a Sleep spell for all Eternity?!" 

Sakura nodded, her lips pinched, remembering how scared she had been. 

"It is over, and that is what matters." Yue said matter-of-factly. 

Sakura nodded, but she felt like something was off. Looking around, she blinked once, then frowned in puzzlement. 

"What is the matter, Sakura?" Rage asked gently. 

Sakura leveled her gaze on the group. "Where's Li and Madison?" 

Sakura found it highly amusing and very scary when every single one of them decided the leaves on the trees over her head were extremely interesting, none of them looking her in the face. She waited patiently, really hoping she wouldn't have to ask again. Had something happened to Li or Madison? 

Kero cleared his throat. "Well...the Chinese brat," Sakura glared at him for the degrading name, and, instead of ignoring her like he normally would have, Kero corrected himself, which put warning bells in Sakura's ringing. He was trying to placate her... this was not good. "...Li...went to his apartment to see if he could gather any information to help us figure out a way to get you back-which we obviously don't need anymore-and Madison..." Kero hesitated. 

Sakura's eyes narrowed in suspicion and worry. "What **_about_** Madison?" 

Love, who had no such qualms in coming right out with it, said, "She went off with your brother." not even turning his head to see what he was doing, Rage slapped the back of Love's head lightly, as if he was saying, 'What's the matter with you?' Love rubbed the back of his head and smiled ruefully at Rage, who continued to ignore him. 

Sakura just stared. Slowly, as if figuring out a huge puzzle, Sakura said, "Madison went to my house to see Tory?" 

Love shook his head. "No...Tory was here." before Rage's hand could connect with his head again, Love scrambled backward and out of reach, grinning. 

"He was...here?" Sakura repeated, feeling very much like a parrot. 

Kero sighed. "He knows, Sakura." 

"But...how...?" this was not good, this was not good... 

"I can only guess that he followed you, Mistress." Yue supplied helpfully. Then, embarassed, said, "I should have sensed him coming." 

All of a sudden, Sakura burst out laughing. The males stared at her, completely at a loss. Rage exchanged a glance with Kero, who shrugged. Sakura stopped laughing as suddenly as she'd started and looked, completely sober, at the four of them. "I was just picturing the look on Tory's face when he caught a glimpse of you guys." normally, she wouldn't have laughed, but when you were worried, your emotions got away with you. "...How DID he take it?" actually, Sakura was secretly relieved that Tory knew. It had been such a trial to keep lying to him about Kero, and about where she went all the time, and about those odd bruises every now and then. Of course...she would have to use the Erase card to wipe his mind of the last little while in time...Sakura mentally scowled at that. She did NOT want to do to her brother what Clow Reed had done to Kero, Rage, and Yue. 

"He...ah...didn't believe us at first." Kero said slowly. "But, he eventually got the picture." he left out the part about Rage raising his sword against Tory. "He wants to talk to you." Kero stated. 

"I can imagine." Sakura murmured. "Does he know...did he know I went back in time?" 

Kero hung his head. "Yes." 

Sakura sighed. Pushing Tory to the back her mind...one problem at a time...Sakura looked at Kero, "Have any of the other Forgotten shown themselves while I was away?" she asked, glancing in Rage's direction for a millisecond. 

Kero shook his head. 

"Good...I don't need anything else to worry about. Does anyone else have any questions for me?" no one said anything. "In that case, I want to go home." sighing again, suddenly tired, Sakura said, "Yue, you'd better get back to the room Yukito's in before someone misses you. Kero? Do me a favour and find Madison and tell her that I'm okay, and tell Tory I'll be by to speak with him in a moment. And find Li, too, and tell him I'm back." 

Kero and Yue made to leave and do what Sakura asked. Rage stood up himself and looked like he was going to do the same thing. Tilting her head back and looking into Rage's face, Sakura said, "You stay. I need to talk to you...alone." 

Rage stiffened. Kero immediately went into hysterics and started to protest. "Kero...this is important. Please do what I asked you to." Sakura said, not taking her eyes from Rage. 

Kero hung about in indecision for a few moments before he cast one last look at Sakura's determined face and floated off. Yue followed after him. Love, who had been hovering just behind Rage, looked at him questioningly. Rage nodded his head ever so slightly and Love shrugged. Then he disappeared. 

Turning to Sakura, Rage smiled slightly and rested his hand near his sword. "You wanted me alone, and now you have me. What is it you wish to say to me?" 

Rage's calm exterior didn't fool Sakura. Rage was wary and nervous, not sure at all why Sakura wanted to talk to him. Sakura knew it, and he knew it. Not bothering to get up, Sakura came right out with it, adopting Clow's way of approaching difficult situations, "You served Clow Reed."   
~ 

Rage felt like he'd just been doused with a bucket of cold water. She knew. He had half suspected she did, but the surprise of having someone else say that out loud after all these centuries was a little much. 

"Didn't you?" 

Rage looked down at the seated Sakura, his lips pinched, trying to decide what he should tell her. He couldn't lie...that was something people like Disease did...but he shouldn't tell her the truth either. He really wished Clow Reed hadn't erased his memory of their encounter together in the past, he could be so much more prepared than he was now if he could just remember. 

Sitting down across from Sakura abruptly, Rage studied her silently for a moment. It occured to him that the gown she was wearing looked extremely fetching on her. He realized he would prefer to see her in the gowns of his time more often, they suited her. Rage sighed mentally. His mind was wandering down dangerous paths again. He wasn't angry anymore, just resigned to his fate. He had accepted the fact that he couldn't stop thinking about Sakura, and he had accepted the fact that he loved her. Now that he was past that...all he had to do was win her...without appearing to care one wit about her. Rage pictured himself smiling ferally over that little observation, but didn't dare actually do it. He didn't want to scare Sakura. 

"Yes," he finally answered. "I served under Clow Reed. Is there something you wanted to know?" Rage asked politely. He had intended to just brush her off and leave, not wanting to talk about this at all, old wounds reopening. 

Surprisingly, instead of asking why he served the sorcerer or why he hadn't told anyone, she asked, "Does Love know?" 

Rage blinked, then collecting himself, said, "Yes, towards the end when we had become...friends...I confided in him. At the time," he mused, "I thought I had made a colossal mistake." the amusement only lasted a moment, though, before he sunk back into a painful depression. 

Sakura was silent for a moment. Then she asked, "How do you know Yue?" 

Rage was taken aback by this, her questions not at all what he thought they would be. "Yue?" he repeated, thinking furiously. Why does she want to know this? Surely if she had been wondering about it, she could have asked the Moon Guardian himself. 

"Yes, Yue. I know you guys fought in the past. I want the details, what happened afterwards...and why you wouldn't fight back when you two fought yesterday." she went on mercilessly. 

Rage flinched back. Telling all was not something he was used to doing. He had been open with Clow Reed and he had betrayed him. Sharing information was bad and got you nowhere...it just gave the other person an opening to shove a knife into. 

"Come on, Rage." Sakura said gently, patiently, seeing the struggle going on in Rage's eyes. "You can trust me, honest." 

_Do not look at her, do not look in to her eyes or you will be lost..._Ignoring his inner voice, Rage looked into Sakura's sea green eyes against his will. _Idiot! _Rage began speaking before he quite realized he'd opened his mouth. "Yue...saved my life once." Sakura's eyes went round as saucers. "I could not harm him that day, I owed him a life debt, which, if he had chosen to call upon that day, I would have fullfilled." 

"He...saved your life?" Sakura asked incredulously. "But I thought he knew nothing about you and Clow Reed!" 

"He did not...not until our battle." Rage admitted. 

"Then...if he thought you were an enemy...why did he save your life? **_How _**did he save your life?" oh boy...this was too good. 

Rage smiled at Sakura's obvious curiousity, but there was no humour behind it. "It was a very long time ago, but I shall never forget. I was on the battlefield, fighting and killing Insanity's little minions, but Yue did not know this...he thought I had been fighting **_with _**the monsters..." 

~*~Flashback~*~ 

Rage pulled his sword from a particularly nasty little demon and wiped his hand across his brow, dispelling the sweat but smearing blood along his forehead. He sensed movement from behind him and whirled around, impaling another one of the creatures on his blade which dripped with life blood. The Dark Ones(the little demons' names ^_^) were all around him. They were not, thank God, very powerful, their goal being a village under Clow Reed's protection and, therefore, not needing much Magic or strength to get the job done. Rage sneered. Attacking mortals that could not defend themselves was just disgusting. Their numbers were great, and if they had been Blood Knights instead of Dark Ones, Rage might have been worried. As it was, it took not much effort on his part to dispel the demons. 

Rage's sword slashed down and took the head off another demon, the body falling lifeless to the ground. Rage took a risk and looked about him quickly. As he had thought, Insanity himself was not here. That was a pity, Rage would have liked to have had a chance to take an arm or a leg off the card. But then, Insanity had always preferred to get others to do his dirty work for him. 

Rage spied a small group of about seven or eight demons coming at him at once. Not liking the odds, he lifted his hand and a white stream of Magic burst forth and flew towards the creatures, hitting them and freezing them almost instantly. Leaping over the nearest bunch of Dark Ones, Rage came down upon the block of ice and smashed it to pieces with a well placed kick. Whirling around once more, he swung his sword in a great arc and disemboweled three more little pests, their stomachs falling out of their bodies and tumbling to the ground in shades of red and black. 

Looking about, Rage saw a field full of dead demons, but no live ones. Then he looked behind him and cursed his ill luck. Five of the troublesome creatures had managed to make it past him without his noticing and were almost upon the village. Getting ready to sprint after them, Rage murmured, "Oh no you don't." 

But before he could get to them, he looked up, more out of instinct than because he sensed anything, and quickly leaped back. His speed and the speed of the one coming at him from out of the sky was so great that Rage only had time to register the fact that it carried a sword and that it shone brighter then the moon in the sky. Crouching down warily, Rage looked up into the face of the...angel? 

Rage was struck utterly speechless as the apparation before him spread his wings fully, looking quite formidable, even to Rage, and raised his sword. The ceremonial robes he wore could only suggest he was a Wizard, and as Rage studied him, he realized that, even though he was sure he'd never seen this one before, he looked familiar. And then he realized why. He had heard the angel described enough times that he should have known. This was Yue, Moon Guardian, and Clow Reed's protector. 

The surprise and shock of that revelation had Rage held immobile...and almost cost him his life. Rage may have known Yue was an ally, but Yue did not, and wasted no time in standing around. He came at Rage with his sword and Rage was barely able to bring his sword up in time to block a blow that would have taken his head off his shoulders. Rage rose to a standing position and prepared to defend himself only, his mind in chaos. He could not harm the Moon Guardian, Clow Reed would be terribly disappointed, but he also could not afford to stand here and play fight with him...the village was in danger. 

These thoughts were soon wiped clear from his head, though, as the angel progressed to almost get through Rage's defense, and Rage's attention sharpened. He revised what he had thought, this was no play fight...Yue knew how to fight, and, much to Rage's surprise, he knew how to fight very well. _Almost, _he thought, _as well as me._ His pride from all the years of undefeated victories would not allow him to consider the possibility that Yue might possibly be as good as he was. 

Soon, he was too caught up in the battle and forgot all about the town. He realized he was smiling the smile he smiled when he had a particularly hard challenge to overcome. The smile where his teeth showed and made him look like a demon himself, he'd been told, compliments of Love. He saw the look on Yue's face and realized he was startled. Rage's smile widened...this was too much fun. 

Rage, experimenting, came at Yue with all he had, startling the angel enough that he took two steps back. Smile positively feral, Rage swung his sword and got the desired effect he was going for. With a swish, the band holding Yue's hair together was cut in two and the silver strands came free, falling about his shoulders. Yue stared at Rage in shock. Saluting him, Rage murmured, "En Garde." (is that how you spell that? ^_^a I'm not French) 

That was when the screaming began. Rage whirled around, hair flowing out behind him, completely oblivious to Yue now... even though he knew turning your back on your opponent was a sure way to die. The demons had reached the village and were creating havoc among the people, throwing little fireballs everywhere and laughing their little hearts out. Cursing his own stupidity, Rage abruptly abandoned the fight and sprinted towards the town, not looking back to see if Yue followed. 

Entering the village in a dead run, Rage went straight for the closest demon, not slowing down one bit. He slashed with the blade and now there were two halves of a demon. He ignored the screaming, panicked people around him and searched for the other four demons. It wasn't easy to find them, they were small and could easily run between a person's legs. Pushing the people out of his way, Rage managed to locate and slay three of the other demons...but that still left the fifth. 

Rage stopped where he was, breathing heavily, looking around with still eyes, trying to see the beast. He couldn't let even one of those creatures escape and report back to Insanity. If Insanity found out that Rage was the one who had been slaying his precious demons, if he found out Rage was on the side of Clow Reed, then Rage could kiss his undercover act good bye. Not to mention the fact that all of the others would be out for his blood... 

Ah! There!...Rage had spotted the last demon, standing not too far away, leaning on it's little staff. Rage took a step forward but stopped, frowning. Something wasn't right. It was just standing there...why wasn't it trying to get away? Then it smiled devilishly and Rage was instantly on guard. Lifting the staff, the little demon howled and ground the weapon back into the Earth, sending a ripple of motion surging towards one of the houses. Completely thrown, Rage looked towards the house and wondered what the hell the demon thought it was doing. What Rage saw had his anger burning beyond cold and and worry surging up through his veins. 

The little earthquake created by the demon had the walls of the house shaking, the beginnings of the Magic only just reaching the place. But, sitting just inside the open doorway, crying her little eyes out, holding a stuffed teddy bear in both arms, was a child. 

Rage looked back at the demon and saw the look of glee on it's face, thinking it now had time to get away while Rage rescued the infant. Rage smiled at it, sending the smirk right off it's face. If it thought he didn't have time to slay it before it's Magic reached the house fully...it was mistaken. Moving as fast as his unnatural abilities allowed, Rage raced towards the now terrified creature and slew it. Then, turning on his heel and sheathing his sword in one motion, he raced back for the house. He ran all the faster as the walls began to crumble. Even though he shouldn't be able to think right now, one completely cool and calm thought ran through his head..._why doesn't she move!?_

Just as the walls toppled, Rage flew through the doorway and grabbed the girl, doing a tumbling roll once he had her. Not being able to get out of the house before it went, Rage simply curled up in a fetal position, the girl completely shielded from harm, and ducked his head down low. 

Then there was nothing but pain and darkness. 

The next time Rage saw light, it was painful to behold and he scrunched his eyelids closed even more, trying to block it out. The weight on top of him was unbearable and there was something painful throbbing in his side. He didn't know what it was and didn't think he wanted to know. The little girl beneath him was still alive, he could hear and feel her breathing. He smiled slightly, something sticky running from his temple, as he thought that this sure would have been a hell of a lot to go through for nothing. 

The weight, suddenly, miraculously disappeared. Then his arms were pried open from their death grip on the girl and she was taken away from him. That was good...she could go back to her parents...assuming they still lived. Rage kept his eyes closed still, content to die right where he was...didn't much feel like moving anyway....but that light kept getting brighter and more insistent. Rage snarled at it, thoroughly annoyed. "Will you not let me die in peace!?" he demanded. 

To Rage's utter surprise...the light answered him, "No...I will not." then he was being lifted by strong arms, they had to be, he was pretty big, Rage mused, and he felt like he was being carried somewhere. His head lolled on what felt like a shoulder, and the light asked, "Can you open your eyes?" 

"No...afraid not." Rage replied glibly. He was going to die after all...might as well make the most of it. Which reminded him... Love owed him money for that. Love had gotten him to make a bet on whether or not their kind could die...guess Love lost. When Rage saw him in the afterworld, the place named Hell most likely, he'd remind him of their bet. 

Rage hissed in pain abruptly as he felt like he was surging upward, the pain in his side increasing. "I am sorry," the light said. "I tried to take off as gently as I could." 

Rage almost shrugged, then thought better of it. "No matter. I suppose, then, that I must be going to heaven, if we're going up. But that's odd, I really shouldn't be there, you know. If you're an angel of Death...I think you've got the wrong patient here." 

When the light spoke next, it sounded amused. "You are delirious." it informed him. 

Rage sighed. "What gave it away?" 

They flew the rest of the way in silence, the only sound the flap flap of the angel's wings, and Rage thought it surely was a long journey to heaven. 

Rage braced himself as best he could when he felt the angel of Death beginning to land...bit it still hurt like hell. The angel set him down as gently as possible so that Rage was lying flat on his back. Then he heard the sound of tearing as the angel ripped his shirt open. Rage wasn't lucid enough to wonder, if he were dying, why then, would he need his shirt removed? Then a hand touched that pain in his side, and, purely out of reflex, eyes still closed, Rage's hand shot up and closed around a wrist like a vice. 

"I will not harm you." the angel said gently, making no move to pull away even though Rage knew he was hurting him. Releasing the wrist abruptly, he let his hand fall back on his chest and waited to see what was going to happen. 

The angel didn't move for a moment, but then both of his hands were at Rage's side once more and Rage restrained himself from trying to push the touch away. Rage held his breath in pain as the hands explored gently, probing for something. Again, not being completely himself, Rage didn't know what was going on. Then, the hands moved from his side and were suddenly at his head. Brushing Rage's white hair back from his forehead, the angel lightly traced the outline of that sticky residue coming from his temple. 

"I will take care of this first," the light informed him matter-of-factly. "as it is less serious and will not require much Magic. Your side is much more serious and I would like to leave the worst for last." 

Then, Rage felt a tingling along his head and through his skull as the angel set a palm flat against the side of his head. Rage recognized immediately that Magic was being used upon him. It took him another second to realize it was a healing spell. 

When the palm was removed from his temple, Rage found he could open his eyes. He found himself staring up into Yue's face, silver hair hanging about his face in disarray. "I should have figured you were a real angel," Rage murmured. Yue's gaze flicked to Rage's face for a moment before he looked back to the other wound, but that had been enough time for Rage to see the silver cat eyes. "What marvelous eyes." he whispered, not thinking. 

Yue stared at him for a moment before muttering something under his breath that Rage didn't quite hear. Then his hands were at his side again and the pain distracted Rage enough so that he could not think. Rage watched as a pure, white light surrounded Yue's hands and he felt the tingling along his nerves again. He watched, expression never changing, as the nasty gash in his side slowly closed. 

When Yue was finished, he removed his hands and sat back. He hunched his shoulders and brought his wings forward, almost hidden from view, breathing heavily. Rage, mind now devoid of the all consuming pain, sat up slowly. Felling more like himself, he touched the spot on his side where the wound used to be...not even a scar... 

"I thank you." Rage said quietly, not looking at Yue. He decided to forget about his absurd behaviour earlier and blame it on the pain. 

Yue nodded slightly and said nothing. Then his eyes narrowed slightly and Rage was again fascinated by his eyes(I'm sorry... but I have this obsession with Yue's eyes. *_* I think they're simply wonderful *sigh* cat eyes...), "Who are you?" Yue asked. 

Rage smiled slightly. "I think you know who I am." 

Yue frowned. "You are the Rage card...but that was not what I meant." 

Rage sighed. "I know." 

"Why did you help them?" Yue asked suddenly, referring to the villagers. "And all of the slain...they were your doing. Why would you battle the minions of one of your own?" 

Rage looked straight into Yue's eyes. "You were not supposed to find out this way. He was supposed to tell you when he thought it was the right time, although, with him, that could be a millennia from now." Yue blinked, puzzled. Rage frowned, trying to decide if telling Yue the truth was a good idea...but...Yue had saved his life, and Rage respected him as a swordsman, an honour he bestowed upon no one else. This was but a small thing Yue asked, surely he could supply an answer. If Yue wanted to talk to the sorcerer about this chance encounter, then so be it. But, unless brought up by Yue himself, Rage was not going to mention it to Clow, "I am not as I seem. I serve your sorcerer, Clow Reed, and have never switched allegiances from the start." 

To say Yue was surprised was an understatement. "Why did he not say anything?" Yue wondered out loud, his tone sounding a little hurt. 

Rage shrugged. "To keep things simple? To make sure no one else knew so that this secret could never leak to the others? Who knows? Who knows why that sorcerer does anything." 

Yue remained silent, brooding. 

Rage, feeling like he should say something, said, "Do not feel sorrowful about this. Clow Reed keeps secrets from everyone." 

Yue looked up at him, silent still, his pupils narrowed to tiny slits. "I know this...you are right. I am...fine." 

"Sure you are." Rage said dryly, heaving himself up off the ground. Changing the subject, Rage said seriously, "I owe you a life debt, Guardian of the Moon. You have saved my life, and if there is anything I can ever do for you, just ask it. I swear upon my honour." 

Yue stood as well, his wings unfurling from his back. "Thank you for saving the village. I could not have gotten there on time." Yue admitted. 

Rage shrugged. "No matter." he turned around and began walking away. Looking over his shoulder, he smiled slightly, "Whenever you are in the mood for a good fight, seek me out. Your skill in swords is passing fair and I must duel you again." not waiting for an answer, Rage continued on. 

~*~End Flashback~*~ 

Sakura sat back, satisfied, finally knowing just what happened when Rage and Yue had first met. "Did you ever duel again?" Sakura asked curiously. 

Rage smiled slightly. "Yes." 

"Who won?" 

"It was a draw. Although...if we were to fight again, I am sure I could best him." Rage said with conviction. 

Sakura grinned at him. Then she sobered as she remembered the other thing she wanted to talk about. "Rage...why do you hate Clow Reed so much?" 

Rage hissed and jumped up and away from Sakura as if she'd burned him. Sakura kept her eyes glued to him though, willing him to speak. Rage glared at her, determined this time not to be drawn into her eyes. "You are walking very dangerous ground." Rage informed her quietly. 

"I'm willing to take that risk." Sakura informed him. Then, curiousity getting the better of her, Sakura said, "Whatever he did can't be as bad as all that. You were allies for crying out loud. Clow Reed would never do anything to make you hate him so much if you didn't deserve it." she added the last bit in as an afterthought. 

The look on Rage's face made Sakura wish she'd never opened her big mouth...curiousity killed the cat, you know. "You think so? And what could you possibly know?" Rage sneered, suddenly angry. Abruptly, he began pacing back and forth, agitated. "Why must you pry? Why can you not just leave it alone?" he cried. 

Sakura looked up at him in concern, "Rage..." 

"You have not a clue how that sorcerer betrayed me!" he raged. The anger was plain to see in his eyes and made them glitter. "I had served him loyally for all those years...and then does something like that." caught up in his own painful memories, he didn't bother to explain what he was referring to. 

Sakura stood warily, not sure what to do or how to calm Rage down. She was beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea, "Rage, you don't have to..." 

"Oh, but you wanted to know, know with all that human curiousity. Very well...you wish to know what your perfect, pure Clow Reed did..." Rage stopped pacing and stood utterly still, just staring at her. 

Sakura would have thought the absence of Rage's pacing would have been a relief, but, somehow, this stillness was worse. 

Angry with Sakura, angry with Clow Reed, and angry at himself for remembering and letting himself be hurt by it, Rage said, "Clow Reed trapped me, for centuries, in that God forsaken labyrinth with those foul creatures. Discarded...and forgotten." 

Sakura stared at him, completely at a loss for words. There was no way...Sakura couldn't believe what he'd just said. "But... that's impossible...Clow Reed would never do something like that." Sakura said with conviction. 

Rage's face became blank. "Do you accuse me of lying?" 

"N-no! It's just..." Sakura didn't know what to say. The fact that Clow Reed could have done something so...wrong...was unfathomable, but, it was fact. Rage had broken free with the others, and he certainly hadn't willingly gone into that place himself. What possible reason could Clow Reed have for doing that? 

"What? Is it so hard to believe that Clow Reed hated me as much as he hated the others? That I was, after all, just another one of his pawns, like those fool Wizards? Well...it is not so hard to believe, for it happened." he paused and looked at Sakura in a way that made her back up a step. Following her, Rage said quietly, "You are just like him. You hate me because I am not human. You think you are better than I am, that I am not fit to be on the same level as you. That is it...is it not?" 

Sakura's back bumped into a tree trunk and Sakura felt completely lost. This was not going well... "Rage...please..." 

"I have been trying to kill you ever since I met you! And every time you have managed to get away from my grasp." narrowing his eyes, he gripped his sword. "I WILL have my revenge, he owes me more than he could ever pay. Perhaps, if I kill you and the other one, my pain will leave me." 

Sakura didn't say anything, just kept looking at him, waiting. She felt, oddly, that if she moved a muscle, Rage would spring at her...sort of like a wild animal. So she stayed still, just staring at him. 

Rage stood impossibly still, staring unblinkingly into Sakura's eyes, for what seemed like forever. Then, he frowned in extreme consternation and his eyes flickered. "Oh, bloody hell!" he exploded, and then he leaned forward and kissed her. 

To be continued...   
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Oi! o_oa This complicates things...heh...aren't you guys glad I'm putting out the next chapter right away? Don't forget to review for this one! 


	24. Awakened LovesCh23

Cardcaptors23 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Hey! It's me! ^___^ Nothing to say right now...OH MY GOD!!! I must be ILL!!...but I'm sure I'll have plenty to say once I see all your reviews for this chapter and the last one. Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

Warning: Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, and Insanity belong to ME. If anyone tries to take them, I WILL come for you! So be wary. If you WOULD like to use them, ask me first and we'll see. Also, the other five Forgotten that I have yet to bring in are also mine...and I'll list them when they appear. ^_^ 

**Cardcaptors: Awakened Loves-Ch.23**

Rage had kissed her...Rage WAS kissing her. Sakura's mind went completely blank, shock the only thing making itself known. She was so surprised that she didn't respond to the kiss nor push him away, and when Rage pulled back and gazed into her eyes, all Sakura could do was stare. 

When her mind began working again, two things occurred to Sakura at once; Rage tasted good, and what had just happened had been very bad. She had nothing against Rage, and he was very handsome, but Sakura didn't think getting involved with him would be such a good idea. 

Since Sakura had voiced no protest, Rage took that to mean she hadn't objected. Leaning in close, he braced one arm against the tree beside Sakura's head, and he brought his other hand forward to cup Sakura's chin. Tilting her head up, he kissed her once more. 

Sakura's eyes drifted closed of their own accord and she found she could not resist Rage's allure (who would want to? *drool*). Drowning in the pleasure, Sakura allowed Rage to draw her lips apart and insert his tongue into her mouth. When Rage released her this time, they were both breathless. Trying to get himself under control, Rage buried his face in Sakura's neck, taking deep, steady breaths. Sakura, eyes still closed, licked her lips, and, without realizing what she did, murmured, "...Li." 

Rage went suddenly still, and if Sakura had been able to see his face, she would have seen the utter look of, first, disbelief, then extreme pain on his face. Clenching his fist against the tree, Rage didn't move, determined to stay like this for as long as possible...even if Sakura had feelings for another. 

Coming back to herself finally, Sakura opened her eyes and blinked. Alarm bells suddenly going off in her head too late, Sakura lifted a hand and pushed desperately against Rage's chest, hoping he would pull away. After a brief hesitation, where Sakura held her breath, Rage pulled back and walked away from her to give her space, his expression completely closed off. Watching him with wide eyes, Sakura raised her fingertips to her lips, "You shouldn't have done that." she whispered. "**_Why _**did you do that?" 

Eyes without any emotion whatsoever, Rage said honestly, "I am drawn to you, Sakura. I cannot help but think of your bewitching green eyes every day, nor forget the texture of your hair, soft as kitten's fur, when I had held it for that brief moment after Hate was sealed. Your image haunts my dreams and leaves me without peace. I have tried to ignore these odd feelings you evoke in me, but I cannot." he didn't bring up the word love...he was not so far gone to realize how utterly foolish that would be. 

Sakura continued to stare at him. "You're mad." she whispered. 

The corners of Rage's mouth tilted upward. "That is very possible." 

Sakura didn't know what to do. This came as a complete surprise to her...the possibility that Rage felt anything for her at all had never even entered her mind. She liked Rage, she thought he was attractive, but she had only viewed him as a friend, nothing more. And while kissing Rage had felt very good...it hadn't felt **_right_**...like she had been kissing the wrong person. She didn't dwell on that thought too much as it made absolutely no sense. 

Sakura was debating on what to say. She couldn't let Rage assume that she would welcome him as a...a...boyfriend. That was a safe word. But she also didn't want to hurt his feelings. Trying to let him down gently, Sakura murmured, not looking at him, "I'm sorry Rage, but I don't think this is going to work." 

"I know." 

Sakura's head snapped up, and she stared at him, utterly confused. 

Rage chuckled, but he wasn't happy. "I know that your heart belongs to another." that remark shocked Sakura enough that her mouth fell open in astonishment. What was he talking about? Suddenly, Rage sobered. Looking right at her, he declared, "But that does not mean I am giving up." he informed her. "I will keep trying to win you in hopes that you will tire of the one whom you care for. And when you do, I will be here." 

Deciding Sakura was way in over her head, she changed subjects. It took her three tries before anything sounding remotely like words would come out of her mouth, "So...what does that mean?" 

Rage arched an eyebrow in question. 

Sakura gestured around her absently. "What about your threats to kill me? Are you still going to fight me?" 

Rage laughed, the sound holding no mirth. "I could not kill you, Sakura, if my life depended upon it. I cannot fight you." sighing, frustrated, he muttered, "This is going to kill me." 

Thinking about what this meant, sakura asked, "Then...what will you do now? What about your revenge?" 

Rage considered. "I could always fulfill that obligation via Li Syaoran." and, he would have gladly killed the boy right now if he could have. But, one look at Sakura's face had him saying, "Do not worry. I will not kill him." _...but I may cut off his sword arm. _Sighing again, he murmured, "I do not know what I will do." 

Speaking up hesitantly, Sakura ventured, "You could always fight with me against the other Forgotten." 

Rage looked like she had just suggested he sit down for a cup of tea with Disease...and like it. "I think not." he answered, his voice sounding strained. 

"Why not?" Sakura cried. 

Rage scowled. "I cannot fight with you. It would be too much like fighting with Clow Reed once again. I cannot do that...I can't." 

"But...are you sure it was Clow Reed who..." one look at the intense glare Rage was sending her had Sakura snapping her mouth shut. "Fine...do what you like then." making a quick decision, Sakura said sadly. "Since you have no excuse to seek me out now, I don't expect to see you again." 

Rage took a quick step forward before he could stop himself, but Sakura didn't stay around to see what he would say. Whirling around, Sakura grabbed her bag and fled.   
~ 

Sakura's next stop was Li's. She felt bad about what she said to Rage, but, it was much more simpler this way. Sakura kept telling herself that...she would have one less thing to worry about...but Sakura couldn't stop feeling guilty. She had done it so that her mind would be clear and she would have nothing to distract her from capturing the other Forgotten. Sakura nearly snorted...she was beginning to think like Kero; forget everything but the mission! Sakura mused. 

Ignoring the odd looks she was receiving from people on the street, Sakura crossed the road to Li's apartment. Being summer, the door was held open to allow any cool breezes to blow through the building, and Sakura walked inside. Taking the elevator, Sakura waited until it reached Li's floor and then stepped out. Walking down the hallway, Sakura stopped in front of Li's door and knocked twice. Then she let both hands rest by her side and waited for Li to answer his door. 

When the door opened, Li stood in the doorway, in his green ceremonial robes still. Sakura smiled at him warmly and prepared to say hi...but whatever she had been about to say only came out as a squeak when Li suddenly enfolded her in a bear hug without warning. 

"I'm so glad you're back..." Li whispered, his face buried in Sakura's hair. 

Sakura blinked and awkwardly lifted her arms to hug him back. Li was obviously very glad to see her. The thought had never occurred to Sakura that he would be this worried. Well...she knew everyone would have been **_worried_**, but the implications of that really hadn't been made clear in her mind until now. 

They stood there, just hugging, not moving, for what seemed like hours. But that was fine...Sakura smiled gently, being in Li's arms felt nice. She realized with a start that she'd never been hugged by Li before. Well...he never was a touchy feely person anyways. Sakura knew this was something she'd hold in her memories for a long time. It occurred to her that, though this felt nice, it also felt like something else, too. Sakura frowned a bit, thinking. It felt...right. That was really the only word Sakura could think of that fit. She was startled by that, and what Rage said ran through her head again...'I know that your heart belongs to another'...Sakura's thoughts began turning over on themselves. Sakura had had no idea what Rage had been talking about, but, where other countless hints from Madison, sly remarks from Kero, and even signs from Li himself had failed to make Sakura realize what her heart was telling her...one remark from Rage finally got her thinking. (does anyone else see the irony there? ~.^) 

Sakura had always regarded Li as one of her best friends. She had always felt safe with him, had always felt protected. She would never admit it, but their verbal spars and physical competitions to see who was the best...Sakura always enjoyed those. She enjoyed spending time with Li, but, they had been eleven, and at the time, their relationship couldn't have gone beyond that anyways. She certainly never once viewed him in a sexual way at all. And then she had gone away. By the time she had come back, Li had grown up, as she had. When she first saw him again, when he'd saved her from Rage, she remembered thinking he looked very handsome. And, on that subject, Sakura grudgingly admitted that she might be attracted to him...just a little. 

Had all those times when she'd felt close to him? felt safe with him? Had all those times he'd gone home after a battle with the Clow cards and she had longed to ask him to stay for a little while longer...had all those things that she had felt so long ago been her heart trying to tell her she'd found the One? 

All too soon, Li let her go looking sheepish. Sakura's train of thought was broken, but it didn't stop nagging in the back of her head. Even if there was any merit to what she had been thinking...Sakura couldn't act upon it immediately. She had known Li too long to make such a drastic change in their relationship by telling him that there was a possibility that he was...maybe she was overreacting here...her soultwin? Besides...Li may have missed her and worried about her terribly, but that didn't necessarily mean he felt the same confusing things for her that she felt for him. 

"Sorry." Li muttered apologetically, looking nervous. He looked her up and down once, then seemed to dismiss her odd form of dress. Then the questions started, "Where did you go? What happened, exactly? Are you all right?...of course you are...you wouldn't be here if you weren't. What did you do while you were gone? How did you get back?" 

Smiling ruefully as Sakura realized she'd have to repeat her whole story again, anything short of the long version wasn't going to satisfy him, she said, "Well...I could stand out here in your doorway and tell you the whole thing...or I could come in and sit down." 

Blushing, embarrassed by his lack of manners, Li muttered apologies and opened his door wide, allowing Sakura to enter. 

Sakura had never been in Li's apartment before and she looked about her discreetly as she walked inside. She gave the place a quick once over. Kitchen to the right, closet on the left near the door, living room straight ahead, bathroom, and a closed door on the far right that Sakura could only guess was the bedroom. And everything was spotless...this place was far neater than any place had a right to be. 

Walking into the living room, Sakura sat down in what looked like a comfortable chair. As soon as she had, she literally sunk into it. "Oof!" 

Seeing Sakura's predicament, Li grinned before he could stop himself, "That's my 'comfy' chair." 

Sakura arched an eyebrow. "I see that." righting herself as best she could, Sakura then placed her bag on the floor by her feet. 

Li took a seat on his couch across from her. Sakura looked around again. There was a T.V. in front of Li's windows, sitting on a nice cabinet. There was a small glass table at the end of the couch, and there were various Chinese paintings set on the walls around the place. In the corner was a small table and two chairs. By that, there were stacks of books, sitting precariously upon each other and looking ready to fall over at any given moment; the only semi-messy part of Li's apartment. 

After her inspection, Sakura turned back to Li and smiled. "I like your place." she said politely. 

Li shrugged. "It's okay. But I want a bigger place." getting back on topic, he said, "Your story?" 

"Oh...right." Sakura grinned sheepishly. She retold her story again for Li's benefit, leaving nothing but the part about Rage and Clow Reed out. 

"So, Clow Reed was the one who sent you back?" Li said thoughtfully. "It's good that you sealed the War and the Famine card, Sakura." then he smiled shyly. "I'm just glad you're back, safe and sound." then his expression did a one-eighty and he became totally serious. "But...just in case, maybe you shouldn't see Rage about those Magic lessons anymore?" Li suggested carefully. 

Sakura mentally grimaced...there went her conscience again. "I...I don't think that will be a problem anymore." she said quietly. 

Li stared at her a moment, not sure he's heard her right. Then he smiled. "Good." 

Magic on her mind, Sakura remembered what Clow Reed had done and what it meant. Smiling brilliantly and completely dazzling Li, though she didn't know it, Sakura said, "When I was in the past, Clow Reed did this...thing. He did some Magic on me and I think I might be able to use Magic now!" she finished excitedly. 

Li smiled himself, Sakura's grin contagious, "That's great, Sakura!" 

"Of course, I won't be doing anything BIG, just, you know, little things." she paused, thinking, "I forgot to mention this to Kero and Yue, but, when I see them again I will. I'll ask them to show me some things. And I got this book from Clow Reed that'll help me learn." Sakura never even considered asking Li to teach her. It wasn't because she didn't think he could...but simply because it just never even entered her mind. 

Li was slightly hurt that Sakura didn't ask for his help as well, but he kept that to himself. "Now you can use more than just the Clow cards to help you battle the other Forgotten as well." he said instead. 

"Yeah." glancing at the clock on the wall, Sakura sighed, "I should go, I only stopped by to make sure you knew I was back. I still have to tell Tory that I'm back...and hopefully explain to him what, exactly, I am." 

Li smirked, still at odds with Tory, "Good luck." he said sarcastically. 

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him. "You wanna explain it to him for me?" she asked sweetly. 

Li shook his head and laughed. "I'll leave that pleasure to you." 

Sakura stood up and grabbed her bag again. Li jumped out of his seat and rushed ahead of her to get the door. Sakura smiled secretly at his gentlemanly behaviour. Walking out of the apartment, Sakura turned around and faced Li again before she left, "Bye Li." she said quietly 

"Bye Sakura." he said, just as quietly. 

But Sakura didn't leave, and Li didn't go back into the apartment. They stood and just looked at each other for a long time. Then, blinking, Sakura suddenly smiled shyly, and, like a skittish mare, made her way to the elevator. Li watched her with suddenly hungry eyes until the elevator doors closed and Sakura was gone. Then, sighing to himself and wanting to kick himself for not just saying something about his feelings for her, he closed his door and went back in to his apartment. 

"And what exactly would you say, Syaoran? 'Sakura, I love you, I've loved you since we were eleven but was too much of a chicken to tell you. Don't ever leave me again, please?' " Syaoran shook his head. "I'd never get that far."   
~ 

Rage walked into his little clearing, not happy. Realizing that Sakura was in love with that boy had not been a pleasant experience. It had cut him deeply, to realize her heart did not, and probably could not, belong to him. If Rage had any sense, he would have left this alone and let Sakura be happy with Li, but he was just too stubborn to let it go. 

"So? What did she want to talk to you about?" 

Rage glanced at Love, who was lying on his back in the grass, staring up at the clouds in the sky. Unbuckling his sheath and sword from his belt, Rage set them down on his infamous rock. Moving to lean against the willow tree, Rage said calmly, "She knows I fought as Clow Reed's ally against our kind." 

Love bolted upright into a sitting position, eyes wide. He took in Rage's calm expression and frowned. "And...you're not upset about it?" he asked warily. 

Rage shrugged. "What is there to be upset about? She had a right to know, she is his descendant." 

Love took in Rage's blank expression again and the frown grew deeper. "What else?" 

Rage arched an eyebrow. "What else what?" 

Love snorted. "Don't play dumb...it doesn't suit you. I can tell something is bothering you, and if it's not about Clow Reed... then what?" 

Rage stared at Love in disbelief. "What do you mean...you can tell something is bothering me!? Have I lost control of my facial expressions? Because I could have sworn my face was blank." 

Love smirked at him. "I can tell when you're troubled, Rage." was all he said. 

Sighing in exasperation, Rage said, "I kissed her." his mood was plummeting again, remembering Sakura's rejection of him. 

"You **_what!?_**" 

"I kissed her," Rage repeated. If he had been paying attention, he would have seen the look of complete shock and pain on Love's face. But Rage wasn't paying attention, and Love quickly covered it up with his cheerful mask. "Unfortunately, she has feelings for another. Li Syaoran, Clow Reed's other descendant." Rage scowled. "The amusing part is, I do not even think she realizes she cares for him. And that fool of a boy probably doesn't realize it either." 

"I guess that's three fools in total." Love said, too quietly for Rage to hear. 

"I have told her that I care for her, and I also told her I shall not give up." Rage's face crumpled for a moment, before he collected himself. "However, she does not wish to see me again. I think, though, that it is simply because she is running and does not wish to face more problems then she can deal with." 

Face a complete blank, Love asked, "What will you do now?" 

Rage sighed. Slipping down against the tree trunk, Rage sat down unceremoniously. "I have told Sakura I cannot fight her, and I have promised not to harm the boy." he raised his head and looked at Love with amusement. "I do not know what I will do now. I cannot leave her, not with Insanity, and Death, and the others still loose. But now it seems I cannot be with her either. If only...if only Clow Reed had not betrayed me. Damn him!" Rage swore passionately, "If he had not, I could be with Sakura and help her fight without my ignoring my own honour." leaning his head back against the tree, Rage looked up at the sky. "As I said, I do not know what I shall do now. I suppose...I suppose, you could leave if you want to. There really is no point in hanging around now. I'm afraid I cannot offer you any amusements to watch any longer." Rage didn't look at Love when he said this. Rage didn't want Love to go, he was Rage's only friend, and Rage admitted that he enjoyed the rogue's company..he made him want to laugh, though he never did. But, he couldn't keep him here, and his pride wouldn't allow him to ask him to stay. 

Love shrugged, apparently not too concerned about the whole situation. "Where else would I go? I think I'll stay a while longer. Who knows? You might just get into more trouble that I'll need to get you out of." Love said cheekily. 

Rage snorted but didn't look at him. "You wish." 

When Rage focused his attention back on the sky, Love lay back down and did the same. Since Rage could not see Love's face, Love let the mask drop. Gazing sadly up into the sky, he whispered, "You fool...I could never leave you."   
~ 

Sakura opened her door and walked into the living room. Frowning when she didn't see Madison or Tory, Sakura headed into the kitchen. No one there either, she headed up to her room. Opening her door, she found Kero playing video games as usual, a sure sign the crisis was over. Ignoring him for a moment, she placed the bag on her bed and opened it. Taking the jar with Cherlindrea out, Sakura carefully unscrewed it and took the little hummingbird out. Smiling gently at it's happy chirp, Sakura set it on her pillow. She walked over and opened her window, making the decision to let it go. It would be happier in the wild. It didn't make a move from her pillow, it just sat there and stared up at her with huge eyes. Sighing, Sakura said, "Fine, stay as long as you like. If you want to leave, the window's open." then she took Clow Reed's book from the bag and set it on her headboard gently, making a mental note to continue reading it later. 

Sakura left the rest of her stuff in the back for now and headed straight for her closet. The sooner she got out of this dress, the better. Pulling out a pink T-shirt and some old jeans, she exited her room and went for the bathroom. Once she was done, she came back to her room and put the blue dress in the bag with the others. 

Finally done, Sakura turned to Kero. "Where's Tory?" she asked. 

Eyes glued to the screen, Kero said, "He's at Madison's." 

Sakura's eyebrows headed for her hairline. "What?" that was odd...Tory's been to Madison's a total of two times, and both were to pick her up and the other time to drop her off. Tory never went to Madison's unless Sakura was there. When Kero didn't answer and continued to try and beat the controlled to a pulp, Sakura shook her head and said, "Nevermind. Did you tell them I was back?" 

tap tap tap "No." 

Sakura frowned. "Well, why not?" 

"...they were...busy." Kero said. He didn't venture any other information. 

Refraining from slapping her irritating Guardian, Sakura headed back out the door with a, "Going to Madison's." 

She took a taxi, as it was too far to walk, and within ten minutes, Sakura was at Madison's apartment building. Sakura tipped the cad driver and walked up to the front door. Buzzing Madison's apartment, she waited. 

No answer. 

Sakura frowned. She pressed the button again and held it for a good five seconds. Then she waited. 

Nothing. 

If it wasn't for someone walking out the door and, therefore, opening it for her, Sakura never would have gotten into the apartment. She decided to take the stairs, and, as she was jogging up them, she couldn't help but wonder why no one had answered the buzz. 

Reaching the seventh floor, Sakura opened the door that led into the hallway and kept going until she reached apartment 702. If buzzing hadn't gotten an answer, Sakura doubted knocking would either. So, reaching up on her tiptoes, Sakura felt along the top of the doorway and pulled down the emergency key Madison kept up there just in case. Inserting it into the lock, Sakura turned it and opened the door. Taking the key out before she shut the door, Sakura stuck it in her pocket, then she walked into the living room. 

What Sakura saw in there had her eyes bugging out of head in sheer disbelief. 

There was Tory, sitting on the floor with Madison in his lap, his arms around her and cuddling her like a teddy bear. They were both watching tapes of Sakura's card captures (what did you think they were doing, you hentais? ;P ) with Madison explaining what was going on in quiet tones to Tory, whose chin happened to be resting on her shoulder. 

Sakura couldn't help it...she giggled. "You two are so...KAWAII!" 

She must have startled the hell out of them. They both jumped up from where they sat like the carpet was on fire. Madison had this stricken look on her face, you know? the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look? But Tory looked even more embarrassed than Madison. 

"Sakura! It wasn't what it looked like! We were just...it's not like we..." Madison stopped abruptly and blinked. Then, before Sakura could run, Madison launched herself at her friend and hugged her much the same way Li had...except...Li hadn't squeezed the life out of her. "Sa~kura! You're back!!" 

"I missed you, too, Madison." Sakura wheezed. 

Pulling back, Madison grinned. "I KNEW you'd come back in one piece. You've gotta tell me what happened!" 

After Madison released her, Sakura looked over at Tory. "Hi Tory." she said hesitantly. 

"Hi, squirt." but he didn't move to hug her as Madison had. 

Madison glanced from one to the other. Then, backing up, she said, "I think I'll go make some tea." and then she disappeared into the kitchen. 

Tory and Sakura stared at each other for a moment, but then Sakura broke eye contact and her gaze slid to the floor. "Maybe we should sit down?" she suggested. 

Tory shrugged and took a seat on the couch. Sakura, not sure exactly what was going to happen, took a seat on one of Madison's chairs to be safe. "So..." Sakura began, "you know I'm a Cardcaptor, right?" 

"Why did you keep it a secret from me, Sakura?" Tory asked. 

Sakura flinched, thinking there was condemnation in Tory's voice. "I-I didn't want you to get hurt." she whispered. Straightening suddenly, Sakura asked, "Do you know what a cardcaptor is, Tory?" 

Tory nodded. "Madison explained it to me." then, surprising Sakura, he said, "It's not so hard to believe." 

Sakura blinked. "Oh." 

Tory shrugged. "At first...I didn't believe it, I absolutely refused to, but, I've suspected something was off for years. I guess... having my suspicions confirmed after all this time was just a shock to me...I knew there was something wrong with that stuffed animal," he muttered. "But, I've had time to think about it, and, I can accept it, even though I don't like the idea of you being in danger." he mumbled. "And...I guess I really can't blame you for keeping it from me." looking nervous suddenly, Tory said, "I-I have my own secret that I've been hiding from you, Sakura." 

Sakura's eyes widened. What possible secret could Tory have? "What are you talking about, Tory?" Sakura asked carefully. 

Tory ducked his head a bit. "This is why it's really not so hard for me to believe in magic, Sakura." looking right into Sakura's eyes, Tory said, "I can see the dead, Sakura...I can see Mom." 

Sakura's breath froze in her lungs as her mind just seemed to...shut down. Staring at Tory, Sakura heard herself say faintly, "What?" 

"It first started when I was ten. I would see her hovering around the house. Sometimes, she would just be watching us, other times, she would be hanging around Dad. One time, I saw her in the kitchen when Dad was cooking, hovering behind him, running her fingers through his hair, a happy smile on her face." 

"You can see Mom?" Sakura asked, still not over that fact. She felt suspiciously close to tears. She had always loved her Mom, and when she'd died, Sakura had been devastated. Sakura had managed to get over her Mother's death, but she never forgot, and whenever she thought about her mother, she always got this pang inside her chest. Now, now...Tory was bringing her back into Sakura's life, and bringing the grief with it. Especially due to one fact...Tory could see her, and Sakura could not. 

Jealousy, hot and pure, ran through Sakura' veins for a moment. It wasn't fair! for years after Mom's death, Sakura had wished for her to come back. And now, when Sakura finds out she is back...it's even worse because she couldn't see her. The jealousy left her in a rush though, the feeling unfamiliar anyways. She should be happy...right? Mom was watching over them, and that was all the counted. But...those tears were still threatening. 

Tory was watching her closely. "When you were getting ready to leave for Canada, I saw Mom moping around the house looking extremely unhappy. Then, when you left, Mom stopped appearing. I don't know if she followed you to Canada, or, if she just...went back to where she was supposed to be." 

"She was **_supposed_** to be with **_us_**. Alive and happy." Sakura burst out, unable to help it. Then she felt one of those traitorous tears escape and her lips quivered. 

"Sakura?" 

_No, no, no...don't bother me Tory. You'll just make it worse._ But it was too late. Another tear escaped, and, before Sakura could protest, Tory was kneeling down in front of her. He pulled her to him and hugged her and she cried. She cried for all the lost years, for all the memories she didn't get to have, and for Mom. 

When she was finished, Sakura looked up into Tory's face. "Did...did Mom seem, happy? most of the time?" she asked in a small voice. 

Tory smiled gently and his eyes were suspiciously bright. "Yes, yes, she was very happy, all the time. Especially when you, me, and Dad were all together." 

That made Sakura feel marginally better...but she still wished she could see Mom. 

Madison walked into the living room then, carrying three cups of tea. She stopped short, though, when she saw Sakura's tear stained face. "Do you guys want to be alone again?" she asked quietly, already backing up towards the kitchen again. 

But Sakura shook her head and smiled at Madison from her position on the floor. "No...it's okay, Madison, I'm fine. Besides... I could use some of that tea." 

Sakura reseated herself in the chair and Tory moved back to the couch. Sakura scrubbed at the remaining moisture in her eyes as Madison placed the teacup on the table in front of her. Then she took a seat on the couch beside Tory and handed him his cup. 

Sakura watched discreetly as Madison and Tory kept glancing at each other over their tea cups, sending each other 'looks'. Finally, unable to stand it anymore, Sakura said, "So...when are you two going to go out on your first official date?" 

Madison giggled and Tory choked on his tea. Not able to hold it in, Sakura started laughing. Tory, glaring at her with tears in his eyes from the choking, said, "I'll remember that, squirt, and when you get a boyfriend, I'll make sure I torture him mercilessly." 

That made Sakura sober...in Sakura's mind, the only man she wanted as a possible boyfriend right now was Li...and if Tory found out she was dating Li, he'd kill him. 

They resorted back to easy conversation now, but Sakura's mind was still on her Mom. She didn't really feel so sad anymore, though...if Mom was happy where she was, then so was Sakura. One other thing was still bothering her though...Clow Reed. Had he really done that to Rage? Trapped him like that, even though Rage had been his ally? Even though she couldn't go back in time herself, Sakura was going to find out what happened. 

Tomorrow...she was going to have a chat with Yue. 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Okay...there's the second one. Didn't quite turn out how I wanted, but, considering how it's 2:00 in the morning...I think I have some leeway here. *blinks as screen goes all blurry* I think I'm going to go to bed. I finished this tonight...this morning ^_^a... for you CreatiStar. ^_^ Have fun on your vacation!! 

Next chapter...I think I'm going to bring in the next card, but I'm not sure. We'll see how it turns out. Don't expect the next chapter out on the weekend, though...I'll be working so I won't have time to write it. Hmm...well, I put in some romance for all of you that have been waiting for it. Phew! Let me tell you...it almost KILLED me! ^.^ Joking! So, Sakura finally knows Rage likes her, Sakura FINALLY realizes she likes Li, Li likes Sakura, and Tory and Madison are getting...better aquainted. ~.^ But...there is someone else out there that is being neglected. Someone who loves someone else but they don't know it because they're seriously obtuse! hehe...sorry. *ahem* if you can tell me the name of the poor person who I'm talking about... I'll be EVER so HAPPY. ^.^ I'll be waiting for your reviews!! Until then! 


	25. DespairCh24

Cardcaptors24 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Well...I hope you're all happy! Yes, yes...I knew you'd all been waiting for the romance...I'm not dense! Although...I may seem like I am sometimes. ~_^ And, there's more romance to come! But don't expect much, because, as much as I hate to admit it...writing romance is not my strong point. I'm more of a...suspence/action/angst? sort of writer? Hmm...I guess that's right. So...when the romance does come...bear with me, please. And, yes, I did mean Love. Love is in love with Rage. *sniff* It's so sad!!...and yet...so **_perfect! ;P_** So, if there are any people in here with less than open minds about that stuff then you can leave. However, that would be a shame. Besides, I won't go into any heavy Yaoi or anything. There will be Shonen-ai in later chapters, I imagine, and there will be mention of it in this chapter. I thought I should warn you. Other than that...there's really nothing, in my opinion, to get your knickers in a knot. ~.^ 

Okay, now that we've dispensed with the serious stuff, down to the fun stuff! ^_^ I'll try to keep it short, as, even I know, my notes are abominably long. Okay...~*~Starlight Princess~*~ I'm glad you liked the scene with Rage and Sakura, and I'm sorry I had to dash your moment of happiness with the next chapter. ;_; *sniff* Poor Rage. Thank you Suzaku ^.^ for wishing me a happy house warming! Ashandarei...*smiles sweetly*...you think I was soft in the last chapter, ne? Wee~ll...*smiles wickedly* I'll have to do something particularly nasty to prove you wrong (don't worry, I still luv ya!). And I have just the thing...all of you should be quaking in your boots!...shoes, slippers, socks, etc. You know what I mean! This won't happen until the last card, but, it'll be a smash! Ooh! You guys are so gonna kill me! ;) Well Shadowfire, I think that, if they don't get their butts moving, those episodes aren't going to be worth watching. However...I've been a bit naughty. You see...I've seen the Final Judgement (it's great, by the way!) but I haven't seen the other episodes right before it. ^_^a I know, I know...it's not like I MEANT to skip that far ahead, it's just,...*wails*...Yue's too hard to resist!! ~.^ ~*~Sakura-chan~*~...of COURSE I wouldn't cut Rage out of the fic!! That's just...just...it's unthinkable!! ~.^ You're right, though, the story just wouldn't be the same without him. No CreatiStar(and I'm still going to call you that so nah nah to your friend! ^_^a) it wasn't very serious, at least, I don't think it was. I'm fine now. To be honest, I really have no idea what it is I caught, but it was vicious for a bit, there. It's odd though...because I NEVER get sick, and I'm not over exaggerating!! Heh...maybe all the viruses caught up to me...all at once! ^_^ But, no worries. And, yes, I am moving, have moved...I'm in the bloody house right now! ^_^a Oh... and I don't think you talk too much in your reviews. ^_^ I like long reviews, and I do love reading yours. One last thing, I promise...**_thank you for worrying about me Creati-chan!! _***sniff* I'm okay! 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not gettting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

Warning: Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, Insanity, and Despair belong to ME. If anyone tries to take them, I WILL come for you! So be wary. If you would like to use them, ask me first and we'll see. Also, the four other Forgotten that I have yet to bring in are also mine...and I'll list them when they appear. ^_^ 

**Cardcaptors: Despair-Ch.24** (Can you tell I reeeaallly thought about the title for this one? :P) 

Sakura and Tory were in the elevator, just having said good bye to Madison a few seconds ago. Sakura had glanced at the clock in Madison's kitchen before she left, and had been surprised to see it was eight o'clock. Sakura guessed that, with all the talking she, Tory, and Madison had done, and then having to retell her story **_again_**, hours must have passed without her noticing. 

So now, here she was, ready to go home. As soon as she got in the door she planned on going straight to bed...she so deserved a century of sleep! But, unfortunately, there were things she had to do. Like, calling Yue for example. She had to talk to him about Clow and Rage. And then, there was the more pressing matter Sakura was worrying about right now, something that was nagging at the back of her mind. 

Resigning herself to it, Sakura asked, "Tory?" 

He glanced down quickly at her, but didn't turn towards her. "What is it, Squirt?" 

Sakura bit her lip, thinking about how to put this. "What do you think...about me being a Cardcaptor, and all?" 

Tory did turn his head this time, and gave her a quizzical look. "What do I think? Well...it'll take some getting used to, I admit. And then, there's the thing that really bothers me...that fact that you're always in constant danger. That's one thing I'm never going to get used to." he grumbled. 

Sakura looked up at him for a few moments in silence, her face completely serious. Tory eyed her curiously. What was she thinking? "Tory...?" she started, hesitating. "What would you say, if I could make you forget all this? If I could take all the worry associated with the knowledge that I'm a Cardcaptor and get rid of it?" 

"What are you talking about?" Tory asked slowly. 

Sakura turned to face him fully. "Tory, I can make you forget all of this. I can use something called the Erase card, and I can erase your memory of the last little while." Sakura paused at his wide-eyed look. Ducking her head, she said, "It might make things easier. Everything could go back to being the way they were before. You wouldn't have to deal with this." 

Tory stared at her for a few seconds before he went back to staring at the elevator doors, not saying anything. Sakura eyed him worriedly, wondering what was going through his head. Finally, he looked at Sakura from the corner of his eye. "As much as I could do without the worry, Squirt, I wouldn't go back to way things were before for anything, no offense." when he saw Sakura didn't understand, he went on to explain, "I don't want to go back to constant suspicion on my part, of always knowing something was wrong, but never knowing quite what. The NOT knowing would be worse than the knowing." he confessed. 

Sakura turned back to the front, secretly relieved that Tory didn't want to forget. Sakura would have hated doing that to him... and he was right, him not knowing was far worse, in Sakura's opinion, then knowing.   
~ 

"Dad's not back from work yet, Squirt, so I'll tell him you're back when I see him." Tory said as soon as they got in the door. 

Sakura's eyes went huge, "Don't tell me Dad knows, too!" 

Tory shook his head, heading for the stairs and the safety of his room. "No, but I had to tell him something. Didn't know how long you'd be gone. I told him you went to Madison's for a sleep over. Guess I'll have to think up something later to tell him why you're not there." and then Tory disappeared into his room, closing the door. 

Sakura sighed in relief. Going up the stairs two at a time, Sakura soon reached her own room and opened the door. "Kero! I'm home!" 

No answer. 

Sakura frowned. That was odd. Usually at this time of day, Kero would be eating or playing video games. Feeling like something was wrong, Sakura took slow steps into the room, looking this way and that for her missing Guardian. "Kero?" she called again softly. 

That's when she saw him, spread out on her bed, and snoring his head off. Smiling ruefully to herself and feeling like a fool for worrying over nothing, Sakura went towards the bed and looked down at the sleeping Beast of the Seal. Then something occurred to her that had her smile disappear off her face...Kero wouldn't be sleeping right now. Even though he would never admit it, he worried about her. He would have waited for her to get back to make sure she did, and then he would have questioned her mercilessly about what happened when she spoke with Tory. Nothing would have gotten him to go to sleep for the world...and yet...here he was, snoring away. 

Sakura suddenly heard her door close behind her and she whirled around, her heart racing for a reason Sakura hadn't identified. That's when she saw who was paying her a visit and Sakura wanted to relax...except, her body wasn't listening to her and it just ended up tensing up in alarm instead. 

Love took his hand from her door and brought it down to his side. He looked as roguish as usual, but his facial expression was what made Sakura pause and had her guard up. It was...intense...that was really the only word that occurred to Sakura. It was like he was completely focused on something, incensed. 

"Love...what are you doing here?" Sakura asked. She mentally winced though, when her voice came out sounding small. 

That's when Love began to walk slowly towards her, his expression never changing. Sakura began backing up, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in her own room. She fumbled with the front of her shirt, trying to get the Key of Clow from around her neck. She wasn't sure if she was going to use it, she really didn't want to, but she had no idea what Love's intentions were. She didn't get the chance to worry anymore about it, though, as when Love reached her, his hand shot out and tore the chain the Key was on from around her neck and flung it behind him to land on the bed beside Kero. 

Taking another step forward so that he was uncomfortably close to Sakura, he stood stock still and stared down at her, that same look still on his face. Fighting the urge to flinch back from him, even though Sakura didn't know where she'd go, she instead looked up at Love unblinkingly, and asked, "What do you want, Love?" 

He remained silent for about two more seconds, which seemed like forever, and then suddenly said, "Do you truly love him? Would you spend your life with him? Would the feelings you have for him fade with time as false feelings often do? Would you be content with no other and never regret the decision you make? Never?" 

The unexpected questions had Sakura's head spinning...especially since she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, "Who? Who do you mean?" 

"Li Syaoran." Love said quietly. 

Sakura felt like she'd been hit by a ton of bricks. How had he known? But, more importantly, why was he here asking about this? "I...I don't know." Sakura whispered, too much to think about at once. 

What looked like a sneer, and would probably be the closest thing to it Sakura would ever see from Love, passed across his face. "How can you not know?" 

Sakura frowned, annoyed. "Because I _can't._ This is to important to just make a decision on at the snap of your fingers. Besides," Sakura added, "I'm not like you, Love, my specialty isn't the feeling itself." 

From the look on his face, it looked like Sakura had struck a nerve there, but before she could figure out just what she had said, he was speaking again, "If you truly love him, you will know." he said firmly. 

Sakura looked down at her feet and said nothing, thinking. That seemed to be the way of it...if you truly love someone...didn't you just **_know _**it? But, Sakura's just recently discovered feelings for Li were just that...new. She was still getting used to them. And, besides, love was a complicated thing and not something to pass over quickly. So, the question was, did she love Li? She **_liked _**him, but there was a difference, wasn't there? 

She thought about all the times she and Li had been together, remembered the safeness she felt when around him. Then she remembered the new, stronger feelings she had started having about him lately. She remembered how warm and safe she'd felt in his arms. Then she remembered the **_rightness,_** the inexplicable feeling that said she belonged in those arms and nowhere else. And then that word popped into her head again, the word that had first made an appearance back at Li's apartment...**_soultwin._** And then another word followed that one, **_love._** Sakura had to admit...the thought of being with Li, being more than just friends, just Cardcaptors, gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling. 

"I-I think I do." Sakura said, wonder in her voice. This was the actual first time she had admitted it. "Yes," she said, conviction in her voice, "Yes, yes I do love him." 

Just when Sakura was beginning to feel good, Love had to go and confuse the hell out of her again, "Then **_tell _**him. Sakura, you must tell him the truth, make him **_see._** It is much better to cause him a small amount of pain now, then to break his heart later." Love said empathetically. 

Sakura eyed him like he'd gone mad. "What are you talking about? I would never break Li's heart." 

Love shook his head. "Not Li...**_Rage._**" 

Sakura's mouth dropped open...and would have kept falling until it hit the carpet, she was sure, if it could have. "W-what? How did you...?" a thought occurred to her. "Rage told you?" 

Love drew back abruptly, and sat down on her bed. "He...wasn't going to tell me, at first, but I sort of...got it out of him." then he got that intense look on his face again and asked, "You will tell him? You won't make him suffer?" 

Sakura shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order, 'cause she really didn't understand. "I-I guess I will. But...why are you so concerned about this? Why are Rage's feelings so important to you?" Sakura felt like she was on to something here... she just didn't know what. 

Love ducked his head suddenly, and, if Sakura hadn't known any better, she would have said he was suddenly...shy? embarrassed? He mumbled something under his breath and Sakura leaned in to hear him better, "What was that?" 

Love looked up and Sakura backed up a step, intimidated by the fierce hazel eyes glaring at her. "I **_love _**him. Does that satisfy your curiousity?!" after nearly yelling that statement out, he abruptly lowered his head into his hands and let out a moan, as if he'd just let out a secret **_no one_** should know about. 

Sakura blinked. That was all she was capable of at the moment. Love...loved Rage? This was something she hadn't been expecting, besides, she'd always pictured Love as a sort of...ladies man. But, that was okay, wasn't it? So...he loves Rage, so what? In truth, Sakura thought they got along rather marvelously...when Rage didn't look like he wanted to kill him because Love was pestering him. Sakura mentally smirked. But, no, they honestly did look good together, especially with all those waves of hair they had. Sakura sighed...she liked men with long hair (who doesn't? ~.^) but she preferred HER man's hair short. 

"Well...that's good." she said, for lack of anything else to say. 

Love looked up at her sharply. "Good? You think this is GOOD!" Love stopped abruptly, as if just realizing he had raised his voice. Continuing on, quietly this time, he said, "This is absolutely horrible!" he said miserably. 

Sakura stared at him, at a loss, "I don't understand." she said hesitantly. 

Love chuckled, but it sounded bitter and frayed. "A relationship between myself and Rage would never work. The first reason why is obvious...he's infatuated with YOU," at this, Love sounded rather jealous of Sakura. He quickly took that emotion out of his voice and face. "The second reason is, if he ever found out, he'd kill me." 

Sakura abruptly plopped down on her dresser, sitting across from Love. "But...why?" 

"All those years..." Love muttered to himself, "I chased after the girls. Everyone suspected it was because I was having myself a good old time, but, really, I was searching. I, the LOVE card, was searching for love itself. Imagine the surprise, when, when I find it, it is with another man." Love sighed. "What would Rage think of me? It is said that loving another of the same gender is wrong, but I do not care. Unfortunately, we have lived in the time when that sort of thing was scorned terribly, so I do not know what Rage would think...but I do not think it would be good." 

"How long?" Sakura asked gently, her composure finally returning. 

Love didn't need an explanation. "Hundreds of years, do not ask for specifics, for it has been too long to remember exactly when, but I have loved him for centuries." 

"And he never KNEW?" Sakura asked incredulously. 

Love gave her a look as if to ask, 'Look who's talking'. Then he sighed wistfully. "No, I have kept my true feelings hidden from him very well, I think. He has never asked me about it, or given me cause to suspect he suspects." he buried his head in his hands again, "Being around him for all those years, trapped with him in that cavern, it was sheer hell to be around him. But I could not pull myself away, I could not force myself to leave him. He was like my lifeline, and if I left, I would die." 

Sakura frowned thoughtfully. "But, if you told him...he might not..." 

Love sprang up from his seat, his eyes wild. "No! No...he might not...I could not..." he began pacing. "If he rejected me, if he looked upon me with disgust and sent me away...being with him and his ignorance would be a thousand times better than to have him hate me." 

"Oh, Love." Sakura sighed, genuinely sympathetic towards him. Trying one last time, she said, "I think telling him would be better than keeping it a secret until you actually do die." 

Love leveled a stare on her, "You mean, like how you plan to tell Li Syaoran you love him?" 

Sakura blushed, "Yes, well, I'll tell him...eventually. I just, want ot make sure I don't ruin our friendship." 

"That is it exactly." Love whispered, but he didn't mean her and Syaoran. Looking around Sakura's room suddenly, he blinked, as if just realizing he was here. "I must go." he said abruptly. "Rage will wonder, and, alas, I cannot seem to lie to him. So, if he asked me where I was, and I told him, he would be more than suspicious." 

"Well...good luck, I guess." Sakura said quietly. 

Love lowered his head. "And you, My Lady. Remember what I said, tell Rage that yours is an eternal love...and cannot be broken. I do not want him hurt." and then he teleported out, leaving that pink afterglow behind. 

Kero, who had been snoring, abruptly stopped. Blinking open his eyes, he looked around and asked, "Where's my pudding?" 

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh at him. So...Kero's odd sleep had been Love's doing. Sakura hopped down from her desk and strode over to the bed. "I didn't get home on time to get you any pudding." 

Yawning, Kero said, "Oh." then he looked around like he was missing something. "Uh...did anything happen while I was taking a nap?" 

Sakura didn't giggle...but she so wanted to. "No...nothing important." okay...that was a bit of a fib. Sakura suddenly remembered that she wanted to talk to Kero. "Hey! Guess what?" 

Kero smiled, Sakura's sudden excitement getting the better of him. "What?" 

Sakura rushed over to her bed and ruffled through her bag quickly, pulling out Clow's book and showing it to Kero proudly. "**_I _**can do Magic now. Well..." Sakura added as an afterthought. "I **_think _**I can...I haven't actually tried anything yet." 

Kero just stared at her, mouth hanging open. 

Sakura giggled, enjoying the look of complete and utter shock on Kero's face...seeing as how she'd probably never get to see a look quite like that again. "I forgot to tell you, when I was with Clow Reed...he did...something...to my mind. I'm not sure what, or how it works, but, he assures me now that what was keeping me from successfully doing anything Magical has now been removed! Isn't that great Kero?" 

It took two seconds for this information to actually work it's way in to Kero's head. Then he jumped up from the bed, and with his customary enthusiasm, cheered, "Al~right!!" after doing that until he seemed satisfied, he settled himself down on Sakura's dresser with a wide smile. "This is great Sakura! Forgot, you say? Hmpf...what a thing to forget!" 

Sakura flushed a little. "Well...with all the other things that happened...capturing War...I kind of, missed that part of the story. I was more concerned with the main events." she confessed. 

Kero waved his arm in a dismissive gesture. "Okay, okay, it doesn't matter! Ooh! I can picture it now! We can start your training tonight, Sakura, and then, in about...two, maybe three, weeks, you'll be an acceptable novice. In about...oh...twenty or so years from now...you'll be one hell of a sorceress!" Kero said, completely absorbed in his own little world. 

Sakura held up both hands in a defensive gesture and laughed. "Whoa! Hold it, Kero. Don't get carried away here. Besides, like I said, I'm not a hundred percent sure yet. And, even though I know you're excited...we can't start anything tonight." 

Kero's smile abruptly vanished from his face. "And why, pray tell, not?" he asked in that tone that suggested what he wanted to do was right and what Sakura wanted to do was just plain foolishness. 

"Well..." Sakura said dryly, amused, "I'm tired, Kero, I need a good night's sleep. And, two, I have to talk to Yue." 

That caught Kero's attention. "Why? Is something up?" 

Sakura hesitated. It's not that she didn't want to tell Kero, or that she didn't trust him, it was only that it had been so obvious that Rage hadn't wanted anyone to know about his relationship with Clow. He wouldn't admit it...but it hurt too much to even remember...and he didn't need a certain Guardian Beast poking around him night and day, constantly asking questions until either Rage went mad...or he blasted Kero into the next dimension. Choice number two seemed like the most obvious one, knowing Rage. She could talk to Yue about him because, well, Yue already knew...and she suspected he could shed some light on the whole situation. 

Starting off slowly, trying to pick her words carefully, Sakura began, "It's sort of...a personal matter. Look Kero, I would never dream of leaving you out of anything, but, this is something that only Yue can help me with. Please," she pleaded gently, "Don't be mad, and don't worry. It's nothing danger related." she assured him. 

Kero was watching her skeptically, wondering what Yue could possibly help her with that he could not. He was a little hurt, he could admit it, he was HER Guardian, after all. But then, so was Yue. But Kero was her **_friend_**, too. Smiling reassuringly at her, Kero said, "Okay...but no funny business! If I have to come out there and seperate you two, I will!" he joked. 

Sakura laughed. "I don't doubt it." 

Turning so that her back was to Kero and she was facing the window, Sakura sent a silent summons to Yue. Okay...maybe that wasn't the right way to put it. Would Sakura ever have liked to be able to contact Yue telepathically, like Clow seemed to be able to do in the past when he called Kero to him. But, the fact of the matter was...she couldn't. So, playing on a hunch, Sakura just sort of...sent her emotions out as powerfully as she could. Yue seemed to be able to know when Sakura was in trouble or was distressed, right? So, Sakura thought that he might be able to sense her emotions in some way, and that, if she felt enough longing for him to be here, he'd pick up on it and come to her. 

Sakura smiled inwardly. Of course...it was just a hunch, and Yue might not come at all. 

"Kero, I'll be out on the roof." Sakura said, climbing out her window and grabbing onto the eavesdrop and heaving herself up and over the top. She needed to be in private with Yue, and Sakura did like coming out late at night somtimes to lay on her roof and just look at the stars. (Whaaat??? ^.~ Okay...so I like to climb up onto my roof and just sit there, watching the sky, or just whatever's going on around me. And, yes, doing that at night is so very nice. ^__^ I have a VERY clear view of the stars. *shrugs* I don't know why I like doing that...it's a quirk I have. I just like being up there. ^.^ I think it's safe to say I don't have a fear of heights) 

Sakura waited, sitting with her knees bent and her hands hanging off them. She watched the darkening sky with sharp eyes, waiting for a speck of white to appear...There! Off to the left, a small speck in the sky, getting closer. Sakura watched as the dot got close enough and she could determine quite clearly it was Yue...well...she already knew it was Yue...the wings kind of gave him away. 

Yue settled down gracefully on the roof, not too close to her. He was being cautious, he didn't want the wind from his wings to disturb her perch and accidentally send her tumbling over the edge. 

Spreading his wings wide to balance himself, Yue folded his hands, and they disappeared up his robes...much like Clow's did when he stood like that. Looking Sakura over quickly, Yue frowned slightly when she appeared to be completely fine. "You called me, Mistress, what's wrong?" 

Sakura stood up quickly, which made Yue cringe inwardly in worry, and smiled, "Nothing's wrong, Yue. I just want to talk to you about something." 

Yue bowed his head respectfully and Sakura took a seat once more. Yue did the same, not having to sit on air here, as the roof sloped down on either side and he could rest his wings comfortably on both sides of him. "I will tell you all I know, Mistress." 

Sakura, taking on more of Clow's way of doing things, rushed right in without hesitating...she found it was easier to get things out that way, "I want to know about Rage." 

Yue's expression was startled for a moment, before his face became shuttered slightly. Sakura knew he didn't want to betray Rage's trust, but she also knew he'd tell her if she asked. "What, precisely, would you wish to know?" 

"Well...I don't want his life story, though that would be nice, I only want one particular event in time." Sakura leaned forward and peered into Yue's face. "I know you don't want to betray his honour, Yue, but...I already know he fought on the side of Clow Reed." 

The look of shock on Yue's face mirrored the look he had given her centuries before when he had found out she was not a whore, but was, in fact, Clow's Reed's descendant. The look quickly faded, though, and a look of concentration appeared on his face. "How did you find out?" 

"Well..." and this time, Sakura did hedge. It's not like she had LIED or anything...she only...omitted the part about Rage and Clow Reed from her tale of what transpired in the past. "When I went back in time, I met Rage, as I told you. But what I didn't tell you, was that I met him when he was with Clow Reed." Sakura smiled wryly. "I don't think Clow Reed had wanted me to know about Rage, but, well, I wouldn't be put off. We got to talking, and Clow Reed told me about him and Rage." Sakura shrugged. "And then, of course, there's the fact that Rage himself confessed to it when I confronted him earlier today about it." 

Yue smiled slightly, "So that is why you wanted him to stay behind." he murmured thoughtfully. Sakura nodded. Yue's mood seemed to lighten. "Then, you know the thing Rage wanted kept a secret, so I do not have any reservations about telling you what you wish to know. Now, what event in history were you referring to? What is it you want to know?" 

Again with the straight forwardness, "I want to know why Clow Reed trapped him in that cavern with those other monsters for a millennia." 

Yue flinched back slightly, not having expected this. He quickly got over his surprise, though, but the sadness, the regret the question brought on, were very much visible in his eyes when he spoke. "It had been an accident." he began quietly. 

"I remember clearly the night Clow Reed had revealed his plan to trap the Forgotten. It had been quite clear that he had actually been planning this for days...maybe even weeks...before he had deigned to inform myself and Kero Beros about it. It was simple, really, so simple that the Forgotten didn't see it at all. He would create a binding spell for them. That had been easy, as Clow Reed was already connected to the cards. Then, once they had all been drawn there, not being able to really resist the spell's call, he would create an illusion of himself using the Mirror card and making a simple shield that would hide the card's energy and create the sense of his own. I am sure Kero Beros told you the rest, how the fake Clow Reed fled into the labyrinth and the cards followed after..." 

"...But that is all Kero Beros knows." 

"There is more to this tale. On the night he told me of his plan, on the night he trapped the Forgotten, he sent Kero off to search for some ingredients he conveniently didn't have for his spells. When Kero Beros had left, Clow Reed turned to me and told me I must stop Rage from coming here with the rest...that I must stop him from getting caught in the web." Yue smiled slightly, amused at some memory or another. "I remember my shock when he said those words...how had he found out that I had met with Rage and knew he was no fiend? Had I acted differently, said something that gave me away? But, no, I suppose I should not have been so surprised. Clow Reed seemed to know things he shouldn't know...and he never told anyone exactly HOW he knew what he did." 

"As I said, I was instructed to keep Rage away. The spell would affect him the same way it would the others, Clow Reed could not separate the spell enough to allow for Rage to slip past it...it was too complicated. So Rage would come, but not because he wished revenge, but because he would have been worried about what Clow Reed had been planning. Clow Reed had not enough time to contact Rage himself, he needed every minute to conduct the spells. So that is where I came in." 

"He told me Rage was somewhere to the East, how he could sense Rage when I could not I did not know...but that was another thing Clow Reed did not share. I suppose it must have had something to do with his connection to the cards. But I digress...needing no further orders, and asking no questions, as, with Clow Reed, they would have been pointless anyways...I flew off in search of Rage." 

"I flew East, not sure where I was going or how long it would take me to find Rage, but I kept my senses open for him. For what seemed like hours I flew, watching, waiting, and then I sensed him. He was not too far from me by the feel of him... perhaps a mile or two at the most...and I was relieved that he was not shielding himself, otherwise, I never would have found him." 

"Changing my course slightly, I headed for him. That is when I saw the smoke. To the right of me, great billows of smoke were beginning to appear over the horizon. I knew there to be a village there, and the smell of ash and burning came to me suddenly, and I knew the village was on fire." 

"I hung about, suspended in the air for what seemed an eternity, but was really only moments, struggling within myself. I wanted to help that village, to save the people there...and with the help of my Magic, I could save so very many lives. However, I had been given a direct order from Clow Reed...and if I did not follow it, something awful might happen. Although, I had no idea just how awful then." 

"Not being able to stand the thought of innocents dying, I flew with unnatural speed towards the growing fire. When I saw the village, my throat constricted and my heart tightened. The fire had been worse than I thought. A goodly portion of the village had already been burned, was still burning, and the fire was spreading far too quickly. Some women and the children were fleeing out of the village, seeking safety, but most of the women, and all the men, stayed behind to put out the fire. There was a small stream on the edge of the town, and the villagers were using many buckets, passed along to each other and filled with water, to throw onto the blaze in hopes of putting it out." 

"But I knew, with a fire of that size, that what they were doing would not be enough." 

"Without a second thought, I threw my ice crystals into the fire, freezing goodly portions of it. But the fire was still spreading like someone had thrown kerosene onto the very town. It was, in fact, the dust dry straw of the houses and the wood that fueled the fire's hunger. My icicles were effective...but not effective enough." 

"I am not so bad with Ice, but my real power lies in Air. However, my power would only be a hindrance to me this time and I could do nothing there. I glanced back at the villagers and their pitiful attempts to douse the fire. That was when my gaze fell upon the stream once more." 

"Closing my eyes, I reached out towards the water, trying to get a feel of it. The presence, the essence of it came slowly, my power not that of Water, but it came. When I had it, I latched onto it as if my own life depended upon it, and not only did I take the water from the stream...but I took the water from the Earth as well, feeling it's presence under the riverbed. When I judged I had enough, I commanded it forward and up, creating a huge wave, water exploding out of the ground as well. I was vaguely aware of the people screaming and yelling about the strange occurrence, I needed to focus with all I had. Sending the water crashing suddenly forward, I sent it soaring over the fire, and down upon it, effectively putting out the fire and the danger. Once the fire was out, I sighed in relief." 

"I did not stay around to wait for the people to notice me, but instead flew back the way I had been going, desperately searching for that unique aura once again. But there was nothing and Rage was gone." 

"I stayed and flew across the surrounding area, though, to make absolutely sure...and as I look back now, I know I shouldn't have. I should have raced back to Clow Reed immediately and told him of this occurrence. But I had not." 

"By the time I admitted to myself that Rage was truly gone, I teleported back straight to Clow Reed. What I found upon return, was an exhausted Clow Reed...and a collapsed and sealed labyrinth. One look at Clow Reed's face was all the answer I needed...Rage had been trapped inside with the others." 

Yue hung his head, his shoulders suddenly drooping as if the weight of the world rested upon his shoulders. "It turns out, that Clow Reed had known Rage was there as soon as he had arrived, but he could do nothing at the risk of alerting the others. So, not having a choice, or a way out, Clow Reed sealed Rage with the rest to ensure the safety of the world." Yue paused, and when his voice came again, it came in a whisper and sounded so guilty, so sad, that it tore at Sakura's heartstrings, "It was my fault. If I had not gone to that village, if I had not been distracted, Rage never would have been trapped, Clow Reed would not have blamed himself in all those years until his death, and Rage would not feel bitter resentment towards him. It was my fault." 

Sakura, who had been sitting immobile, her dread increasing with every word of Yue's story, suddenly leapt forward until she was almost face to face with Yue, startling him out of his self blame. "It's NOT your fault." Sakura said fiercely, but gently, too. Softening her voice, she continued, "What you did that day was the right thing, Yue. You couldn't have stood aside and let those people die when you knew you could help them. That would have been wrong...and would have made you no better than the Forgotten. It WAS an accident, and, even though Rage is hurting over it, I'm sure he'll come to terms when he finds out the truth. Yes Rage was trapped for centuries, yes he had to put up with those loathsome creatures twenty four hours a day...but he LIVED, Yue...which is more than I could say about those hundreds of people if you had let them die. You did what was right Yue, and Rage will see that, I know he will." she said with conviction. 

The look on Yue's face said he didn't believe her, and Sakura knew that he still blamed himself. Even though she knew he probably wouldn't like the physical contact...she reached forward and hugged him anyways, sort of like when he, Yukito... both of them, had comforted her when she thought Li hated her. 

At first, he stiffened in her arms, as unyielding as a snow storm. But Sakura waited, and slowly, he began to relax enough to let his head rest on her shoulder and his arms encircle her from behind. His wings came forward to circle around the pair as well, as if he was shielding them both from the outside world for all time. He didn't cry, as most people would have, he just rested his head on her shoulder and let her hold him. 

Soon, sooner than Sakura thought was right, Yue released her and folded his wings behind him. Not having much of a choice, Sakura let go of her hold on him, scooting back slightly to give him some space. They sat in silence for a bit, just listening to the night-time sounds. But when Sakura noticed the air had become chill, and that the night was fully upon them, she realized she'd have to go back in soon. 

Glancing over at Yue, she said, "Thank you for sharing something that was obviously painful for you, Yue." 

Yue nodded his head respectfully but didn't say anything. Rising to his feet, he spread his wings and looked out into the night. "Remember, Mistress, if you ever need me, I will be there." then, spreading his wings, he launched himself off the roof and into the winds. 

Sakura watched him for a moment before going back inside. Kero was already asleep in his drawer, Sakura having taken longer than the poor guy could cope with awake. Silently, Sakura removed her clothes and slipped on her customary night wear, tank top and shorts, and slid into bed. 

She fell asleep with an untroubled mind that night, most of her immediate problems solved and the Forgotten at the back of her head. The knowledge that she might be able to put Rage's mind at ease as hers was now made Sakura feel good, and it was the last thing Sakura thought before drifting off to sleep.   
~ 

When Sakura woke up the next morning it was with light spirits and a smile. Bounding up out of bed, she hurried over to her closet and riffled through her clothes. When she found a suitable outfit she liked, she quickly changed and then went over to her night stand to put the Key of Clow around her neck. When that was done and she was ready to leave, Sakura noticed that something wasn't quite right. Frowning, she wondered where the early lectures on getting up late from Kero were. Going back over to her dresser, she pulled out Kero's drawer and peered in. Sure enough, there he was, sound asleep. Sakura smiled...maybe Love's little sleep spell had after effects. 

As she went to close the drawer, Kero moved, and Sakura realized he wasn't asleep after all. Putting her hands on her hips, Sakura admonished, "Kero! You could have told me you were up! Why didn't you say something?" 

There was a silence for some moments, and Sakura's playfulness turned to concern. Then Kero said, "What's the point? There's no reason to get up anyways. Life has no meaning." 

Sakura stared at him. "Kero? What are you talking about?" 

He turned around to face her, and Sakura gasped at the blank look in his normally sparkling eyes. "You may as well go back to sleep, too, Sakura...we're never going to capture the Forgotten...they're too strong. Why waste the energy? Might as well just sit here and wait for them to take over." 

"Kero!" Sakura exclaimed, aghast. "What the hell is the matter with you!?" 

"Just go back to sleep Sakura." he said quietly. Then he turned around and proceed to do just that. 

Sakura stood there for a few moments, dumbstruck, as she tried to figure out what just happened. Determining that Kero wasn't going to be doing much talking for a while, Sakura made a quick decision and raced out her door to find Julian, and, therefore, Yue. 

Sakura entered the kitchen and found Dad and Tory in there, eating breakfast. "Morning, guys." she said, running over to grab a piece of toast. 

"What's so good about it?" 

Sakura, mouth open and toast halfway there, froze. Turning around slowly, she found both of her family members were staring at her...with that same odd expression Kero has. Swallowing nervously, Sakura put down her toast and looked at the two of them. "Well...for one thing...the sun's shining and the birds are singing." 

"So?" Tory replied, "The birds will just die and the sun gives you skin cancer. Where's the good there?" 

Okay...things have officially gone mad. But there was an explanation to this odd behaviour, there had to be. Sakura thought she knew what it was, too...one of the Forgotten. 

Well fine...she could do this, even if she didn't have Kero to help her or to tell her which card it was. Which was problem number one there...how was she supposed to seal the card if she didn't know which one it was? The need to find Yue and ask him about all this increased ten fold and, with a fake smile plastered across her face, Sakura said, "I'm going out. I'll be back soon." 

With something sounding vaguely like yes coming from both of them, Sakura then scurried around Tory and her father and headed for the door. As soon as she was safely outside, Sakura looked around her and, for the second time that day, froze in her tracks. 

All around her, people were standing, sitting, walking listlessly onwards...that same blank look to their eyes. Their faces were completely devoid of emotion, like someone had drained all their feelings away. If there was an expression on their faces, Sakura would have had to say it was one of despair...as if they'd lost all hope for life itself. 

"This is creeping me out." Sakura whispered. Jogging up to the sidewalk, and taking care not to get too close to the drained people while doing so, Sakura ran for Julian's hotel room. Tory had pinned the address of the hotel on the refrigerator, so Sakura knew where she was going. 

About halfway to where she wanted to go, Sakura suddenly stopped. Looking around and concentrating, Sakura closed her eyes. In about three seconds, they popped back open when she got the full sense of a Forgotten. Turning her head to the right, Sakura narrowed her eyes in the direction she knew the card to be. She hesitated for the briefest moment, wanting to go after the card, but then she turned back in the direction she had been going and started off to find Julian (Yue) again. 

Just as she was about to resume her jogging, a familiar voice stopped her and Sakura turned around, 

"Sakura!" Li ran up to her, Lasin Board in his hands and dressed in his green ceremonial robes. Stopping just in front of her, he said, "Sakura, did you...?" 

Sakura almost smiled as something occurred to her...this was just like old times again. Sakura nodded. "Yes. I sensed it, too, Li." she glanced West again. "I was just on my way to get Yue." 

Li frowned. "Why would you want to do that? We need to capture it NOW." Li stressed. 

Sakura frowned in turn. "What's the hurry? It's not causing any bodily damage yet, and I can't capture it without knowing which card it is first, now can I? That's why I'm going to go get Yue. I'm sure he'll know which card it is." she turned to go. 

Li grabbed her arm. "Sakura..." his face was strained, like there was a struggle going on inside of him. "Sakura, we can't let this card do this for any longer than we have to. It's true, it's not doing any physical damage, but emotionally...that can be worse than a body wound. Sakura, look at these people," he gestured at all the practically lifeless forms around them and Sakura's gaze followed his hand. "Look at them...whatever gave them pleasure in life has been completely taken from them. They've lost all hope in what they believe in. What keeps them going is no longer there." returning his eyes to her, Li gazed into Sakura's face. "Another hour, another miunte, another second more without their very souls is too much." Li's eyes got a lost look in them, and Sakura thought he might be remembering something from his own past. "Losing all hope in finding what it is you've been waiting for for years...it's not a feeling you ever forget." 

Sakura watched Li, concerned, thinking he must be remembering what it had been like to be under the control of Insanity. Shaking his head suddenly, Li got himself back on track. "I know we don't know which card it is, Sakura, but we have to go after it immediately. We may not be able to seal it, but, if we could just hold it, break it's control on these people, and THEN you could call Yue." 

Sakura thought about this in silence. It was true...what was being done to these people was something that shouldn't happen to anyone, but, she'd still feel safer if she knew which card it was first. She looked back over at Li to tell him she was going to Yue first, but one look into those pained, indian red eyes, and Sakura found herself saying, "Okay, Li, we'll go find the card now." 

Smiling gratefully at her, Li turned and immediately set off in the direction of the card, saying, "Force! Know my plight! Release the Light!" the Lasin Board activated and a narrow beam of light shot off, leading them directly to the card itself. 

Sakura followed after the quickly retreating back of Li, hoping she hadn't just made a mistake. 

Turning a corner by the park, Li stopped abruptly, nearly causing Sakura to slam into his back. Peeking around his shoulder, Sakura saw what had caught his attention. Moving languidly, unaware of the two extra presence, the Forgotten continued on her trek. She was dressed in a flowing silk dress, which would have been quite impressive, if it hadn't been the colour of dullest grey. Coming across any living thing, she would reach out and touch it and it would immediately become listless. 

Sakura turned to Li to tell him that they should quietly attack the card together, but she blinked as she encountered only air. Looking towards the card, she found Li, sword already drawn, heading straight for the card, enraged. "Go back to your hell, card." 

The woman looked up at Li with an expression much like those around her whom she affected, but, there was nothing listless in her manner, 

Lifting her hand, grey energy sprang forth from it and sent Li reeling back. But he'd had his sword out and the ancestrial weapon took the brunt of the blow and absorbed it. Yelling out in pure anger, Li went for her again, this time wary of her hands. 

"Oh, wonderful." Sakura muttered. Taking the Key from her neck, she murmured, "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic! Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the Force, ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared in her hands and Sakura pulled out a Clow card. "Windy! Trap the Forgotten! Release!" Windy exploded from her card and headed for the Forgotten. 

Li, a second after hearing Sakura release Windy, cried, "Element! Wind!" in an effort to double the power of the wind shield. 

As both forces reached her, the Forgotten disappeared. Windy howled in rage and Sakura quickly called her back. "Where did she go?" she asked Li. 

Sword in front of him in a defensive gesure, Li didn't reply, his gaze darting about. 

The Forgotten suddenly reappeared behind Li, her arm raised to strike him, and Sakura cried out, "Li!" 

Ducking just in time, Li rolled out of harm's way. Sakura took the opportunity to call forth another card, "Firey! Release and dispel! Firey!" 

Baring her teeth at the surprised card, Firey flew with great speed at the Forgotten. She was quick as well, but her surprise had kept her immobile for a second too long, and Firey succeeded in burning her shoulder, making the Forgotten cry out. Turning suddenly life filled eyes towards Sakura, the Forgotten lifted her hand and Sakura found herself flying throught the air, the wind knocked out of her and her vision greying out with the force of the blow. 

"Sakura!" 

Sakura dimly heard Li call out to her as she went sailing over the trees and into the nearby park...it didn't occur to Sakura that, what goes up, must come down... 

Sakura's breath came back to her abruptly as she fell into strong arms. Looking up, she was about to thank whoever had just caught her, when she saw who had actually caught her, "You! What are you doing here?" 

Rage looked down upon Sakura with infinite calm, though he did appear to be annoyed. "You would have much better luck at sealing her, if you stopped trying to trap her and did just that. As for why I'm here...well...I just saved your life...again." 

Sakura frowned at him. "Well...thanks...again. I appreciate this, really, but, I told you, you have no reason to be anywhere near me if you're not going to openly admit you'll fight with me. Otherwise, I can only assume you're an enemy." 

Rage's eyebrow twitched, "Yes...you said something like that before." 

"You know what I said." Sakura glanced pointedly at his arms, one under her shoulders, the other under her knees. "Could you put me down now?" 

Rage did, though grudgingly. 

Sakura sighed. Turning her back on him, Sakura said, "Thanks again, but, I have to go help Li. He needs me." 

Anger flashed briefly in Rage's eyes before he hid it away, _So do I! _"So, you still have it in your mind to...trap her?" 

Sakura nodded. 

Sighing in what seemed like impatience, Rage said, "If you are going to persist in this foolishness, you might as well know the one you fight. The woman on the other side of these trees, is named Despair." 

Sakura turned around to face him. "Thank you." she said with feeling, making Rage blink at the change in her demeanor, cold to warm. Smiling brilliantly at him, Sakura said, "I have to talk to you later, don't go anywhere!" then she turned and ran back out of the park. 

Continuing to blink owlishly, wondering how he had gotten from 'I don't ever expect to see you again', to, 'I have to talk to you'. Rage said, "I...wouldn't dream of going anywhere else." 

Sakura dashed back onto the scene, finding Li fending off the grey energy with his sword. Coming up behind Depsair while she was distracted, Sakura whispered, "Shadow card!" 

Shadow, as silent as night, crept up behind Despair. When he was close enough, he reared up and pounced, completely surrounding Despair, who gave an angry, surprised scream as she was surrounded. Shadow held Despair valiently, but Sakura could see that he wouldn't be able to hold her for long. Silently thanking Rage for his help, Sakura said, "Despair! Return to your power, confined! Despair card!" 

The pattern appeared below Despair and she was sucked into a card. Sakura reached out her hand and Despair floated to it. Looking at Li, who was still breathing a little heavy, she smiled, held up the card, and said, "Another one bites the dust." 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

I know, I know, not a very good ending, is it? Well...I'm very tired. I meant to get this posted before the weekend, but, packing got in the way and I couldn't manage to get this quite done. ??? Why was I packing you ask? Well, I didn't mention this, but I was going to Toronto Trek all weekend (I LOVE Toronto Trek!!! *.*). And, now, I just finished the last part with Despair and Sakura, Li, and Rage now, so it's not all that great. But, like I say, I'm tired...you don't sleep at conventions. ~.^ You can tell I wrote this in, like, five minutes, because it was short and not very impressive. Yes, I know Despair lacked character of any kind!! but I didn't feel like giving her any right now :P Sorry. When I've gotten over my insomnia created by the convention, I'll get the next chapter out, which will be better because I won't feel so tired. So!...see you then! ^_^ 

By the by...if any of you live near, by, in Toronto, and you HAVEN'T been to Toronto Trek...GET YOUR ASSES IN GEAR AND GO!!! ^.^ You don't know what you're missing. It's mostly a sci-fi convention, but there is a whole lot of anime there, too. If you have any questions about the convention, just ask me, and I'll be happy to answer in any way I can! ^_^   



	26. A Change in SidesCh25

Cardcaptors25 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Um...I don't feel like typing anything. :P 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors...there. 

Warning: The Forgotten are mine. Take them and I'll blow up your house with a rocket launcher. (not really) 

Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, Insanity, Despair, and Fear belong to ME. The three other Forgotten I have yet to mention are also mine. Do try and remember this. 

**Cardcaptors: A Change in Sides-Ch.25**

Sakura put Despair away looked at Li. "Are you okay?" 

Li nodded and sheathed his sword. After he was done that he gave her a quizzical look, though. "How did you make it over those trees and not get a single scratch on you? I thought you were hurt...or worse." Li said quietly. 

"Yeah...well..." Sakura hedged, "I would have been splattered into the ground, but, someone caught me." 

Li quirked an eyebrow. "Someone...caught you?" he asked incredulously. "while you were falling that fast?" 

The plain disbelief on Li's face had Sakura blushing. "Um...well...Rage caught me." she finally admitted. 

All at once, the look of amusement on Li's face turned to complete anger. "What?" he asked quietly. Then, heading deliberately for the trees, Li said, "Is he still here? If he is I'm gonna..." 

"No, Li! Wait!" Sakura pleaded. Rushing forward, she said, "He's not a danger, I swear! Look...I know you don't particularly like the Forgotten, but, please...just let Rage off the hook for a couple minutes?" taking a deep breath, she added, "Besides, I have to speak with him." 

"What could you possibly have to say to him?" 

Sakura bit her lip. She didn't know if Rage wanted anyone else to know about him and Clow Reed...scratch that...she did know. If he had wanted the information known, he would have said something. So what was she supposed to tell Li? If she went off alone to talk to Rage, Li would have a fit. But she couldn't tell him outright her reasons. Sakura fought down a blush on her next thoughts. Besides...if she could manage it...she'd also try to do just what Love told her to do and tell Rage that she loved Li...and how was she going to manage THAT while Li was there?! 

Sighing defeatedly at the no win situation, Sakura said, "Look Li, if you come with me, will that put your mind at ease?" he would come with her, but she'd just make sure he was out of hearing distance...that's all. And if Rage didn't mind, she could even tell Li what was so important. 

Li just stared at her for a minute, silently contemplating. It was true...lately, Rage didn't seem to be showing any danger signs. That didn't mean he wasn't dangerous anymore, though, oh no! he knew better than that. But, he still couldn't get over the fact that he was a Forgotten. No matter what else he was, Rage would always be a Forgotten first and foremost in his mind. 

Reluctantly sheathing his sword on his back, Li said, "All right. But hurry...I don't want to take any chances." he would go, he would watch over Sakura, and if Rage suddenly decided to try something, Li would be there to help in any way he could. 

Smiling gratefully, Sakura turned around and sprinted back towards the trees, Li following closely behind. Upon reaching the spot where she had been unceremoniously flung into the air by Despair, Sakura found Rage standing right where she'd left him. He was staring off into space and looked to be in deep thought...or...he could just be daydreaming. Sakura wrinkled her nose at that...the possibility of Rage daydreaming was incomprehensible. She was loath to disturb him, but she really had to talk to him. The sooner she told him about Clow Reed the better. 

"Rage?" Sakura questioned softly, walking forward. 

Rage turned, the closest thing to a real smile ever on his face. "Sakura," his attention soon turned to Li, though, and he frowned. Li frowned right back. 

"Li, could you stay here for a moment, please?" Sakura asked quietly. 

Li stopped glaring at Rage long enough to give Sakura a glance that suggested he thought she was mad, "Stay here? What do you mean...'stay here?' " 

"Please, Li, this is very important. I must talk to Rage," before Li could say anything to that, Sakura continued, "alone." seeing the look on Li's face that word had caused, Sakura felt compelled to try and reassure him. "I..I'll be fine. You can see me perfectly from here so you don't have to worry. And, if I can, I'll tell you why I needed to talk to Rage later...if it's all right with Rage." she waited. 

Li looked down on Sakura's bowed head and slightly guilty expression...and felt a little guilty himself. Obviously, Sakura didn't really want to keep whatever it was she couldn't tell him a secret, but she didn't have much choice. And he wasn't exactly making this any easier for her. Whatever it was she needed to say to Rage must have been pretty important...although Li didn't have the slightest idea what she was keeping from him. Besides...she said she would tell him...if HE let her, 

"Fine..." he said gruffly. "but don't go anywhere." and with that, he crossed his arms over his chest and waited. 

Giving Li one last, unsure glance, Sakura walked over to Rage who swept her a courtly bow and said gravely, "Good day, My Lady." but the corners of his mouth twitched up at the sides. 

Sakura raised her eyebrow in amusement, but she didn't laugh as she usually might have. What she had to say was important, "Rage...I have to speak with you." 

Straightening, Rage brushed an imaginary speck of dust from his shirt and said mildly, "I gathered as much. What is it you wish to say?" 

Taking a deep breath, Sakura said, "This is very important, Rage, and you must promise me that you will here me out until I am done. You must listen to what I have to say." 

Any and all amusement that might have been present somewhere deep within those fathomless blue eyes disappeared. "Ah... something important...and no doubt not to be enjoyed. Just how bad is this news you must tell me?" 

Sakura shook her head vehemently, "Oh, no! It's not **_bad _**news...it's good news...just very important." 

"I see...and what is this...good news?" 

She shook her head again. "First, you have to promise." 

Rage stared at Sakura until she became nervous. Then, tilting his head slightly, he said, "I promise to hear you out. Now what is so important?" 

Lowering her voice, Sakura leaned forward towards Rage, as if what she had to say was for his ears alone...and...it was, "It's about Clow Reed." 

Rage sucked in his breath so quickly and forcefully that Sakura thought he might choke. A moment later though, he was as cool as ice once again, his face and eyes blank. No doubt, if he hadn't made that promise to her, Sakura didn't think he'd still be standing here. "Go on." he said quietly, staring straight ahead. 

Pushing down any uneasiness that she might have felt over this, Sakura decided not to drag this out any more than it had to be. "I spoke with Yue." Rage's eyes flickered towards her in what Sakura thought was curiousity before settling back on some unknown thing over her head. "I asked Yue about Clow Reed, and...and...about the day he sealed you and the rest of the Forgotten away." 

Rage's now angry glance slid towards Sakura again. "Oh, you did, did you? How very appropriate. I suppose you didn't believe me when I told you your precious sorcerer was capable of such a thing?" he said bitterly. 

"No! That wasn't it! I just...I had to know exactly what happened." Sakura paused and looked about her. Smiling tentatively, she continued, "But...I think you'll be happy with what I have to tell you." 

Rage stared at her, waiting. 

"Clow Reed...hadn't intended to seal you away, Rage. On the day he meant for this to happen, he sent Yue out to find you, to tell you not to respond to his call...but Yue got sidetracked-you can't blame him!-and you had left before he could reach you. You see...you were never supposed to be there, Rage. Clow Reed had planned to seal the Forgotten without you being there. You were never supposed to be in that cave." Sakura paused, but Rage didn't move. "Clow Reed knew you were there, but he couldn't stop the spell, he was too afraid he would never get another chance to trap all of the cards. But you must know... Clow Reed was devastated that you had been sealed, Rage, Yue even said so. It was all an accident. Clow Reed never sealed you out of spite or some sort of revenge...he sealed you, because he didn't have a choice." 

Rage stood completely still, just looking at her. A muscle in his cheek began to twitch ever so slowly. 

Sakura eyed him warily, wondering why it was Rage wasn't as happy as she to find out this was all just a big misunderstanding. In fact...he should be ecstatic...so why wasn't he? "Rage? Won't you say something? Aren't you relieved?" 

Rage finally blinked. Looking at her incredulously now, he exploded, "Relieved! Do you have any idea what you've just said to me!?" 

Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion and concern. "I don't understand. Now that you have no reason to seek vengeance against Clow Reed...can't you fight alongside the forces of the light now? Can't you fight with me and Kero and Yue?" 

Stepping back suddenly, Rage raked a hand through his long hair. "Fight with you? You expect things to change...just like that?" shaking his head, almost like a trapped animal would, he took another step back. 

Sakura took a step forward. "Rage?" 

He held out a hand, "No! I gave my word I would stay and listen...I have. Now leave me be!" and then he was gone in a white mist. 

Sakura drooped. An intense frown appeared on her face...she really had no idea why Rage had just acted the way he had...it had been completely unexpected. She had thought, that once things were cleared up, that Rage could go back to fighting against the Forgotten again...even if it was undercover once more. So why had he seemed upset...almost...panicky? 

Sakura was dragged out of her thoughts as Li ran up to her. "What happened?" he asked. He still hated Rage with all his soul... he was a Forgotten, after all, but the look on Rage's face just now had Li scared...for Rage. 

Sakura shook her head slowly. Offering him a weak smile, she said, "Nothing. I can't tell you yet, Li. Please...be patient with me?" 

Li gave her a long look, but he nodded. "Okay, Sakura. But only because I trust you. Come on, I'll walk you home. Don't you have to report back to Kero?" 

Sakura lifted a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide, "I completely forgot about him! And Dad! Tory! Li...we've gotta go!" turning around quickly, she dashed back onto the street. Li was hard pressed to keep up.   
~ 

Rage teleported back to what he had begun to think of as 'his' little piece of forest. He knew he was frowning, but he really couldn't help it. Taking off his sheath and belt, he set it on his rock. Beginning to pace, he angrily loosened the ties on his silk shirt, feeling confined. He didn't really know why he was upset...but he was. 

"Tsk, tsk...who rubbed you the wrong way?" 

Rage turned around and glared at Love. "Go away," he gritted out. He went back to his pacing, "I have to think." 

Love eyed Rage like he'd grown a tail. Then, grinning hugely, he sat himself on air, took his belt and sheath off as well as his brown boots, folded his brown jacket on the ground, and then propped his elbows on his knees. "So...what's eating you?" 

Rage stopped again and stared at the Forgotten. 

Love raised an eyebrow. "What? You didn't really think I was actually going to GO anywhere, did you? just because you told me to? Oh! Don't look at me like that! Your ice glare has no effect on me! I'm immune! You've used it on me too much." he replied cheekily. "Although...I still don't like it. Now will you stop brooding and tell me what the hell is bothering you? I haven't seen you this upset since...since..." 

"Clow Reed?" Rage asked softly, and odd note of humour in his voice that caught Love's attention because it shouldn't have been there. 

"Yeah...since Clow Reed." Love said slowly. 

Finally giving in, Rage sat down across from Love. He didn't say anything for the longest time, and Love didn't press him...it was bloody hard enough to get Rage to sit down and have a chat...Love didn't want to lose this chance. 

"I ran into Sakura today, literally," he began slowly, missing the way Love's face fell at Sakura's name. "She told me the most amazing thing." 

Love brightened a bit at this...perhaps she'd told him that she loved the Kid? Love kept his face carefully serene, though, and waited... 

"Apparently...Clow Reed had never meant for me to be sealed in that cave for centuries." 

Love just gaped at him, capable of doing nothing else. This, out of all things, he had never expected to here. When his brain finally understood what he'd just been told, though, he started to smile. "That's wonderful!" at the look Rage shot him, Love frowned, "It's not wonderful?" 

"No! This is all...wrong!" Rage muttered. 

Love's frown grew. "I don't get it. I thought this would be good news for you." 

"Well it isn't!" Rage snapped irritably. 

"Well why not?" Love asked, becoming annoyed. "I thought this was what you wanted? To know that Clow Reed had never betrayed you? For God's sake! You cared for the old man!...if you could call him that." 

"And how would you know what I felt for the sorcerer?" 

"Oh please! You may be good at being a block of ice, but I'm not stupid, Rage. So why aren't you rejoicing?" 

"Because!" Rage stood up abruptly, startling Love. "After all these centuries of thinking he had betrayed me! only to be told that it was all just a misunderstanding...that Clow Reed had felt BAD for what he'd done to me?...you expect me to just get up, and say, 'Well, of course. That is exactly what I expected!' " Rage glared at Love for a moment, then, "You wouldn't understand." 

Love's feet hit the ground. Standing up until he was looking directly into Rage's eyes, he said quietly, "I would if you would just tell me." 

Rage turned around, his shoulders stiff, leaving Love to stare at his back. Still as a statue, he did nothing. Then, almost in a whisper, he said, "It would have been so much better if he had betrayed me." 

Love's eyes widened and he was sure he'd developed a hearing problem. "What?" he said carefully. 

Rage whirled back around. "Don't you get it!? This is a thousand times worse! At least when I believed Clow Reed to be a traitor, my rage and revenge was justified! But now...to find out that Clow Reed had NOT done it purposefully, but that he had intended to keep me away...to find out he felt GUILTY over me..." Rage trailed off. Continuing in a whisper, he said, "To think, that I could have HATED him for something he never wished to do, for something he regretted. I have shamed him...and I have shamed me." 

Love stared at Rage's lowered head all of five seconds before he uttered three words..."You're an idiot." 

Rage's head snapped up. Not even able to form a glare, he simply whispered, "What?" 

Love crossed his arms over his chest and leveled a look at Rage. "I said...you're an idiot. Do I have to spell it out for you?" a hint of anger crept back into Rage's eyes and Love was glad for it. Frankly, seeing Rage totally wretched had sent Love's world upside down. He could deal with an angry Rage, he could deal with a cold Rage...but he could NOT deal with a despairing Rage. It sent Love's insides trembling to see such a bleak look on Rages' face. 

Taking a few steps back, whether to distance himself from Rage or from his own emotions, he didn't know. "Look...I know you've been solely bent on revenge these last couple hundred or so years...but don't let your honour cloud your vision. The fact is...Clow Reed made a mistake, one he was greatly sorry for, and one that he obviously wished he hadn't made. The fact is, you've got no purchase for your rage now...and I think that scares you." Love held up a hand when Rage opened his mouth to protest the absurdity of that statement. "Deny it if you want, but that's what I believe. Look, Rage, " he pleaded, "You've got to stop living in the past. There's nothing holding you back now, there's nothing stopping you from joining Sakura now if you wished...hell...there's nothing stopping you from switching over to the rest of them and joining someone like Insanity. The point is...for the first time, you've got a choice to make...and it's a damn big one, too." 

Love shook his head and smiled ruefully. "I know you feel bad about what you thought of Clow Reed in the last centuries, and if you want, you can try to make it up to him...though I think he thinks you're just as much of an idiot as I do. It's your choice, and for crying out loud! make the one YOU want to for once." 

Rage was looking at Love but he was somewhere else at the moment. In truth...he was rather dizzied by what had just come out of Love's mouth. Sometimes...his friend really did surprise him. It was almost like Love knew him better than he knew himself sometimes, and, as much as he hated to admit it, some of the things Love had said were true. Especially where his choices were concerned. Looking back, Rage realized that he'd never really made too many decisions in his life. The only major one had been whether or not to stay with Clow Reed or join the others...but that decision had been no contest. After that...it was mostly Clow Reed's orders and directions. And then, stuck in that cave, he had been confined not by the stone walls...but by his own anger, and that, in turn, prevented him from making any decisions other than the one to get even. 

Rage cringed at that thought. He really was shamed...more so than he'd ever been before. He could not believe he'd thought such things of Clow Reed when Clow Reed most assuredly never thought things like that about his faithful card. 

Now that Rage was free from Clow Reed and from that all consuming anger...he found he didn't quite know what to do with himself. Love was right...he was afraid...though he'd never admit it. 

So now...he had a choice to make. He could side with Sakura now that his honour would permit him to, or he could side against her...and play with the Forgotten. There was even a third option...he could just...quietly disappear, not play a part on either side. That thought was vastly appealing but completely out of the question...his sense of justice wouldn't permit it. 

"So?" Love ventured cautiously after some time. Rage had just been standing there, catatonic, for quite some time. Love hoped he could make a decision...he really didn't care what it was, as long as Rage wanted it. He would follow Rage to hell and back, if there really was such a place...though he'd never admit it. 

Just then...both their heads lifted. Awareness flashed in both their eyes and Love turned to Rage. "Must have been attracted to the energy given off by Despair when she fought Sakura." Love determined. He sent a cautious glance towards the city and the energy source. "So...what are you going to do?" 

Rage stood, his eyes flashing. His customary smile-but-not-quite-smile appeared on his face. "I think it's about time I said hello."   
~ 

Sakura opened her front door, breathless, and rushed into the kitchen, Li right behind her. "Dad!? Tory!?" 

As Sakura entered the kitchen she came to a dead stop, almost causing Li to ram straight into her back and send her flying toward the floor. Mr. Avalon looked up from the kitchen counter and smiled at Sakura, though he gave Li's ceremonial robes a curious glance. "Good morning, Sakura," he said cheerfully, "Did you need something?" 

Tory, meanwhile, had been sitting at the table. He was standing now and his gaze was riveted to Li. An intense frown making it's way onto his face, Tory asked, "What is HE doing here?" seeing the Chinese brat in his house sent his good mood flying out the window. And to make matters worse...the way the Kid was dressed, and the disheveled appearance of Sakura's clothing, suggested that she might have been off on some 'Cardcaptoring' business...which did not sit well with him at all. 

Mr. Avalon threw Tory an admonishing look, "Now, Tory, is that anyway to treat someone?" 

Tory immediately lowered his head, contrite, "Sorry, Dad," but he continued to glare at Li. 

Li, determining that everything was back to normal with Sakura's family, backed out of the kitchen, "Um...well...you're home now, Sakura, so I think I'll get going. Bye!" and leaving an open-mouthed Sakura in the kitchen doorway, Li got himself out of there...even after all these years, that black look from Tory was enough to intimidate him. 

After blinking a few times, Sakura turned back to her father, smiled, and said, "I'll be in my room if you need me." she sent one last look in Tory's direction which meant, 'Stop scaring Li!' and ran up the stairs. 

After opening and closing her door, and before she could call out, Sakura was assaulted by a little yellow fluff ball. "WHERE...have you been!?" Kero's little beady eyes were filled with worry. "Do you have any idea what's just happened!? I sensed a Forgotten!!" 

Rolling her eyes, Sakura walked towards her closet for a change of clothes, not saying anything at first and almost sending Kero into a fit...not that he hasn't already achieved that state all by himself. "I know, Kero. I've sealed it already." 

To say Kero was shocked was an understatement. "What!?! Wha'...you...why didn't you come get me?!" 

Sakura turned to look at her guardian, her eyebrow raised. "Well...you were a little...preoccupied at the time." seeing that Kero obviously needed more, Sakura explained, "The card was Despair, and she'd managed to put a spell on you, Dad, and Tory. Trust me...there was no moving you from your drawer." 

Kero frowned, annoyed but concerned, "But...you sealed her, didn't you?" he asked anxiously. 

Sakura was quick to reassure him. "Of course I did, Kero." Sakura pulled out Despair so Kero could see her. "Don't worry about it." she put the card away. "Li helped me." she added as an afterthought. 

Kero wrinkled his nose. Then he shook his head, "Well...you knew he had to have been good for something." 

Sakura glared at him. Going back to her closet, she began pulling out clothes. "First my brother, now you...what does everyone have against Li? I don't understand why you guys don't like him." she began undressing. 

"Well..." Kero mused, "It could be because he's obnoxious, arrogant, difficult to get along with, he tried to beat you up the first day he met you, he's conceited..." 

"Kero..." Sakura warned from inside her shirt. 

"...or maybe he just has a sign glued to his forehead that says, 'I'm a Chinese brat and I'm temperamental' " 

Done changing, Sakura gave Kero an insufferable look and proclaimed, "I give up...it's impossible. The three of you are all like oil and water...you'll never mix." 

Kero relented...a bit, "I just don't see how you can like him so much." Kero explained, "Besides," he added under his breath, "I don't like the way he looks at you." 

Sakura put her index finger to her chin and pretended to consider, "Hmm...he's honest, determined, dependable, a good friend, and knows what he wants out of life..." he makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, he makes me feel safe, and I think I love him. Sakura smiled inwardly...if those weren't good reasons, she didn't know what were. 

Kero shrugged, ready to let the subject drop...for now. Moving onto another topic that he's been wanting to take care of, Kero said, "So when are we going to start your training?" 

Sakura frowned, "What training?" 

Kero rolled his eyes, exasperated, " 'What training?' she asks. Your Magical training." he stressed. 

Sakura smiled sheepishly. "It's just...I'm so unused to this...I keep forgetting that I HAVE any Magic abilities now." 

Kero waved his hand in a shooing motion, "No matter...so when would you like to start?" he asked eagerly. 

Sakura looked upon Kero with a smile...it seemed he was even more eager to do this than she was...and that was saying something. "I don't know...I'm not doing anything right now." 

Kero rubbed his hands together gleefully, a grin tugging at his mouth. "Wonderful! Of course...I'll have to be in my true form before I'll be able to REALLY teach you anything...and that won't happen until all the Four Brothers have been captured. But that's only a minor setback." Kero frowned, "Of course...Yue will want to be here...he could teach you what I can't yet...so we'll need to be in a secluded spot then. I'll contact him." Kero closed his eyes and proceeded to do just that. 

Sakura stood there and stared, her mind trying to comprehend everything that had just came out of Kero's mouth a mile a minute. Obviously, Sakura mused, if she wasn't the one here who had the Magic ability that needed training, she didn't think Kero would need her at all. 

The aforementioned guardian opened his eyes. "I've contacted Yue. He'll meet us at the school as soon as he can get Julian away from his work." flying toward the door, Kero said impatiently, "Well, come on!" 

Sakura laughed, "Hang on there just one second. I have to call Madison...if she found out I went somewhere that involved Magic and didn't tell her first...she'd kill me. And aren't you forgetting something?" Kero gave her a blank look. Sakura sighed good-naturally. "You can't exactly go whizzing down the stairs...my Dad might see you." 

Sakura headed for her phone. Dialing Madison's number she waited. 

After much ear piercing squeals on the other end of the line and excited chatter, Sakura finally managed to get Madison off the phone by reminding her that she'll miss the taping of this if she doesn't get a move on...Madison hung up before Sakura had managed to finish that. 

She called Li next, who was very happy to learn that Sakura planned on continuing her Magic training without Rage. He said he'd meet her at the school as soon as possible...he wouldn't miss this for the world. 

"Okay, Kero, let's go." 

Sakura grabbed him and put him in a little bag which she decided to bring along at the last moment for him...on account of the fact that she didn't have any pockets for Kero this time. "Dad, I'm going out with Madison, okay? I'll be back later." Sakura said, making a pit stop in the kitchen. 

"All right, honey," Mr. Avalon said easily enough. 

Tory, however, wasn't as compliant. One look at the round ball of yellow sticking out of Sakura's back pack and Tory knew something was up. "I'll go with you." he announced suddenly, startling Sakura. 

Sakura stared at him. It was obvious by the determination in his eyes that he knew whatever she was doing was cardcaptor related. She wanted to tell him not to come, just in case something happened, but, that wouldn't be fair to him...not after all these years of secrecy about it. 

"Okay, Tory." she said simply. She turned around and headed out the front door. 

Tory stood still a moment, surprised Sakura had said yes so easily. He soon shook himself though, and followed after her. Catching up to her on the sidewalk, he asked, "So where are we going?" 

"To the school." Sakura glanced sideways at him. "I'm going to get Kero and Yue to help me learn how to use my Magic. Do you remember who Yue is? He's the one that looks like an angel, remember? I know you remember Kero." 

Tory frowned slightly, "Yes...I remember him, how could I not? But..." Tory trailed off, thinking. 

Sakura looked up at him curiously. "But what?" 

Tory looked down at his sister with a rueful smile, "This is going to sound weird, but, that...Yue...reminds me of Julian." when Sakura's gaze immediately slid away from his with a guilty expression on her face, Tory narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you must be joking." 

It was Sakura's turn to frown. "Yue and Julian...are one. They're two, spirits, I guess, sharing the same body. Through Magic, Yue can transform into his true form. Julian doesn't know about Yue, though, so you mustn't tell him." Sakura warned. "I don't know how Julian would handle it." 

Tory sighed explosively. "God...is everyone close to us somehow involved in Magic?" Tory shook his head. "Why Julian? He's the gentlest person I know...he doesn't need this." 

"Which is precisely why you mustn't tell him." Sakura repeated firmly. 

Tory agreed reluctantly...keeping secrets from Julian, whom Tory was sure would never keep any secrets from anyone, felt wrong. 

After a few moments of silence, Tory asked, "What do you think you'll learn from them?" 

Sakura considered, but then had to shrug her shoulders. "I'm not really sure." she smiled, "Although, I have this book I got from Clow Reed that has some pretty interesting spells in it that I wouldn't mind learning. Especially this one..." Sakura trailed off, thinking of the fireball spell that she had discussed with Clow Reed. 

They arrived at the school not long after. Madison greeted them cheerily from the fence just outside the school...Yue was nowhere in sight. 

"Hey! I thought you guys would NEVER get here." Madison teased. She kept sending 'covert' glances up at Tory which had Sakura rolling her eyes because they were so NOT covert. 

"Well...we can only walk so fast." Sakura replied dryly. Looking around her anxiously, Sakura said, "Okay, Kero, you can come out now." no one was about, with school hours over...who wanted to be on school property after school anyway? 

Kero came flying out of her bag, breathing in huge gulps of air. "I think I'm claustrophobic! I must be...there's no other explanation as to why I HATE being confined." he caught Tory eying him suspiciously and Kero put his hands on his hips. "And just what are YOU looking at?" he asked saucily. 

Tory blinked. Then, ever so slowly, he smiled... "I'm looking at an oversized stuffed animal." 

Sakura put her hand over her eyes. That had NOT been the right thing to say. She couldn't look...she wouldn't look...Sakura took a small peek and was just in time to see Kero turn an alarming shade of purple. Then...the memory of what used to happen to Li when he called Kero a stuffed animal popped into her head and... 

"OW!!" Tory yelled, shaking his hand desperately, trying to dislodge Kero's teeth from his finger, obviously in much pain. Kero clung on like a pit bull. 

"Who are you calling a stuffed animal?!?" Kero demanded around Tory's finger. "If you could only see me in my TRUE form!" 

"Kero," Sakura sighed, shaking her head. She said the only thing she thought would distract him from his target, "We can't start my instruction if you're attached to my brother's finger." 

Kero let go all of a sudden and flew back towards Sakura, glaring at Tory. Tory took the opportunity to snatch his hand against his chest and cradle it protectively with his other hand, his glare just as fierce as Kero's. He turned his gaze to Sakura and demanded, "He's YOUR Guardian, isn't he? Doesn't that mean he's supposed to LISTEN to you? Why didn't you stop him?" 

Sakura let out a huff of laughter, she couldn't help it. "Kero? LISTEN to me? Not when he doesn't want to or thinks I'm wrong. As for your 'unfortunate' accident there..." Sakura smirked. Turning around and heading for the open gate that led into school grounds, she finished, "You brought it on yourself." 

Sputtering, Tory followed after her. Madison kept sending him sympathetic, but amused glances. She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but, she was still too shy where Tory was concerned. 

Sakura headed for the track field. She figured she might need space for her Magic training, and the track field was about as much space as you could ever want. Kero floated on ahead of her, oblivious to all but his plans, rambling on and on about Sakura's first lesson. Sakura sighed patiently, listening to Kero politely...though, she had to admit...on the inside, she was just as excited as Kero was. 

Stopping on the grass on little hill just beside the track, Sakura turned around to watch Madison and Tory as they trailed behind. She smiled slightly, thinking that those two really were cute together. They were still shy...obviously...they weren't doing more than exchanging little tidbits of conversation between each other. Sakura hoped those two could get over their inhibitions and get crackin'. 

Sakura wrinkled her nose at her choice of wording, and turned back around. As she did so, she thought she caught some...thing...in the air. She froze, trying to figure out what was bothering her. It had, for the briefest moment, almost felt like a Clow card...but because she didn't sense anything now, Sakura dismissed the thought, albeit reluctantly. She looked out across the track, but she couldn't quite get rid of the feeling that something was OFF about the surrounding area that just hadn't been before. 

"Sakura!" 

Sakura turned her head to see Li racing across the field towards her. Smiling, she waited until he reached her. 

Puffing slightly, he grinned at her. "I got here as soon as I could." he informed her. 

Sakura laughed. "I see that." by now, Madison and Tory had reached her as well, and Sakura couldn't help but notice how Tory was glaring at Li. 

Trying to ignore that look, Sakura focused her attention back on Li. He was wearing a regular, loose T-shirt with Dragons and Chinese letters emblazoned on it. He had on black, loose fitting pants that clung low to his hips but puffed out a bit near his ankles. Sakura gave him a thorough, yet discrete, perusal. She'd never actually seen Li dress this way before. He looked calm, and relaxed. His tousled hair, which was never NOT tousled, just added to the effect. Sakura decided she liked seeing a care-free Li...it only made him seem more endearing. 

Li, not quite understanding why Sakura had just been standing there staring at him, asked, "Is there something wrong, Sakura?" 

Sakura shook her head and got her mind back out of the clouds. Smiling, she said too brightly, "Everything's fine!" giving herself time to compose herself, she abruptly sat down on the grass. After everyone else followed suit, except Kero who continued to float by her head, Sakura said to Li, "We can't really start yet...Yue isn't here." 

Li smirked at Kero. "What...? The stuffed animal isn't good enough to teach you himself?" he questioned. 

Kero puffed up to twice his size in outrage...much like a cat. "For your information, KID, I'm perfectly capable of teaching Sakura myself, only, I need to be in my True form to be able to do so." 

Li snorted. "Whatever." 

Tory eyed them both carefully. Leaning over towards Sakura, he whispered, "When I call him a stuffed animal, I get bitten. When the Chinese brat calls him a stuffed animal, he gets verbally abused. Frankly, I don't think it's fair." 

Sakura smiled. "Kero and Li have a sort of...working relationship. Li's called him a stuffed animal so many times, and Kero's called him Chinese brat so many times, that they've just...gotten used to each other, I think. Besides..." Sakura whispered confidentially, "It's my secret, personal opinion that they really like each other. But don't EVER let them hear that I said that or I'm DEAD." Sakura proclaimed gravely. 

"Yue's coming." Kero said just then. 

Everyone's eyes turned skyward. Just as Kero said, there was Yue, still quite a ways off, but with the momentum of his large wings, it took him next to no time to reach the group. Landing, he folded his wings neatly behind him. Even though he could make his wings vanish whenever he wished, Yue didn't particularly like going around without them. it was like getting rid of both his arms when he vanished his wings. In this case, though, he thought it might be prudent if he did...they had some serious tutoring to do, and Yue didn't want them to inadvertently get in the way. 

Vanishing his wings, much to Tory's wide-eyed amazement, Yue sat down gingerly on the ground. Nodding his head in greeting, he said, "Kero Beros, Mistress." shifting around, uncomfortable on the ground, Yue continued, "We should begin immediately." 

Kero nodded his head slowly. "Of course, of course..." pausing, he thought about something. "I'll dictate, Yue, you do." he instructed, not bothering to ask first, which didn't really matter because Yue was already nodding his head in agreement before Kero finished speaking, "We should start with the basics first, low level Magic, that should also be connected with the Clow cards. That way, Sakura will have an easier time with it." 

"First, I want you to clear your mind, Sakura. I want you to think of absolutely nothing. Once you have achieved this, I want you to reach for the cards, try to connect with them...much like Rage instructed you to do before." Kero grumbled the last bit. 

Nodding, Sakura closed her eyes. Once she had cleared her head of any and all thoughts, Sakura reached for her Clow cards. The sense, the feel of them came easily enough...it should....she'd done this before. But beyond the unique sensation of the feel of the cards inside her head...there was nothing else. No slight tingling in the back of her mind that was supposed to represent her Magic. Normally...this would dismay her...but as things stood now, Sakura preferred to think positively. After all, Clow Reed himself had cleared up the little problem with the block in her Magic abilities...Sakura just figured it would take time, and many lessons from Kero and Yue, before she'd be able to get the feel of that elusive presence Rage had hinted at. 

"Okay," she whispered, somehow feeling like if she spoke too loudly, she'd ruin the moment. "I'm ready." 

Kero nodded. "Can you sense the Magic inside of you?" when Sakura shook her head, Kero nodded again. "Okay...I didn't expect you to just take to this right away. It takes practice. Yue...?" 

The rest of the group watched as Yue got up and then settled himself back down cross-legged right across from Sakura so that his knees almost touched hers. Tory watched him closely, wondering what he was going to do. He didn't particularly trust this angel, how could he? he didn't know anything about Yue. Even though he felt less than sure about Yue, he did, however, find it a bit odd...Yue was Julian after all, and the idea that Julian was untrustworthy was just incomprehensible to Tory. Those two feelings warred within Tory until he wasn't quite sure what to think. 

Sakura could feel Yue when sat down in front of her. She didn't know what was going on or what was going to happen, her eyes still closed, but it appeared Kero knew what he was doing. 

In an almost business-like manner, Kero said, "Now, Sakura, since you have never had direct experience with your Magical core, it would be extremely difficult for you to just tap into it, especially at such an old age..." 

Sakura frowned. "Who are you calling 'old?' " 

Kero ignored her. "Because you are not as young as you would normally have to be to undergo teachings, Yue will help you try and find your 'center.' " Kero looked at Yue. He raised his hands, palms toward Sakura and waited. "Sakura, I want you to raise your arms and hold your palms out towards Yue until both your hands touch." 

Sakura nodded and extended her hands. When she stopped their forward momentum about a centimetre from Yue's hands looking uncertain, Yue brought his own hands forward until their hands were touching from palms to fingertips. Sakura started at the unexpected contact but relaxed soon enough. 

"Good," Kero commented, watching them. "Now, like I said, Yue is going to help you Sakura. Since you most likely won't have much luck channeling your own Magic yourself, you're going to channel it through Yue." 

Sakura's eyebrows rose. "What?" she asked skeptically. 

"Yue is going to raise his energy. While you're connected to him, you should be able to not only sense it rise, but feel it rise through him. While that's happening, Yue is going to draw you into him...sort of like...pulling your spirit out of your body and into his. Don't worry, though!" Kero quickly assured as Sakura looked distinctly uneasy. "You'll still be in your own body... just...connected to Yue. Do you understand what I am telling you?" Kero asked uncertainly. 

Sakura nodded slowly. "I think so, but, what am I going to have to do, here, Kero? I have no idea what I'm doing!" she almost wailed. 

Tory looked into the face of his distressed sister and started, "I don't think you should continue whatever it is you're doing. You could be hurt, Sakura..." 

Kero sent a silencing look in Tory's direction, but it was mild, knowing that Tory was only concerned for Sakura. "Don't worry, Sakura, just sit still and blank your mind. Yue will do all the work." at this last, Kero winked at Yue. The corners of Yue's mouth picked up, but Sakura didn't see it. 

Vanishing his smile, Yue closed his own eyes. Tory, Madison, and Li looked on anxiously, not knowing exactly what they were waiting to see. When the light lift and fall of Yue's chest seemed to still, like he'd stopped breathing, the others exchanged uneasy glances. They looked at Kero for an explanation but he appeared calm and didn't look like he was about to explain anything. That was when Sakura's chest stopped moving as well. 

The group sat in complete silence for what seemed like forever, just waiting to see some sign of life from either Guardian, or Mistress. It came not too long after... 

"Whoa..." Sakura breathed. And that was it. Li, Madison, and Tory were left guessing. 

Sakura had been sitting still, trying not to think of anything, just as Kero had instructed, when suddenly, just like that, Yue was THERE. It was like...having the wind knocked out of Sakura. One minute, she could feel him physically, the next...she could feel him inside her HEAD. Not only that...it felt like she was a part of him as well. 

Sakura started to pull her hands away from Yue's, uncertain, but Yue laced his fingers through hers and wouldn't let her pull back. "Wait." he whispered. 

Sakura stilled. She was still uneasy, but she trusted Yue, so she relaxed as best as she could. 

Being like this was...Sakura struggled to find a way to describe this to herself. It felt as if she and Yue were one, like their souls had merged into one another. It was a unique feeling...but also quite intimate...which was what had Sakura freaking out. She could feel what Yue was feeling, almost like, she could read his thoughts...but not quite. It was like she was inside Yue's skin...but still in her own. She could feel her own hands against Yue's, but from the wrong body. She could feel Yue's wings rustle behind him as if they were her own; it was a novel experience. She wondered what Yue was experiencing. 

It took her a while, but Sakura managed to relax completely. The intimacy, the closeness, still bothered her, but, whereas she had been nervous before, now she just felt silly about her reaction. This was Yue after all...her friend, her Guardian....what did she have to be worried about? 

Yue's fingers tightened around hers and Sakura felt her hands giving under the pressure. "Mistress?" 

It took her a moment to distinguish who's hands were who's, and another moment to figure out how to get her body to work again before she was able to squeeze Yue's hands back in reassurance and murmur, "I'm here." 

"I'm going to raise my energy now, Mistress. I want you to try and follow it as it happens. I want you to try and feel my Magical core in my mind so that you will have an idea of what it feels like and what it feels like to reach it." Yue paused. "Are you ready?" 

Sakura bit her lip nervously but nodded. "About as ready as I'm ever going to be." 

In the next instant, Sakura's breath was swept away along with her mind. Not only could she feel Yue's energy slowly rising, but it felt like she was rising with him...it was a double whammy and doubly strong. She also noticed that, along with Yue's energy spike, she could feel something else in the back of his mind. It wasn't as noticeable as his energy level, but it was steady and pulsing, and very strong. 

Curious, Sakura crept farther into Yue's mind, trying to seek out the source of the pulsing. When she found it, Sakura wondered if she hadn't opened her eyes and looked straight into the sun. Behind her eyelids, Sakura suddenly saw a white, almost blinding light in the shape of a ball that looked like it had almost no substance to it but the white radiance. 

Once the initial surprise was somewhat dulled, Sakura couldn't help but stare at the glowing orb. This must be what Rage and Kero had been talking about...this must be Yue's Magic. Sakura longed to reach out and touch it, but had an uneasy feeling that if she did, she would be burned. 

"I never thought..." she started quietly, but quickly stopped as something flashed through her mind, making her tense. 

Yue, the only one aware of Sakura's predicament, questioned, "Mistress?" 

Sakura didn't reply for a long time, just sat there and reached out through her own senses and using Yue's as an added bonus, though she couldn't explain how. Finally, she said, "We're being watched." this statement caused Kero, Li, Madison, and Tory to look about them uneasily...Li suddenly wished he had brought his sword. A moment after that announcement, Sakura hissed, "It's one of the Forgotten!" 

As Sakura attempted to disengage her fingers from Yue's and get out her Clow wand, Yue's fingers tightened brutally over hers as he pulled her back down. "No! We must first separate spiritually first. If we do not, one or both of our spirits could be lost forever. Or, one of us might get stuck in the other's body." 

Sakura needed no more warning. A moment later, it felt like she was literally being 'pushed' out of Yue's mind and back into her own. As soon as all feeling, other than the physical, of Yue vanished, he let Sakura go and stood up, spreading his wings and looking for the card. 

Sakura stood up herself, though her legs were a bit wobbly. Pulling out the Key of Clow, she murmured, "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic, Power of Light! Surrender the Wand, the Force ignite! Release!" after twirling the wand in her hands, like in the old days, Sakura brought it down in front of her and waited. 

The others had all scrambled to their feet by now. Li, a fire spell in his hands, glanced towards Tory and said dryly, "Now you'll get to see your first card capture." 

Tory was too busy searching the school grounds to reply. 

After a few moments of stillness, Kero looked at Sakura and asked, "Are you sure you sensed a Forgotten, Sakura?" 

Sakura glanced in his direction. "Of course I did! Didn't you?" 

Kero shook his head. "I didn't." he looked at Yue and Li. They both shook their heads as well. "and Yue and the Kid didn't either." 

Sakura straightened defensively. "I know what I sensed!" something caught Sakura's attention. "Look! What's that?" she pointed towards the school gates and everyone turned to look. 

Something was moving in the grass near the gate entrance to the school. After watching it for a moment, it became apparent it was moving towards the group...very rapidly. When it got close enough to be seen clearly, Madison shrieked, "Oh, my God! It's a giant snake!!" 

And it was that, indeed. The snake was at least three times as big as any snake had a right to be. As it made it's way towards them, it bared it fangs in a feral smile and it's tongue slithered out in a hiss as it issued a challenge. It was nearly upon them. 

Before Sakura had a chance to do anything, Yue scooped her up in his arms and took off into the air like a bullet. Kero followed closely behind. Li put his Fire spell away and took out a Wind spell, "Element! Wind!" a strong gale of wind appeared and swept Li, Tory, and Madison out of harms way just as the snake pounced and struck. As it collided with nothing but ground, it hissed angrily and glared up at Sakura and group. 

Sakura, still in Yue's grip, fought to free both her hands. As she did so, Yue lost purchase and almost dropped her, his arms sliding around her waist to keep her in the air. Meanwhile, Sakura had grabbed a Clow card out of her pocket and threw it into the air. Bringing back the wand, she yelled, "Firey card! Release and dispel! Firey!" 

Firey exploded out of the card and streaked towards the snake. The snake did not try to evade Firey, but continued to stay where it was. As Firey reached it and passed through the snake, it's intent to burn it to a cinder, Firey passed through...nothing. 

Surprised and confused, Sakura called an equally confused Firey back. "What...?" she began. 

"An illusion." Kero breathed. 

"Ah ha! Very good Kero Beros. You were always very observant." a voice said below them. 

Everyone looked down to see a man dressed in light blue robes staring up at them, amused. 

Kero and Yue both said in unison, "Fear." 

Fear tilted his head to the side and looked at them quizzically. "Isn't it tiring floating about up there? Why don't you come down?" At that moment, two huge, vampire bats appeared in the air and dived towards them. 

Li, startled, let the Wind spell go and almost sent Madison, Tory and him tumbling to the ground. At the last moment, he called the spell back and set them down as gently as possible. Kero and Yue, with Sakura, headed towards the ground as well, but they didn't appear to be afraid or in a hurry. 

As soon as Yue touched down, the bats disappeared. Kero floated over to Sakura and began talking, "Listen, Sakura, those two bats and the snake we saw, were all illusions. Fear's powers lay in illusion. Whatever you see is not true. He uses deception and trickery to distract you and then kill you. Just remember...whatever you see isn't real." Kero stressed the last two words. 

Fear, who did appear to be weaponless, said, "Oh, do come now, Kero Beros, you take all the fun out of this, making me appear weak." he paused a moment and appeared to be thinking about something. "I heard the most interesting story from Disease who heard it from Hate who heard it from Rage...I heard that this young lady, here, is the descendant of Clow Reed...is this true?" 

Sakura, shrugging out of Yue's arms, appeared nonchalant. "Yes, I'm Clow Reed's descendant." at the look Kero gave her, she shrugged. "What? They were all going to find out eventually. Besides, he already knew." 

"Ah, so it is true. Well...this is certainly interesting. I had planned on a confrontation with Clow Reed himself...but I suppose you'll have to do." Fear said, taking a step forward. 

Sakura didn't move. She just stood and stared at him, which temporarily confused Fear. Finally, opening her mouth, she said, "You know...all of you keep saying how you want to kill Clow Reed yourselves...and yet...none of you ever TRIED to actually fight with him. At least...not until after he died. You know what I think? I think you're all afraid of him." 

Fear didn't appear angry, but his lips thinned. "I am not afraid of Clow Reed." he stated. 

Sakura arched an eyebrow. "Oh really? Then why don't you prove it? Unless you're afraid? Oh! but then...you ARE the Fear card." 

Fear pretended to consider. "What do you have in mind?" 

"Let those three go home, I'll keep Kero and Yue from interrupting, and we'll fight it out, one on one. Can't get any closer to an actual fight with Clow Reed than that, can you?" Kero and Yue began to protest, but Sakura shook her head at them silently. 

"Hmm.." smiling, Fear said, "No deal." thrusting his arms out, light blue energy streaked past Sakura and headed for Kero, Yue, and the others. 

Normally, Li would have easily deflected the energy with his sword, but he didn't have it with him. Pushing Tory and Madison ahead of him, he yelled, "Move!" and ran after them, trying to avoid the energy. However, the blue streaks were like heat seeking missiles, and Li soon found himself incased in a blue shield with Tory and Madison. 

Kero wasn't having much luck. Though he was small and hard to miss, the energy bolts were hard to avoid...and, not being in his true form, Kero didn't have any Magic strong enough at the moment to counter Fear's. Yue was busy sending ice shards into the energy bolts, freezing them. He flew through the air, as graceful and deadly as a Peregrine Falcon. He was handling the menace pretty well on his own. That was when he noticed Kero's predicament and tried to help him out. Taking advantage of Yue's distraction, Fear sent more energy bolts for him. Not seeing them until it was too late, Yue ended up becoming trapped inside one. It didn't take long to capture Kero. 

Turning from her friends and brother, Sakura glared uncertainly at Fear. Why hadn't he sent those same energy bolts after her? 

Smiling, Fear said, "No deal...but...I have another proposition. I do agree, fighting you one on one would be the closest thing to fighting Clow Reed himself now, but, I think I'll add something else into the mix." he gestured to Kero, Yue, and the rest. "We'll fight. If you win, you get to seal me and I'll release your friends. But if I win...I get to do what I like with you AND your friends. Deal?" 

Sakura's brain was working furiously, she tried not to let her nervousness show. From behind her, she heard Madison say, "Don't trust him, Sakura! He's not honourable...not like a certain other SOMEONE we all know." she stressed. 

Fear shook his head in mock exasperation. "Oh come now, you don't really have a choice. Your friends and protectors are trapped. If you refuse to fight me, I'll kill them now." 

"No! Wait...I'll fight you." Sakura said. She took a few steps towards Fear and stopped. "If one of them are hurt..." she warned. 

Fear only shrugged. "If we could begin now?" without waiting for an answer, he sent one of those bolts towards Sakura. This one was different, though, it had yellow streaks sizzling around the outside of it...if Sakura didn't know any better, she would have said that bolt was electrically charged. 

Diving out of the way, she was able to avoid the bolt, but, just like a hound on the scent, it turned around in midair and came streaking back towards Sakura. 

"Jump card!" Sakura cried. Little white wings appeared on her shoes and she took off into the air as the bolt passed by under her. It turned again and came streaking back. Sakura ducked out of the way. As the bolt passed her this time, closer than before, Sakura felt the air sizzle just like it would if it was positively charged. Sakura glanced at the bolt as it made to make another pass. It WAS electrical. 

As Sakura dodged it again, she thought about another encounter she'd had with electricity and a certain Thunder card. A plan forming, Sakura pulled out a Clow card. "Shadow card! Release and dispel! Shadow!" Shadow exploded out of the card and stood in front of Sakura. As the bolt went to go through Shadow, Shadow simply closed it's arms around the bolt and surrounded it, encasing it in darkness. When Sakura called Shadow back, there was nothing left of the bolt. 

Straightening herself up, Sakura summoned a smile, waved Shadow at Fear, and said, "Another round?" she was taunting him, she knew, but, if she could make Fear angry, he might make a mistake. Of course...he might also just kill her. 

Fear smiled slightly, but the look in his eyes suggested he was annoyed, and uneasy that Sakura had managed to defeat his lightening bolt. "Well...you've defeated my blue bolts. Very nice. But...while you have been doing that, take a look at what has become of your friends." Fear suggested, lifting his hand to point. 

Sakura turned and her mouth dropped open in horror. 

There were Yue, Tory, Li and Madison, still in the shields, but where their clothing before had been whole and clean, were now torn and stained. Stained, if Sakura's eyes weren't deceiving her, with blood. Yue's silver hair was matted with the stuff and everyone's faces seemed to be twisted in pain. And Kero...Sakura didn't even see Kero's small form. 

Sakura took a step toward her friends, her Clow wand detransforming into the Key, then another, the little wings on her shoes disappearing as she unconsciously called Jump back. She didn't know when or how this had happened...it must have been while she had been trying to avoid the blue lightening bolt. She hadn't been watching Fear then...and she should have been...   
~ 

Li watched as Sakura turned towards him and the others and saw the horrified look cross her face. Turning to Kero he asked, "What is she doing?" 

Kero was watching her also, and he replied sadly, "She's seeing an illusion created by Fear. What that would be I hesitate to think about." 

Sakura took a few steps in their direction, all her attention focused on them. Li watched Fear smile and, where there once were no weapons upon him, a ripple in his robes appeared and there was a short sword where there hadn't been one before... power of deception. Fear walked towards Sakura. "Sakura! Look out!" Li cried out, but, in vain. 

"She can't hear you, Kid...she can't hear you."   
~ 

Sakura would have taken another step forward, but there was a sharp edge against her throat all of the sudden. Freezing, Sakura looked to the right without moving her head and saw Fear's smiling face. "You weren't even a challenge. You could never hope to compare to Clow Reed. HE never would have let himself be distracted as you were. Because of your foolishness you and your friends are now dead." Fear said. The muscles in his arms tightened, ready to draw the blade against Sakura's throat and end her life. 

Just then, a commotion occurred that distracted Fear. Sakura and the Forgotten turned their eyes back to his blue shields in time to see Love appear out of thin air, and a pink afterglow, and say triumphantly, "Reinforcements have arrived!" he brought his sword down upon Fear's shields and there was a shower of sparks before the shield parted and dissolved under the Magicked blade. Love cut into the other shield and now Yue, Kero, Li and Madison and Tory were freed. 

Yue watched Fear with the blade to Sakura's throat and spread his wings, an ice shard appearing in his hand, Kero glared daggers, and Li pulled out a Fire spell. 

Seeing that he was now outnumbered, Fear pulled Sakura directly in front of him and gripped her arm with his free hand. He pressed the blade deeper into her flesh and caused a thin line of red to appear. "Make a single move in this direction, " he advised menacingly, "And I kill her." he turned his attention to Love, who was currently leaning on his sword with both hands and grinning. Narrowing his eyes, Fear asked, "What are you doing, Love? Have you lost your mind?" 

Love shrugged. Answering the second question first, he said, "Possibly...one never knows. As to what I'm doing, I'm setting these fine people here free." 

Fear looked at him incredulously. "**_Why?_**" 

Love looked over Fear's shoulder. "Because he asked me to." 

Before Fear could turn, a blade much larger than his was pressed into his throat. "Let her go." a deep voice demanded. 

Fear turned his head slightly and his eyes widened as, first, he caught a glimpse of white hair, and then a cold, cold face. "Rage! What...?" 

"Let her go, Fear," Rage cautioned quietly, his voice calm. "Or I'll start with your ankles and end at your neck, breaking every bone in-between." 

Even though Fear didn't understand Rage's reasoning, he knew that Rage wasn't on his side...which only confused him further. Not one to give up without a fight, Fear said, "Try it, and I'll kill her." 

Rage appeared to shrug. "Go ahead, I don't much care. But if you do, you WILL be dead. Besides...if I even see that blade move, Fear, I'll break your arm before you could get the chance to do any damage." 

"Look, Rage, if you wanted the girl for yourself, all you had to do was say so. There's no need to get violent." Fear reasoned. The only logical reason in his mind for Rage's behaviour was that Rage wanted to kill Sakura himself. 

Rage hadn't appeared to move, but a thin red line, like the one on Sakura's neck, appeared on Fear's. 

That was all the persuasion Fear had needed. Dropping his arm to his side, he let the short sword drop. He reluctantly released Sakura's arm. She stumbled away from him quickly and ran to the group. Tory opened his arms and she ran into them, grateful. 

Once Rage was certain Sakura was out of harms way, he stepped back from Fear, but kept the card in his sights. "Make one wrong move..." he warned. Stepping back, he moved toward Yue. Looking at Sakura, who was still in Tory's arms, he asked, "Are you all right?" when she nodded, he jerked his head toward Fear. "Seal him." 

Fear's eyes widened as Sakura stepped out of Tory's arms to do just that. Staring at Rage, comprehension dawned. "You're HELPING them." 

"Oh, Key of Clow..." 

"I won't be sealed again! I WON'T!!" Fear lifted his hand and pointed it at Sakura. 

"...Power of Magic..." 

Rage intercepted the bolt of blue lightening with his sword. 

"...Power of Light..." 

Yue sent an ice shard straight into Fear's short sword when he tried to retrieve it. 

"...Surrender the Wand..." 

Fear took one panicked look at Sakura's now raised arms and ran. 

"...the Force ignite! Release!" 

Rage sent a surge of liquid ice at Fear's legs and trapped him where he stood. 

"Fear! Return to your Power, confined! Fear card!" there was a flash of light and the Fear card floated towards Sakura's outstretched hand. 

Sakura put the Fear card away. All she wanted to do was go home right now and go to bed...or cry until she cried herself out. This was getting harder and harder...just the memory of the tortured expressions on her friends' faces made Sakura shudder. She was emotionally exhausted. 

There was an awkward moment of silence before Love suddenly said, "Well...bet you're all glad we came." 

Kero turned a 'look' in Love's direction before focusing on Rage. "Why DID you come?" 

Sakura's head snapped up at that. She suddenly remembered what the last thing she had spoken to Rage about. Had he come here to tell her he had forgiven Clow Reed after all?...she could hope. She saw the beginnings of a cautious smile appear on Yue's face. 

Everyone stared at Rage, waiting. Rage looked at Sakura for a long moment, then looked away. His gaze slid to Love. Love arched an eyebrow as if to say, 'What are you waiting for?' and winked. 

Rage turned back to Sakura, his face suddenly devoid of all emotion. "I have decided to take you up on your offer. I will join you in your quest to seal the rest of the cards." 

Sakura smiled gently at Rage, but couldn't help but notice the shocked look on everyone elses' faces...well...almost everyone. 

For the first time since she'd met Yue, she saw his face break out into a smile...somehow Yue had known all along that this would be the decision Rage would make. 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

First of all...I'd just like to say that I hope all the Magic stuff with Yue and Sakura wasn't too confusing. However...if you're REALLY lost...e-mail me your questions about it and I'll TRY to explain better...notice the word TRY :P 

Second...I KNOW this is really late...so I don't need you all telling me that in my reviews. I'll try to be consistent, but I DO have school to worry about now. I make no promises people. 

Third...ONLY FIVE MORE CARDS TO GO!!! ^_^ Five more cards to really introduce and then...?? Who knows? ~_^ Until then!! 


	27. AcceptedCh26

Cardcaptors26 By Maurynna 

Author's Note: Umm...I have NO idea what to tell you this time. ^_^ Just read. Oh, and one more thing...I am SO dedicating this chapter to CreatiStar! She's the best. Thank you for being so worried about me! :) You go, girl! 

AAAAAAIIIIIIIIYYYYYYAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT MY LITTLE REVIEWERS CORNER!! THAT I USUALLY PUT IN HERE!!!!!!! 

...Ehem...^.^a...why don't we get on with this...okay, SilverAngel ^_^ I just love you. Did you all know she thanked me for being a **_writer?_** That's just so...kawaii!! *sniffle* ^.^ Thanks! 

Kei-chan...I'm happy you find my poor dub fic good, I do try. And those translations from CardCaptor Sakura...you're right... they're bad. But the dubs of those that I've heard are different and don't sound so bad. ^_^ But that's just my opinion. I'm sorry to say I won't be writing Eriol into my fic. ^_^a...truth be told...I would have absolutely no idea what to do with him in this story, it's too much on it's way, the story too developed. It wouldn't fit. Maybe, **_maybe_**, if I write another Cardcaptor fic, I'll put him in, but only if I can find a good place for him. I'm glad you like what I've done with my characters. ^_^ Thanks for that. And you know what? I just might take you up on your offer, I sure would like to see those episodes...I really do prefer subs over dubs...:p dubs just sound REALLY bad sometimes. Also, I'd love to keep in touch with you, but I should warn you, I never have time for anything, and I'm really lazy with e-mails. ^.^ So...you be the judge. I don't want to disappoint you. 

Thank you a.n.g.e.l. !_! *sniffle* she's like what I've done with Rage. That meant a lot. 

Don't even worry about it CreatiStar, I'm not angry with you over your name...why would I be? *genuinely confused* it's your name, you can do what you like with it. Though...I do like CreatiStar better! ^_^ Toronto Trek went VERY well. Saw the anime NightWalker for the first time...damn...I love that show. And I also saw Master of Mosquiton. Hi~larious!! ^_^ But... the ending pissed me off. *grr* If you haven't seen it then I won't spoil it by telling you why. *mumble* *mumble* I thank you again for worrying about me ^_^ You rock. Oh, about Saiyan Pain...um...I hate to say this...but there's probably a 95% chance I'll trash it. :( I just don't see anything happening with it. (plus I think it's really bad :P) But! If I do get a picture in my head for that fic, I might consider doing something with it. *really big grin* THANK you for reading it. I appreciate it. 

I would also like to thank everyone. You all rock and I love all your reviews. ^.^ Thank you! 

On a last note...I'm very sorry about the lack of romance in this fic. You don't know how much because I LOVE romance fics, but, I can't seem to write it very well. :( I know you're all angry that Sakura and Li seem like they're never going to get together, but please, please be patient. It will happen, I've got the whole thing planned out in my head, I just haven't gotten there yet. I'm really sorry. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

Warning: Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, Insanity, Despair, Fear and Magic belong to ME. I will list the other Forgotten as they appear in the chapters. ^_^ So keep an eye on this paragraph. 

**Cardcaptors: Accepted-Ch.26**

"You...WHAT?!?" Kero asked incredulously. Sakura looked at him worriedly...if his eyes got any bigger in his head, Sakura thought they just might fall out. 

Rage gave kero an infinitely patient expression and said again, "I have come to join you." 

"No!" Li said suddenly, unexpectedly, making several heads turn in his direction. He ignored them. "This has got to be some sort of trick! You can't trust him." Li continued, a queer look in his eyes. 

Love eyed him with what almost looked like pity, but wasn't of course, and said just loud enough for Li and Rage to hear, "What Insanity did to you was inexcusable, but you mustn't blame Rage for your little problems." 

Li remained stubbornly silent. 

Sakura didn't know what Love had said to Li, but she knew that he needed some reassurance right about now, "Guys, I have something to tell all of you." she said hesitantly. She looked at Rage for permission. He shrugged his shoulders indicating there wasn't really a choice now. She looked to Yue next. He gave her an encouraging expression. Looking at the rest of them, Sakura saw she had their complete attention. Taking a deep breath, Sakura said, "Rage...isn't our enemy," Sakura winced at that completely vague, STUPID, sentence. 

"That's funny," Tory started, "I'm not completely in on this yet, but I thought he was the bad guy?" he asked, jerking his chin in Rage's direction. 

Trying again, Sakura said, "There's something all of you don't know about Rage...and Clow Reed." 

If anyone hadn't been listening before...they were now. 

Kero flew towards her, "What has this got to do with Clow Reed?" 

"Well...everything, if you think about it." Love replied. When Kero glared at him he grinned. 

"Okay...I think everyone should sit down." Sakura started, doing just that. When everyone but Rage, Love, and Yue were seated, Sakura continued, "You didn't know about this Kero, but Rage and Clow Reed were...um...friends, I'm not sure I can use that term. Anyways...Rage had never betrayed Clow Reed in the first place, he'd stayed on and helped Clow Reed secretly in trying to defeat the rest of the Forgotten..." 

As Sakura related the tale for the card captor group, with occasional interruptions from Rage and Yue, there were varying degrees of emotion from everyone. Tory knew just how important Clow Reed was, Madison had explained practically the entire history of the cards to him, and he knew how powerful Rage was, he'd seen that first hand, so he knew that if Rage joined with Sakura, that would definitely be a point in their favour. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn't have to worry   
about Rage coming after his sister anymore. In his opinion...this was a good thing. 

Madison's expression was carefully controlled, but she was excited on the inside. She wouldn't admit this when Kero and Li were around, but she kind of likes Rage. Besides, if they had Rage actively fighting with them, Sakura would be better protected against the Forgotten...not that Kero and Li weren't adequate protection...it's just that...well...face it, if Kero can't transform yet, he's pretty much useless when it comes to physical and Magical strength. And Li...Madison glanced nervously at him, as if he could read her thoughts...Li just wasn't in the Forgotten's league. 

Li's face was also controlled, though, unlike Madison, the emotions bursting inside him were not ones of happiness. He was furious. To even THINK about letting one of the Forgotten...TWO of them to boot, into the group, two sources that could easily turn on Sakura. Li's gaze turned inward, tracing down paths only he could see. He remembered the images that Insanity had sent him...the terrible images of Sakura dead or dying...what if those actually were visions about the future?   
What if...by letting these two into the group...it sealed Sakura's fate? With effort, Li pulled out of his trance and made an effort to listen to what was going on. He would do his best to try and talk Sakura out of even thinking about letting those two in, but, if she DID decide it was best...he wouldn't argue with her. As much as he wanted to protect her, he couldn't tell her what to do, that would be the same as controlling her...and he would never do that to her. 

As Kero listened to Sakura tell her tale, he just kept getting more and more shocked. Especially when YUE backed up her story...he had KNOWN. Like Li, he didn't particularly trust Rage, but if Clow Reed had trusted him...Kero didn't know what to think anymore. Sure, it had become obvious lately that Rage didn't seem to be posing a threat to Sakura, that he actually seemed to HELP her sometimes, but why, exactly, was that so? Was it because he'd actually been on Clow Reed's side before? Or was there something else...? 

Love watched everyone else with a critical eye. He knew exactly what their responses would be...they wouldn't want Rage, or him for that matter, anywhere near them with a ten foot pole. However, with the support of Sakura and Yue on Rage's side...they might just get lucky. Love hoped they did except Rage and himself, because he knew that Rage would fight, not literally, them if they didn't. Besides, he wanted Rage to actually get something HE wanted for once. Love shrugged mentally and grinned. Sure, he'd mentioned before that he'd go where Rage did, but this wasn't ENTIRELY about him...though most of it was. Love could admit that he wasn't exactly what you'd call a violent person. In fact, he avoided violence whenever he could. When the other Forgotten had split, Love had gone off alone, no plans to destroy Clow Reed or take over the world...he just wanted to settle back and enjoy life. Heh, Love mused, must be in my nature. So, that was exactly what he'd done. He had disapproved of what the others had planned to do, it was pointless, really. Why kill so many when everyone could get along? _Geez, I'm starting to sound like a pacifist_, Love snorted. Rage glanced questioningly at him and Love grinned back and rolled his eyes. Rage turned his attention back to the others. 

So... what was he doing with Rage, then, if he hated violence so much? Well...there's the obvious reason, of course. He loved him. And then, there was the fact that Rage was...different...from the other cards. Love actually felt that he could relate to Rage in some way or another, though he hasn't exactly figured out which way that is, yet. However, all of this started way back in a tavern centuries before, the first time he'd met Rage. 

~`~Flashback~`~ 

He remembered it vividly, how could one forget the day you'd first set your eyes on your soulmate...he hoped Rage never found out that's how he thought of him. It had been a very nice, dreary, rainy day. Love grimaced. Okay...so it hadn't been a particularly nice day outside that day...but what happened later made up for that. He had been carousing, as usual, in the town's local tavern. You'd think that would be a good thing. Normally, it would have been...except that, this time, he had   
given up on carousing for good. He'd just had a nice encounter with a buxom red head and felt satisfied after their lovemaking...but that didn't last long. He felt satisfaction...but he also felt remarkably empty. He's felt like slamming his fist down upon the counter of the tavern in sheer frustration...and he would have, too...if he hadn't been sure he wouldn't have broken it. Again, after countless centuries and countless women, he'd missed out on love again. He remembered wanting to laugh hysterically then...him, the Love card, unable to find the one person on the entire planet whom was meant to love him. Well...that was fine. It had been too long, too much, he couldn't take this endless search any longer. He was going to give up. 

He didn't know exactly what would become of himself, maybe he'd find a way to ease his terrible loneliness by finally figuring out how to kill himself. Anyways, he didn't know what would become of him, but he knew what was going to happen to him right now...he had a plan. A few dozen bottles of liquor, and he'd be pleasantly drunk, and blissfully numb. Maybe...if he was drunk enough, he'd be unable to feel the vast emptiness that was eating at his soul. 

As he went to raise his hand to call the tavern owner over to pour him a shot, he sensed something he hadn't sensed in a long time. Freezing, his arm half raised, Love was filled with a feeling of dread. _No...not here...not now. I've tried so hard to avoid them!_ There was another card here, just outside. He fervently hoped he/she wouldn't come in here. He knew he could hold his own against another card, but he had no desire to do so...couldn't they damn well leave him alone in his own   
depression?! But apparently, whatever sort of God, Fate, whatever the hell you wanted to call it, up there wasn't listening to his pleas. He heard the door open behind him and felt the card enter the tavern and pause. 

Love hunched down in his robes, hoping to go unnoticed. He hid his energy from the other card but had the feeling that he'd already been sensed; he sensed the card after all. Well, that was fine. Love casually placed his hand on his short sword though he didn't really know how to use it; he'd never been interested in weapons. At least the other would have a difficult time locating him. 

After looking around the tavern for what seemed like an interminable amount of time, the card moved forward. He didn't sit at one of the tables, he ignored the whores that beckoned to him and sent him sultry glances, and came right over to the bar and sat down next to Love. Coincidence? Don't be a fool. He motioned for the tavern owner, but didn't say a word. After receiving a glass of God knows what, he just sat there, not saying a word. The situation remained like that for what seemed like hours and Love couldn't take it anymore, he never was one for quiet. 

Very casually, Love turned his head in the direction of the other, hoping his slight movement would go unnoticed...he couldn't be that lucky, of course. As soon as he turned, he found himself staring into the bluest eyes he'd ever seen in his life, not to mention the coldest, though he didn't particularly care about cold at the moment. The next thing he noticed was the long, white hair. Love always was a sucker for long hair...and this was LONG...as long as his if he thought about it. Then, he took in the stranger's face, took in the delicate features, the arched eyebrows...he looked like a fine piece of china. However, as Love's attention turned back to the other's eyes, and as he learned later on in time, appearances could be deceiving. 

That was when what Love was doing finally sunk in...he was appraising a GUY. Sure, the Greeks have this thing about boys loving boys, but that was in Greece...which he definitely was NOT in. Love's first reaction was to be disgusted with himself...but...he couldn't seem to make himself feel that way in front of the staring stranger. There was just...something about him...something in those fathomless, ice blue eyes of his. It took Love a little while to understand that, when he looked into those eyes, he felt...like there was something to live for. That there was actually something, someONE in this cold, lonely world, that he felt a connection to. 

When he realized the other was looking quizzically at him, Love pulled his hazel eyes away quickly, embarrassed, though he did a hell of a job to hide the fact. Turning his face down, he stared at the wood of the counter he was leaning on. After a short silence, the stranger asked, "Why are you hiding from me?" 

It took a moment for Love to get over the sheer huskiness in the stranger's voice, a voice that seemed to reach inside him and trigger something, to understand what had been said. Then he fought off another blush of embarrassment, that's twice today...very unusual, as he realized the man meant his energy. Trying to appear nonchalant, Love shrugged. Then, turning on the charm that had gotten him out of so many scrapes before, he grinned and said, "Didn't see any reason to alert you to my   
presence." 

Nadda...no expression on that beautiful face, in those amazing eyes...the guy didn't even blink! The famous Love charm...had failed. To say that Love was disappointed would be an understatement. 

There was another pause, and then, "I don't recall seeing you before. Why is that?" 

Love didn't know what to say. Why was this one being so...conversational? Usually, if he encountered another of his kind, they tried to do one of two things; one, they tried to get him to join their cause, or, when one failed, there was always two...try to kill him. So far, Love had been pretty lucky in escaping both one and two. So what was with this one? The fact that Love didn't understand the stranger just made him more cautious...never trust the unknown. 

"I would have remembered you if you'd ever been present with any of the others when Clow Reed was teaching us." the stranger went on. "But I don't think I've ever seen you before." he commented, apparently indifferent. 

Love found himself staring again, but not because of the handsome one's beauty this time, but because love simply couldn't believe one person, not even a card, could be as aloof as this guy. "I...didn't want to be around the others." Love found himself saying, though he didn't know why. He hadn't MEANT to say that...it just...slipped out. 

The stranger arched an eyebrow. He seemed amused, though Love couldn't think why, "You don't happen to know Famine, do you?" he asked out of the blue. 

Love realized it was rude to stare...but he was doing it again. He DID know Famine...well...he knew OF him, but he'd be damned if he let THAT slip out. 

The stranger didn't seem to notice Love's silence. "What do you have against us, the others?" he asked. 

Love frowned. It took a lot to annoy him...but he was becoming annoyed. "Look...why does it matter? Are you here for a reason? Or is there something you want?" he asked, coming straight to the point. He wanted to smack himself for cutting the conversation short...who the hell would want to cut any chance to be with HIM short?!...but all this seemingly random talk with a complete stranger was making him nervous. Normally, he wouldn't think twice about engaging a stranger in inane   
conversation if the mood struck him...but THIS stranger was a card. That made all the difference. 

The stranger blinked, and Love couldn't help but feel a spike of triumph that he had been able to momentarily surprise the unshakable one. _Ha! Take that!_ Before he could stop himself, he let a grin slip. The stranger blinked again and said nothing. Love visibly shrugged, showing the stranger's indifference didn't mean one thing or another to him. Now that Love knew the stranger wasn't completely unshakable...it relieved some of the nervousness. 

After taking a sip from his glass, eying Love over the rim the entire time, the stranger asked, "What do you call yourself?" 

Love shrugged again. "Love," he immediately glared, or tried to, at the stranger, "Look...it's not like I CHOSE that name." he said defensively. The stranger smirked, no doubt amused again. Love found himself staring at his lips...hoping against hope that this one would smile...the full thing never came. Disappointed, Love asked, "So...which one are you?" 

"My name is Rage." 

Love jerked his chin in Rage's direction. "Nice name. Better than 'Love.' " he snorted. 

There was a moment of silence where Love became decidedly nervous again. After all...when Rage stares at you like that...you don't NOT get nervous. When Rage spoke next, what he said took Love by surprise, "Are you always like this?" 

Normally, Love would have grinned, shrugged that off, and replied, 'Yes.' But for some reason, coming from him, it seemed to matter. Bristling, Love asked, "Like what?" before Rage could answer Love plowed on, "What about you? Are YOU always like THAT?" 

Rage's eyes became hooded, "Like what?" he asked quietly. 

Love gestured in his general direction, "Like...like...that! If they had a prize for Ice Prince, you'd win it. What are you? Made out of stone?" 

Rage didn't even take the time to think before he replied, "At least I don't act like a grinning jackanapes." 

Okay...Love was officially annoyed. Standing up straight, he moved away from the counter. "I don't have to stand here and be insulted by the likes of you. Especially since YOU don't have any emotions to speak of." 

Love moved to leave, but Rage had also straightened, and now had him by the wrist, the fabric of his robes between them. Momentarily surprised, Love did nothing. Then, realizing Rage was restraining him, Love's temper snapped, "Take your hand off me." he snarled. He moved his free hand and grasped Rage's bare hand. 

A moment later, Love was staggering back, a look of complete shock on his face. Rage's face was just as surprised. "What...?" Rage began, but Love shook his head mutely, almost frantically, and raced out of the tavern. 

As Love walked quickly through various abandoned alleyways, the only thought running through his mind was...What the HELL? 

He was an idiot, a stupid idiot. He should have realized that touching Rage would have sent SOME sort of sensation through him...his Powers did work by way of touch and close contact. But...he just hadn't been thinking...anger does that. But still, even if he had been thinking, he never would have expected the emotions that came through to him from the brief link between them. 

The first thing he had felt was desire...pure and simple. Never had it been so strong, so intense. Love had wanted to melt then and there. But that wasn't all...that wasn't why he RAN. Desire, he could have handled...maybe...but it was the other thing...that other something he'd felt come through the link. 

Love had been right when he'd first felt the presence of a card and assumed they'd try and do him harm. Rage did want to harm him, he felt that, but not the way Love had expected. Rage didn't want to take a dagger, or use a spell, and kill him quickly or right away...it was like...he planned on waiting for something first. It felt like he was waiting for someone. And underneath all that...there had been this insane loyalty, this complete devotion to the one who wanted Love harmed through   
Rage...but that loyalty wasn't for one of THEM...it wasn't for a card. 

That, above anything else, scared Love. Rage didn't seem the type to take orders from mortals, no matter who they were. Which meant whoever he was listening to was very powerful...more powerful, than us? 

As Love furiously pondered who it could possibly be, who was after him, he failed to notice the shadow following him. Nor did he notice the white mist creeping up about his feet. He did, however, notice, when someone appeared behind him. Whether it was blind luck or he had actually sensed the card, Love ducked out of the way quickly, drawing his sword. He wasn't surprised to see two ice blues eyes staring back at him. 

Eying Rage warily, Love asked, "Oh, it's you, is it?" Rage stepped toward him in what Love thought was a decidedly predator way, and Love lost some of his bravado. "What do you want?" he asked cautiously. 

Continuing his slow march, Rage replied, "Why did you leave so suddenly? What happened?" when Love refused to answer, just kept stepping back, the walls on either side of the alley became coated with a layer of ice. Shivering, Love looked into Rage's eyes and found that same ice reflected there. "You saw something, didn't you?" Rage asked ominously. "When you touched me, you saw something." that time it wasn't a question. Drawing a blade that looked like the ice on the walls, Rage continued to advance upon Love, "You obviously saw something important, or you wouldn't have fled. And I'll bet what you saw is something I don't want known. Pity." 

Knowing without a doubt that Rage planned to kill him, Love did the only thing he could...he attacked. Bringing his sword down, he attempted to slash Rage in two. Rage's sword came up and blocked his own. Within seconds, Rage had him disarmed...Love knew he was bad, but he didn't think he was that bad...and Love was forced back into a wall. Seeing his foe completely at his mercy, Rage drew his sword arm back and then plunged forward. 

Love didn't know if luck was a part of it again, but he managed to move just in time. Not only that, but he was able to get a grip on Rage's sword, surprising him. Using that to his advantage, Love wrenched the sword from Rage's grasp and flung it behind him somewhere. His small victory was short lived. Before he could blink, Rage had him pinned against the wall, his hips against Love's, his one hand pinning both of his, and the other around his throat, steadily applying pressure. 

As much as Love might have enjoyed being pinned by someone as...um...warm ( ^.^) as Rage...now was not the time. He never did go in for that machocist shit. 

Feeling that steel band Rage calls a hand tighten further around his throat, cutting off Love's air supply, Love did the only thing left to him...he opened his mouth...of course, if he wanted to live, that probably wasn't such a good idea. Gasping, he got out, "I-I didn't see anything! I swear!" Rage didn't blink or let up. "Look!...my Power doesn't work that way. I can't SEE anything! I can only...can only...FEEL." Love's voice trailed off as the edges of his vision began to turn grey. Trying one   
last, desperate gamble, Love whispered, "You're right, I felt something I probably shouldn't have. Whoever you're working for, I don't care. It could be Clow Reed and I wouldn't care," he felt Rage start, "I don't want any part in this war between them, us, and whoever the damn hell else is in it." expelling the last of his energy, Love breathed, "I don't want a war." 

Just when blissful oblivion was in Love's grasp, that steel band around his throat loosened, and then was gone altogether. The hand holding his wrists was removed also and Love would have slumped to the ground if Rage hadn't been quick enough to catch him, his arms going around Love's waist. Love made no effort to support himself...if he was going to die, he'd be very happy if it was in Rage's arms. However, when it became apparent he was breathing and that black void was receding, Love frowned...apparently...he wasn't dying. 

Lifting his head from a warm shoulder, he tilted his face back and stared up at Rage, blinking slowly, the lack of oxygen still affecting him. "Why?" he asked simply. 

Rage shrugged, him being the uncomfortable one this time. "That last thing you said." he looked away, something flickering in the depths of his eyes and Love damned him for not being able to see what it was. "Out of everything you could have said to save your life, you chose that. You said it with such feeling that..." he trailed off. 

Love blinked. "You believed me." he whispered, though not because he was being strangled this time. 

Rage shrugged again, but said nothing. Then, "Can you walk?" 

Hiding his face in Rage's shoulder again, Love grinned wickedly, knowing Rage couldn't see him. "My legs are wobbly." they weren't, of course. 

That was when Love first heard one of Rage's heartfelt sighs, as if the world were after him. Transferring his arm from Love's waist to his shoulders, which was NOT an improvement in Love's opinion, he began walking forward. After a little while, Rage asked, grudgingly, Love could tell, "Are you all right?" 

Love pretended to consider. Then, grinning, he said, "I think I need a whiskey. My throat's killing me." Rage stumbled. Love laughed, though it hurt, "You'll buy, of course!" 

~`~End Flashback~`~ 

After that, they'd gone back to the same tavern and sat down for drinks. Rage bought. Love grinned, they'd ended up talking for hours. Sure, their friendship had started off rocky, but Love never would have traded that day for anything. 

Realizing Sakura had finished her little story, Love waited to see what the verdict would be.   
~ 

Finished, Sakura sat stiffly, wondering what was going through everyone's minds. 

Madison was the first to speak, "Well! I think it's wonderful!" she exclaimed, smiling. 

Li shot her a sour look, though nothing near his usual glare...he wasn't actually angry with Madison, after all. He looked at Sakura. "This whole fiasco with Clow Reed could have been some elaborate hoax, Sakura. He might have been lying to Clow Reed the entire time to gain his trust so it would be easy to betray him. But things didn't quite go as planned, did they?" Li asked, this last directed at Rage. 

Angry at being called a traitor, Rage took a menacing step in Li's direction. Li stood up, relishing a fight. Love stepped between them however, and placed a restraining hand on Rage's chest. Rage seemed to settle down, but Love was glaring like there was no tomorrow. Surprised at the anger showing in the normally carefree card, Li faltered, uncertain. 

Love stared Li down before saying very quietly, "That was low." 

Sakura glanced between the cards and Li nervously. Just when things were going so well something had to go screw it up. Sakura reached out and tugged on Li's shirt, "Li, sit down. Please?" she asked quietly. 

Glancing down at Sakura he hesitated, but he sat down. Glancing back at Rage and Love, Sakura said, "I don't think this is all some big hoax, Li. I was THERE, I saw an exchange between Rage and Clow Reed," she saw Rage's eyes narrow, and Sakura could practically read his thoughts, 'I knew she knew something.' "And I really don't think anything there was faked." 

Yue nodded, "I can attest to this. I can guarantee Rage is not a traitor, nor is he untrustworthy. I have witnessed enough of Rage's actions to determine such." 

With the unexpected support of Yue to Rage, Li found he had nothing to say. 

Sakura glanced at Kero, who hadn't said anything the entire time. He looked troubled, but Sakura had the feeling that look had nothing to do with Rage and their current situation, which was odd. What was he thinking about? "Kero, what do you think?" 

Kero started and looked around him, as if surprised to be here. Then, looking from Sakura to Rage, to Yue and back again, he said slowly, "As much as I don't like it, Rage would be a great asset to our quest. Yue's complete faith in him has me perplexed, but Yue is seldom wrong. And then there is Clow Reed..." Kero paused. Looking over everyone's heads, he said, "If even Clow Reed trusted him, then I have no choice. Rage, welcome to the team." before Sakura could jump to her feet   
and do a dance, "Kero said menacingly, "If I ever find cause to doubt you or your word, you'll never live to regret it." 

Instead of displaying a show of temper, Rage simply nodded and said, "Of course, Kero Beros." even though everyone knew that in Kero's present form he didn't have a chance of taking on Rage. 

Sakura waited a couple seconds, as if awaiting another outburst of some sort. When none were forthcoming, she threw her arms up in the air dramatically and fell back upon the grass with an audible sigh. "Finally!" she exclaimed gustily. Then, in the next breath, she started laughing, ecstatic that this was finally over. It wasn't long before Madison started, and then Love began laughing, more for the hell of it than anything else. Yue allowed himself another smile and a spreading of his wings. Li smiled slowly, glad that Sakura was happy, but he shared Kero's sentiments. 

Kero didn't smile, he didn't laugh. He continued to stare at Rage, who was staring right back somberly. Kero gave him a silent warning which was acknowledged and returned. Kero turned away and headed for the two giggling girls on the ground. Yue watched him with sad eyes.   
~ 

"No..." Insanity stared with lifeless eyes at the cavern walls all around him, lost in a vision. He blinked and his eyes returned to their normal state. Snarling, he demanded, "Why will you not show me more!!" muttering, he began pacing the length of the cavern. "You show me four powerful forms...BUT. YOU. WILL. NOT. SHOW. ME. WHO. THEY. ARE!!!" 

Flopping himself down in the only form of furniture in the cave, a ratted chair, Insanity chewed on a perfect, deadly fingernail. After breaking a piece of perfection off, he stared at it for a moment before glaring at it, as if to say, "Why did you break?" the nail, as if in response, grew back instantly to it's former glory. Insanity smiled triumphantly. Patting his nail like a he would a pet dog, Insanity cooed to it. 

His change in mood didn't last long, however, as he remembered Sakura. "Damned woman." he snarled. He began pacing again. whimpering, he said, "I cannot see a way out...she will destroy me. The last power has been added, her protectors are complete." covering his grey face with worn hands, he pressed in on his temples. Parting his index fingers from the middle ones on both hands, he peeked through them and stared at the wall. "But, I have a few surprises for her, oh yes I do." he told the wall conspiritually. "If I have to go...at least one of them will go with me. And then...and then..." Insanity's eyes lost focus again and he smiled dreamily. "...and then," he whispered, "**_Nothing_** will be able to stop Magic." 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Well, well, aren't I just a bit evil? ;) I'm sorry this chapter wasn't longer, but I got as much done as I could...and can you believe I did this all in one sitting?!?!? For me, that's **_remarkable!_** Well...you all should be happy. 

I must say, the tale where Love and Rage first met was _completely _unexpected. I really had NO idea I was going to do that... in this chapter or any, for that matter! It just...popped in my head. Also...what did ya'll think of the last bit with Insanity? ~.^ He's up to something...and...my, my...is that another card? O.O You all think about that...until then!! 


	28. Ignorance is a Frightening ThingCh27

By Maurynna 

Author's Note: No, your eyes do not deceive you...I have actually come out with another chapter. I'm sorry for all of you who have been waiting for it, but I just...well...I don't really have an excuse, except to say that I just seemed to loose the creative edge there for a while. Well, I hope (for whoever are still interested in this fic) that you enjoy the rest of the story. Again, I'm sorry. 

a.n.g.e.l - Yes, Love really was that bad of a fighter. Think about it. With love being the card he was to begin with, fighting really didn't interest him at all. Without the practice most of the other cards had and with no desire to learn how to use a sword or other weapon, Love pretty much sucked at swordplay. Now, when Rage came into the picture later, he **_insisted_** that Love learn how to fight with a sword for his own protection. Love isn't that bad of a sword fighter now, but back then,...oh yeah...he was **_bad._**

Sakura-chan - Thank you very much for your compliment. Four or so months ago I would have gladly accepted it, but now, with my tardiness...All I have to say is I might have been in league with the Mouse when I updated, but now,...no. Well...I'll just have to try and earn that compliment again. :) 

azhrei - **_Thank you_** azhrei for that absolutely delightful review. I am so happy you find my story interesting...even during the work day when you're supposed to be working ~.^ I just feel so bad that you were looking forward to the next chapter so eagerly and I didn't provide it for you. I am really sorry for that. >. 

Twisted Rose - I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and I'm really sorry that I was too dense to put in a warning beforehand mentioning that there was shonen-ai in the chapter. It actually never even occurred to me. I promise, though, that there will be warnings at the beginning of each chapter from now on if there is any Yaoi in it. 

Videl Cerasi Jade - Hey Shadowfire. I'm happy you liked the flashback. ^_^ Like I say, I hadn't planned that. Thank you for you confidence in my ability to write the romance portions of this fic. I hope It will turn out great like you think it will. *sigh* Everyone keeps mentioning how much they liked Famine. I really like him, too. It makes me feel guilty that he really only got one chapter. I feel like I should bring him back, but that would seriously interfere with my plot. Oh, and I can't wait to bring Magic in either, Shadowfire. All I can say is...I am going to have so much **_fun_** writing that part of my fic. 

CreatiStar - Sorry to have kept you waiting, CreatiStar. I'll try to get that S+S in soon. *taps side of head* I have the whole fic worked out in here, and the romance IS coming. (lol...how many times have I said that now? ^_^a). I hope you DO get to go to Toronto Trek one day, it's really fun! I'm glad Insanity had an effect on you. ^_^ Hope you remember everything you wanted to write in your next review this time! 

Kallima Angelos Tera - First of all, like the name ^.^ Thank you very much for your compliments on my grammar. That means quite a lot, actually. Lol...I correct my friends' sentences as well sometimes when they talk. >. *reeeeaaaalllly big grin* I'm happy you approve of my male characters. (thinks of Rage and gets dreamy expression on face) lol...I do try. Don't be sorry for the long review,...the longer the better. I love long reviews! 

Sakura 1301 - Thank you. 

Dalaofu - Now, Dalaofu-kun, I'm glad you like my fic, but do try not to spoil my story for others, hmm? You may be right about the four people that Insanity spoke of that you picked...but then again...maybe not. ^__^ Can't tell ya! Oh, and just between you and me (and whomever else is reading this right now ~.^) just because Love isn't a good fighter does not mean he doesn't have a big part to play. But, what do I know? I'm just the author...lol. Oh, and if you wish, you may call me Maurynna-chan, or in your words ^.^ Mau-chan. 

Stevie - Thanks for the review Stevie! *sigh* EVERYONE says I need more S+S. *scratches head quizzically* you think that means something? lol...lol...*dodges angry reviewers* I get the point! Thanks again for reviewing, I love getting new reviewers (and if I updated more I'd probably have more people interested >.). 

RadicalRavenclaw - aka I Am Canadian - Glad you like the story, and I hope you continue to enjoy it! See you again (hopefully) my fellow Canadian! I, am also Canadian, and damn proud of it! ^.^ 

SakuraBlossom86 - *cringes in corner* Oi, normally, a review like yours would have me smiling, but, I just feel guilty. I am so happy you like my story, and I'm sorry I haven't updated. I hope that, when I post this chapter, I'll still see you in the reviews. Gomen! 

Jamie - Thank you very much. ^_^ 

I Am Canadian (who's too lazy to log in) - lol...I have that nasty habit too, not logging in. >. Oh man, if you were dying before...eeek!...I think I've killed someone!! Seriously though, sorry about the chapter delay. (does anyone else feel like I'm groveling? How many times have I said I'm sorry now?). 

Suzaku no Miko - lol...I'll try Suzaku...I'll try to get that action/romance in. Thanks for the review! 

dreamyblue - Thank you. ^.^ 

silverdroplets - Oh. My. God. Your review is one of THE nicest I have ever read, and boy do I feel REAL low right now. I think it's absolutely wonderful that you have that much confidence in my writing, and I am so sorry I disappointed you by not updating. I hope that, in the future, I'll be able to elevate myself back to the position I held in your eyes...I have a feeling that's going to take a lot of work. ^_^a...but you know what they say...nothing worth doing is ever easy. Thank you, again! 

Sakura-chan - By all means, strangle me. ^.^a I'm sure more than one person here would help you. Don't bother with the virus though...someone already had that pleasure. Yes...someone sent me a virus through my e-mail, that is all I'll say on the matter. I'm happy you find my fic interesting, and I'll try to avoid situations in the future that will force you to commit violence to my person. ^.^ I hope (if you're even checking anymore) that you enjoy the rest of the fic. 

Where have you been? - I know, I know...I HAD vanished off the net. Thanks for the compliment, Sir! (Ma'am?), and I'll get right on it soldier!! ^_^a 

CreatiStar - Thank you for putting my on your Favourite Author and Story list, CreatiStar! ^_^ I'm flattered. Gee...you really are forgetful. Maybe, as your reading, you should write down the things you want to ask me so that you don't forget them later on. Just a suggestion. ~.^ 

Angel-chan - Thank you, I hope this will be great when its completed. As for the labyrinth/laboratory thing...Clow Reed has this little place he visits when he needs to be alone or do extensive Magic. Below this place is a labyrinth, yes, a maze, that only he know the way through. In the center of this maze in his 'laboratory' where he performs heavy Magic. Does this clear things up? Heh...^.^a...I hadn't even realized I'd been switching between the Japanese and English names of the characters, I was doing it without even realizing it! Oops...I'll try not to do it again. 

kEro-kIro-chan (or my #1 FAN ~.^) - I'm sorry I haven't updated. I'm glad you like my fic so much and express so much enthusiasm towards it. Thanks for reading. And *sniff* it always makes me feel special when people like you make such wonderful comments...'I'd read anything you write, even if it's not my type...those types of things make me feel all warm and fuzzy, even when I'm undeserving of such comments. *sigh* You know what? I liked Famine, too, but, there is just no way I'm going to release him for the purpose of helping Sakura seal the other Forgotten. Why? I believe Sakura explained that in an earlier chapter. I swear...the next time I create such a nice character like him I'm **_not_** going to seal him up right in the same chapter! Sorry again! *Psst!* and by the way...I think I did feel you silently cheering me on in my dark moments. ^.^ 

Moon Angel - *nods head seriously* Yes, Rage and Love are cute, aren't they? *mutters* You're probably not going to like how this chapter ends. *smiles brilliantly again* And I do so love the idea of Tory x Julian/ Tory x Yue, but, I don't know...it just didn't seem to go that way this time around. Hope you enjoy the rest of my fic and thanks for reviewing and sharing your opinions!! 

Blue Moon - Sorry. 

Sakura- chan (haven't I mentioned you already? ;) ) - *gulp* *whispers* Sorry. I'll get right on that, Sir! I-I mean...Sakura. 

Aisha-chan - Stop, stop crying Sakura1301!! *hands over box of tissues* *wails* I don't know how to deal with sobbing reviewers!! Well, for the sake of your life (hope I'm not too late) here's the next chapter. 

Cherry Blossom - Thank you.   
I did, too.   
Yes it does, doesn't it?   
*sigh* I know.   
Gotcha! Read on!   
And sorry it took so long. 

FaithAngel - Well...for someone who stays up 'til 1:45 in the morning just to finish my fic then I'll have to update for you! Oh, and,...your whole not having started your homework thing....*lowers head* happens to me all the time. *winks* I'm a fanfic junkie. Or at least I was, until I disappeared off the net, as someone put it. 

syrupjunkie - *blinks twice* Wow. *re-reads review a couple times* Just...wow. I don't know what to say. First of all, I would just like to say thank you for writing such a passionate review. It was the final straw-with the help of the other reviews-that got me off my ass and typing the next chapter. The next thing I'd like to say is I wasn't intentionally blocking you from my e-mail (I wasn't intentionally blocking anyone). It's just, well...I really haven't been on the Internet, much less my e-mail account, and when I finally went in that thing to see what I had been missing...I had over five hundred e-mails. *ehem* Heh...as you know (or not, depends) hotmail wasn't too happy with me. Basically, nothing was getting into that account until I erased some things. That's why you couldn't e-mail me. Again, sorry. It wasn't because I was trying to keep you out or anything. Okay, the second thing...I cannot **_believe_** how well you think of me as a writer. The amounts of compliments in there! ...again...I am at a loss for words. *shakes head in bewilderment* I certainly don't deserve them. There are **_plenty of_** other writers out there better at this than I am. But, I am so flattered you think this way. Please tell Creati, if you see or hear from her before she sees this, that I thank you both, and this review means more to me then you know. Maurynna-chan   


Okay...phew...now that I've tackled the huge monster called 'answering the reviewers' ~.^...let's get on to the story, shall we? One more thing though...I kind of went back over my chapters so that I'd be better prepared to write this, and, whomever pointed this out in the first place was right...the way I change the title of the fic on the main page **_is_** a bit confusing. All of the title changes were just the titles for the chapters. In truth, I really didn't have a title for the entire fic...until now. I've decided that I'm going to go with the original chapter title, Clow Reed's Mistake, as the main title for this fic. I think it suits the fic better than the other titles. So, whenever you look for this fic in the future, look for Clow Reed's Mistake, okay? 

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me. 

Warning: Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, Insanity, Despair, Fear, Betrayal, Dragon, and Magic belong to ME. Oh my...I do believe that's thirteen... 

**_Warning: Shonen-ai!_** (^_^ Just thought you should now, as I was an ass the last time and forgot to mention it.) And...um...if anyone has a fear of bugs, if they give you a squicky feeling, then be careful in this chapter. I don't go into great detail (for me) and the passage isn't that long, but still. Know that you have been warned!!   


**Cardcaptors: Ignorance is a Frightening Thing-Ch.27**

Once Sakura was able to calm down and the others' laughter abated she managed to get the group back into a semi-circle. When it became apparent that she had something to say everyone turned their attention to her, wondering. "Okay," she started, smiling brilliantly. "Now that we've gotten this whole thing settled, " _finally "_I think it's about time I learned about the other Forgotten. What?" Sakura asked as more than one person in the group gave her startled looks at her abrupt question. "Come on! I think this conversation is long overdo. With all of the trouble I've had with these guys so far I want to know all that I can about the remaining cards I have to capture. It's certainly not an unreasonable request." she muttered. 

Kero shook himself. "Of course it's not, Sakura. It's just, well, you have a habit of just blurting out unusual things like that without warning. It kind of takes people off guard." he explained sheepishly. 

"Gee, " Love whispered, leaning toward Rage, "now who does **_that_** remind you of?" he asked sarcastically. Rage made a silencing motion with his hand, wanting to hear everything he could of this conversation as it indirectly involved him. 

"Well, " Kero scratched his head, "where should I start? You've only got seven more cards to capture out of the original thirteen. Let's see...there's the Betrayal card, the Insanity card, " no one noticed the way Li's eyes narrowed at the mention of the card that had placed such horrid visions of Sakura in his head for years. "the Dragon card, the Death card, the Magic card, and, of course, " Kero sent a hesitant glance towards Rage and Love, "the Rage and Love cards." 

Everyone's attention turned to the two cards. Before anyone could ask the question Sakura knew everyone wanted to ask, including Rage and Love, she asked, "Tell me about them. It's good to know your enemies' weak points...and strong points." hoping to distract everyone back to the conversation at hand and away from Rage and Love. 

Clearing his throat, Kero reluctantly let the question he wanted to ask slide. "Well, Betrayal is a fairly straight forward card. What she does is play on a person's feelings, more specifically, their vulnerability and their feelings of hurt and betrayal caused by another. She relies mostly upon her power of persuasion, convincing the victim that the target Betrayal wishes to kill or crush has never cared for the victim, has never been there for him or her, basically convincing the victim that the target has betrayed them in some unspeakable way. As I said, straight forward." 

"Betrayal prefers to use others for her dirty work." Yue stepped in. Kero didn't seem to mind and Sakura got the impression that they used to do this all the time when they served Clow Reed, finishing the other's thoughts. "But do not underestimate her. She has knowledge of the basic Magics, as do all the Forgotten, and prefers to use the element of Air when she can. Her Magic is not great, but it is sufficient." 

Sakura thought that was all she needed to know about Betrayal, and she was about to ask about one of the others when Rage spoke up unexpectedly. "Be careful of the bracelet she wears around her wrist." 

Kero turned to him, frowning, "What bracelet?" 

Rage glanced casually at Kero before turning his gaze back to Sakura. When the explanation came, it was, surprisingly, Love who gave it. "She wears a blue and red bracelet around her right wrist." he said slowly, quite serious. "It is a very...normal... thing, so, it would be easy to miss Kero Beros. Besides, she hadn't started wearing the thing until just before our..." Love glanced at Rage, "...confinement, so you might not have even ever seen it for yourself." 

"Basically," Love explained, sitting up straighter, "the bracelet is made up of a hundred tiny, needle-sharp pins. Not impressed? Well, each one of those pins were dipped in a clear liquid poison called Narcisis (no...there is no hidden meaing in the word so don't look for one. It's just a word I picked at random from my head). If you get pricked with one of those pins..." Love trailed off his eyes hooded. 

"...you'll die." Rage finished in a flat tone. Then one corner of his mouth picked up in one of his not-quite-smiles. "And that's putting it quite lightly." 

Sakura glanced back and forth from Rage's calm expression to Love's shuttered one. "What, what do you mean, 'that's putting it lightly'?" 

"Are you sure you want to hear what I have to say about it?" Rage asked quietly. 

"Rage,..." Love said suddenly, a warning in his voice. Rage ignored him. 

Kero, curious beyond all conceptions yet filled with a sense of unease, flew up to Sakura's ear. Sakura glanced at Love, truly concerned with his odd behaviour. "I-I guess so." she finally said. 

Rage shrugged, indicating that the uneasiness practically flowing off of everyone in the group was of no concern to him. "At first, you feel nothing. You think, perhaps, that nothing is wrong and you worried over nothing. But then, twenty-four hours later, you will wake up feeling slightly disoriented. Nothing severe, just enough to make you feel that, perhaps, you didn't get as much sleep the night before as you had thought. During the duration of the day a tingling begins to invade your limbs, as though your foot or arm has fallen asleep...except...the tingling does not go away." 

Sakura leaned forward on her knees, the tone of Rage's voice luring her. Just what was this leading up to? She noticed that Madison, too, was leaning forward, her eyes open wide in anticipation of how this tale was to end. Kero was clearly enthralled, as much of a storyteller as he himself already was. Even Li, who was trying to appear as if he had no great interest in the tale, was listening to every word. Only Love, who was sitting beside Rage, looked to be getting more upset the more Rage spoke. Was it because he knew the end to the tale...and didn't like the results? Or was there something else? 

Sakura stopped her mental wandering as Rage continued speaking, "The tingling soon becomes an itch that you cannot scratch. If you are truly resilient you may be able to ignore it for a few hours, but eventually, the itching feeling fades to that of insects. Tiny, crawling, beady-eyed insects that are crawling all over your skin. You seek nothing but to remove them, except that, when you look, there is nothing there. But you can **_feel_** them, crawling under your skin, nesting, feeding. It is not pleasant." Rage remarked, as if in afterthought. Noticing the greenish colour of some of the faces around him, he arched an eyebrow. "You think that is the worst of it? Far from it." 

"After the bugs comes the fever. You feel hot all over. You seek something, anything, that might be able to take the heat away, but nothing works. Soon, the fever gets so that you toss and turn in your bed, unable to sleep, unable to eat, unable to even sip water without it coming back up. Your strength wains, and when you think you will die because of dehydration...that's when the burning sets in." 

"At first, you think the feeling is nothing more than one of your fever induced delusions, but when the delusion does not go away you realize it is something quite worse. The burning steadily increases, slowly, ever so slowly, starting with your hands and feet. It feels as if the skin is peeling from your hands. You look down and expect to find rotting, deteriorating flesh, glimpses of bone through whatever happens to be left, blood, burst blood vessels that cannot heal. But...your skin is normal, except for the natural paleness from what you are feeling." 

"The burning gets worse." 

"It spreads through your body, like the fever, and soon it becomes so intense that you begin to whimper, beg even, anything to make the pain stop. When everything damn thing has been tried to cool you down with no results whatsoever...your blood begins to **_boil. _**You cannot remember your own name or who is in the room with you, no matter how long you have been friends. You cannot even remember how to speak. " Rage paused, as if thinking about something. Continuing softly, he says, "The inhuman screams come not long after." 

At this moment, Love bolted up from the grass and ran away from the group, sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him, unmindful of the concerned cries coming from behind him. He just ran. When he reached the fence surrounding the school he crashed into it, clinging to it, breathing heavily. He gripped the wire of the fence so tightly his knuckles turned white. 

Sakura, who had risen in surprise when Love had bolted, stared after the figure, more concerned for him than she had ever been. Even the others, including Yue, were staring at Love's turned back in varying degrees of concern and curiousity. Sakura looked down at Rage, who hadn't moved, and saw the same concerned light flickering in his eyes. When he realized she was watching him, he quickly hid it away behind his mask. 

Finally, Kero remarked quietly, "I didn't think he was that squeamish." 

"He's not." Rage replied softly. 

Eyes narrowed, Sakura stared at Rage suspiciously. "What have you left out?" she asked bluntly. He did have a habit of leaving out things that he didn't feel like discussing. 

Rage looked up at her, studying her for a moment. Sakura stared right back, telling him silently loud and clear (^,^a) that she was NOT going to back down without an explanation. The others waited, curious, wondering what could have shaken Love so badly. 

Finally, Rage sighed. Leaning back on the grass on his elbows, he looked around at everyone. Sakura couldn't help but notice that his shoulders seemed just a little slumped, that his expression was a bit more weary than she had ever seen it, like he had finally gotten to the point where his emotions were just so...built up...that he couldn't quite keep them in as well as he usually could. Looking down, Sakura asked, "Well?" 

Rage attempted on of his half-smiles but it faded as soon as it had formed. Sighing again, he brushed a black gloved hand through his hair. "I have been pricked by one of those needles. All that I have described to you has been what I can remember. The rest, what I can't remember, I was told." 

Sakura looked at him, wide-eyed, "No," she whispered, horrified. "it can't be true." 

Rage shrugged. "It is." was all he said. 

Suddenly, Sakura's horror and concern were washed away by a frightening anger. Frowning suddenly, she asked, "And you told all this, knowing that Love knew exactly who you were talking about?" 

Rage nodded. "Yes. Why?" he asked, looking genuinely confused. 

"**_Why?!_**" Sakura said, her voice set in an unbelieving tone. "Because look at what it did to him!" she finally replied, pointing vaguely behind her in Love's direction. 

Rage took a brief glance past her, then returned his attention to her face. Frowning, he said slowly, "I honestly don't know why he overreacted. He has seen similar things in his time." 

Sputtering, Sakura got out, "You...don't know why..." abruptly, she snapped her mouth shut. A moment later, she opened it again, and when she spoke this time, her voice was so loud that it made all of them wince. "**_He overreacted because he..."_** Sakura trailed off, suddenly remembering that she wasn't supposed to tell Rage about Love's feelings. Finishing up what she had been saying, her voice came out in no more than a whisper this time. "...because he's your friend." 

Before Rage could form a reply to that, Sakura whirled around and ran to where Love was still gripping the fence. The others looked after her, all bewildered by her sudden shift in moods, but also understanding, if only a little, why she was so angry with Rage. 

Li made to get up to follow her, concerned, but Yue shook his head silently at him, telling him to remain seated. Li shot Yue a gaze filled with questions, but he sat down. He didn't know the whole story here-though he did know there was one-but he trusted Yue's judgement. 

When Sakura was within six feet of the obviously distressed card she stopped in her tracks, partly to regain her breath, partly to make sure he knew she was there and to make sure it was okay to be here in the first place. By the time Sakura had calmed her breathing Love still hadn't made a move to even indicate he knew she was there. So Sakura stood there, arms loosely at her sides, studying the man's back. She wondered what it must be like to love someone but not have them love you back. To have them be so completely unaware that they even disregarded your feelings as if they were nothing. Though, she supposed Rage wasn't ALL to blame. Love could have told him how he felt. And besides, Rage really was oblivious to Love's predicament. While she had been blasting into him she had noted the completely baffled expression on Rage's face...he had honestly thought that what he was describing would not have bothered Love at all. Sakura suspected that, if Rage had known that Love was this disturbed by the tale, he wouldn't have told it. 

"What do you want?" 

Sakura blinked, startled by the sudden and unexpected question. Love still had not moved, but he had, apparently, decided he was able to speak to her now. The fact that he had not turned around to face her worried Sakura still. Just how badly had Rage's recounting of his past bothered him? 

"I came to see if you wanted to talk about it." Sakura replied gently. 

Love's shoulders shook nd Sakura took that gesture to be a shrug. "What is there to talk about? I just...got a little grossed out. Must have been the bugs. I never did take to bugs." Love said dryly, a hint of humour creeping back into his voice. 

Sakura was surprised Love didn't feel the hole she was drilling into his back right about now. "Rage may put on his mask whenever he wishes to hide from something, " Sakura began gently, "but don't you start creating you own mask, Love. It's not healthy." Sakura saw Love's shoulders tense and wasn't sure if she'd overstepped her boundaries and was about to be yelled at. Deciding she'd rather not find out, she said, "Besides, Rage already told the gang that it had been him he was talking about." 

Love's shoulders slumped and his grip on the fence slackened for a moment. "So you know." he whispered, defeated. 

Sakura nodded. She was the only one who knew how Love felt, and that must kill Love, knowing that the one person in the world who knows isn't the person who is **_supposed_** to know. "He didn't mean to upset you." Sakura said quietly, not quite sure how to make Love feel more comfortable. "He is worried about you, though he won't admit it." 

Sakura watched Love, her worry increasing, when his shoulders began to shake. Taking a chance and walking up behind him, she whispered, "Love?" when she didn't get a response she cautiously moved to the fence and peered through the long fall of caramel hair that shadowed half of Love's face. She wasn't sure just what she would find, but she thought Love might have been crying, the way his shoulders were shaking. When she got a good look at his face, though, there was not a single tear visible upon the now pale skin, and no evidence that he had been crying before she had come over here. That would have normally been a sign to her that Love was taking this better than she had thought, except that the quaking shoulders and the way Love had his eyelids closed so tightly together that it looked painful had her saying, "It's okay to cry, you know." 

She didn't know what he would say to that, but she didn't expect the hoarse, broken reply she got, "I can't." 

"Of course you can, everyone cries once in a while." Sakura said soothingly, misinterpreting what Love was saying. 

"No," Love said, taking a deep, shuddering breath. Straightening from the fence suddenly, Love opened his eyes and turned to face Sakura. Sakura noticed that the green in his eyes looked brighter than usual. His voice sounding more or less like it usually did, Love continued, "No, I can't cry. Not in front of him. Never in front of him." taking another deep breath to fortify himself, he went on, "There's already enough about me that will never compare to him. I don't need him thinking I'm weak by having him see me cry." 

There wasn't really anything Sakura could say to that. She had a feeling that even if she tortured Love he would rather die than have Rage see him cry. So, instead, she changed directions. She knew that whenever she felt upset over something it had always helped to talk it out. So, repeating her earlier question, she asked, "You want to talk about it?" 

Not surprisingly, Love didn't protest. Sakura was right when she assumed he just needed to let it all out, 

"We were in England at the time. Rage had just come back from a mission given by Clow Reed, he'd actually been to see the sorcerer. I never went with him whenever he saw the sorcerer, though Rage had invited me a number of times. I just couldn't bring myself to face him. I think, now, that it was because I was guilty. Guilty of what? I'm not sure. Maybe for leaving, for not remaining true to him like Rage had. Anyways, that's not the point." 

"We were in England. Rage was tense, irritable. I didn't ask, but I figured he might have run into one of the others. He always did hate talking to them, no matter who they were. So, I figured, he needed to relax. I took him to one of my favourite taverns. Nice and quiet, a place where no one asks any questions. I told the owner we didn't wish to be disturbed. I ordered ale and sat down across from Rage." Love shrugged. "I started talking, don't have a clue about what, just rambled, most likely. I only wanted to draw Rage out of his broodiness. Well, when it became apparent he didn't want to be drawn out of his moodiness, I got up and went to the bar to get us more ale for the ones we'd already finished." 

"That's when I sensed her." 

"Rage sensed her, too, I could tell by the way he sat. I don't suppose anyone else would have noticed the difference, but I did. I sort of got used to his body language after a while, and he was sitting like he does when he thinks there's danger about. So. I go to grab the pints and there she is, standing right beside me. Of course, I was startled. I hadn't even heard her come up behind me. I admit, she was pretty, but, " and Love grinned, "not quite my type." his smile vanished as he continued the story. "Anyway, she smiles at me says, 'I'd remember you a hundred years after I first met you.' Which probably wasn't so far off the mark. 'Love,' she says sweetly, practically purring in my ear. There is only one reason a woman takes that tone, and I tell you she wasn't interested in shopping. Of course, even if I hadn't met Rage I still wouldn't have slept with her. I have a rule: no sexual relations with the others." Love looked pointedly at Sakura. "You live longer that way." 

"By now, Rage was openly watching us, but since Betrayal's back was turned she didn't notice him. I don't know if she knew he was here or not, though I wouldn't have been surprised if she hadn't. Rage is very good at suppressing his energy. I could tell he was silently asking whether or not I needed help. In answer, I looked away from him and at Betrayal. 'First off, ' I said, 'I don't socialize with other cards. Second, I'm not interested.' Blunt, I know, but I really wasn't in the mood to play soothe the overzealous woman. So, I walked away. Next thing I know she'd got me by the elbow. I turn on her, ready to give her what for, when I see her eyes. Their **_black_**, and I must say, quite intimidating, especially with the amount of hatred she had in them a that moment. Staring at me, she hisses, 'Not interested? You'll be interested when I show interest in you.' " 

Love paused, looking uneasy. "I admit, I'm not the master of facial expressions as Rage is. What I did next was downright stupid. The reason I'd looked away from Rage before was because he always seems to know what I'm feeling through my eyes. I didn't want to put him in danger just because this card bothered me, so I'd looked away earlier. But now, I was uncomfortable...that's putting it lightly. So...what did I do? I didn't do the smart thing and just brush her off and leave, I did something without even thinking...I searched out a pair of icy blue eyes. Of course, as soon as my eyes touched his he was out of his seat and at my side before I could blink. Did I mention the bloody ass is the fastest card I've ever seen? Anyway, he comes up and gives Betrayal the 'Ice Glare'. Of course, the temperature in the tavern dropped twenty degrees. Very calmly, he says, 'Remove your hand.' Betrayal takes one look at Rage and decides she'd rather live. She lets go of me, but not before she glances at my face." Love rubbed the back of his head, as if still reprimanding himself today for things he did centuries ago. "Like I said, I'm not good at concealing my feelings. I guess, when she looked at my eyes, she saw at least a little of what I felt for Rage. Smiling suddenly, which is enough cause for alarm on its own, she turns to Rage and says, 'Sorry, didn't know he already had a lover.' I do believe, " Love mused, "that that was the first and only time I've ever seen Rage's jaw drop. Not that I was in any better condition." 

"Taking advantage of our distraction, Betrayal quickly and cleverly detached one of those pins from her bracelet and pricked Rage on the forearm through his silk shirt. That got Rage's attention fast enough. His sword was out of its sheath before you knew it, but Betrayal had known she would have produced such a reaction. Laughing, she jumped backwards, just missing the sweep of Rage's blade. 'Fine!' she laughed, 'If you want to choose him over me then so be it!' and she teleported out." Smiling wryly, Love said, "I know, that sounds overly dramatic, but that's how Betrayal is." 

"Anyway...after Betrayal had teleported out, Rage and I just stood there, tense and waiting. I was scared out of my mind that something horrible was about to happen to him. I don't know what I thought. After about a minute and nothing happened, I began to relax. Smiling, I said Betrayal must have just been trying to scare us. He shrugged it off, saying nothing. Then we both headed to our rooms." 

"We left the tavern that day, and traveled on to the next village in the west. I don't know why we went there, but Rage had his reasons. I suspect it had something to do with Clow Reed and his blasted missions. Anyway, when we got there Rage disappeared for half the day and I was left to explore on my own. When he came back he found me at another decent tavern and we decided it would be fine to stay there. We sat down for the rest of the evening and talked. I noticed that every once in a while Rage kept rubbing at his left arm. I asked him if anything was wrong and he said that everything was fine. The lying bastard. So, we both went up the stairs and to our separate rooms for the night." 

Love's expression became troubled, his gaze cloudy. "I woke up in the middle of the night to a scratching on the door of my room. Wary, I slipped out of bed as silently as I could. Grabbing my short sword I went to the door. Listening, I tried to determine who might be knocking on my door at this ungodly hour. I heard nothing, so I opened the door cautiously, my sword ready. I knew no mortal would be able to do my much harm anyway, but still, I never was one to take the risk of being seriously hurt. What was on the other side of that door was nothing that I expected. There was Rage, leaning on the door frame, his expression pained. Well, I was so surprised that all I could do was say, 'Rage!' He looked up into my face, his beautiful eyes glassy. Taking a breath, he said, 'Love,' and then his eyes closed and he commenced to fall forward. Scared now, I dropped my sword and caught him. 'Rage? Rage!' I called, but there was no answer. I tried to get a look at his face and shifted him in my arms. What I saw made me gape. He was sweating! In all the time that I've known Rage I have never, **_ever_** seen him sweat. No even when we were out one of those days that reach unbearable temperatures. Something was dreadfully wrong." 

"Dragging him to my bed, I settled him in as best I could." dragging his hand through his hair in frustration, Love continued, "I had no idea what do to do. Our kind don't GET sick, at least, not without some pretty heavy Magic to influence an illness. I-I had once been wandering a battlefield after a war. I watched as humans bandaged their wounded. There were a few of these humans that suffered from a great heat on the inside. I remember that the human healers set cool clothes on them to try and decrease their temperature. I thought that was only logical now in this situation. Although, it was very odd...Rage is always cold. I don't know why whatever it was that made him so wasn't kicking in now." 

"After taking off his sword belt and unlacing his shirt I went inn search of water. I went down to the establishments kitchens and stole a pitcher from water there. Going back to my room I sat on the edge of the bed and set the pitcher down carefully. Tearing a strip of my brown robes I used that as a cloth and dipped it into the water." 

"I must have sat there for hours dipping the cloth in the water and bathing Rage's face and chest. Up until that point he hadn't seemed to be getting any worse...but he didn't seem to be getting better either. His eyes, that had previously been shut tight, sprang open suddenly. I recoiled involuntarily. His eyes...they were..." Love's own eyes closed, remembering, "The blue was hardly visible anymore. His pupils had almost entirely taken over the iris' so that his eyes looked like black pools of nothingness. He started muttering next, in a language that I had not heard since Clow Reed had taught it to us. The Latin he spoke rolled off the walls and the words he was uttering had the potential to cause small bursts of Magic that could destroy this entire tavern...if not the town. I tried to quiet him, to soothe him. I tried talking to him in English, hoping that if he heard the language he would start to speak it, too. I don't know what it was that finally did quiet him, but he stopped, suddenly and without warning. He was staring at something over my shoulder but I dared not take my eyes off him. My instincts told me there was nothing there anyways. Turning his gaze towards me, he whispered, 'Do you see that?' I stared at him warily before looking over my shoulder carefully. There was nothing there. When I turned back to face him he was still staring intently at me. Quietly, slowly, I said, 'Rage, there's nothing there.' He searched my eyes for what seemed an eternity before looking over my shoulder again. Then, closing his eyes slowly, he remained that way for a half hour." 

"After two hours of delusions that kept getting worse and worse, things, again, took a turn for the worse. Rage began complaining that his skin was burning. I thought it was just the fever getting worse, so I wet the cloth with what little water I had left and smoothed it across his face again. He kept shaking his head back and forth, saying that what I was doing was not helping, that his skin was burning OFF. Panicked, I tore open the arm of his sleeve...but his skin was whole. No matter where I looked on his body I could not see a single burn mark. Though his skin did look redder than I thought was safe, even under these circumstances. I guess, I guess that was when his blood vessels started to burst." 

"He started panting, his breathes short and raspy. He began to struggle. He was so tense I could see the cords in his neck standing out. Fearing that any wrong move in such a tense state would snap his spine, I quickly tried to restrain him. Climbing further onto the bed-I think I was crying by then, I really don't remember. No that it mattered, Rage was too far gone to notice-I propped him up and moved behind him, his back to my chest and his head resting on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms tightly about his waist, pinning his flailing arms to his sides. I closed my eyes and prayed to whatever god may be up there that this would be over soon." Love's eyes closed again, one hand coming up to press painfully into his face. Taking a deep breath that sounded more like a hitch in his breathing, Love continued, nearly choking on the words. "H-he started s-screaming. Oh Gods, it was horrible...he wouldn't stop...they were so **_horrible_**. It sounded as though he were **_dying_**." 

Love slid down the fence and just sat there, not speaking, his hands over his eyes, his mouth in a pinched, straight line. Sakura stood, looking down at him, not saying anything. She knew he needed a little time to compose himself or he'd snap. God...the hell both him and Rage must have gone through that night...she couldn't even imagine. After a few minutes of silence, Love continued quietly, "Of course, Rage's screams brought the whole tavern to my door, terrified. After bursting in they all crowded around the bed, asking what was wrong. Of course...what could I tell them? I didn't know." Love laughed, humourless. Then his face hardened and his hands came away from his face, his eyes narrowed. "They wouldn't leave. Rage was still screaming. I knew, I knew that if I didn't do something that he would...would die." taking another breath, he said, "I did the only thing I could do." 

When Love just stopped, Sakura crouched down on the balls of her feet, peering into his face. "What did you do?" she prompted quietly. 

"I did the only thing I could do. I took him to someone that could help. The only one that could help...I took him to Clow Reed." Sakura gasped, she really couldn't help it. "Well what was I supposed to do? I had little options left. Anyway, I teleported right out of that tavern, much to the disbelief of the mortals, I'm sure, and headed right for Clow Reed. There's only so many places the sorcerer could be, and I was betting, hoping, he was at his laboratory. Thankfully, I was right. I just happened to teleport in on the rug right in front of the chair he was sitting on. I looked up, my startled hazel eyes meeting his black ones. He didn't appear surprised, just arched an eyebrow. He closed the book he was reading without a word and began to stand up. That was when I began to talk. To this day I will admit that that was the only time I've ever truly begged anyone for anything...and I **_begged._** I pleaded with him not to send us away, to help Rage. I knew that Rage did things for Clow Reed every once in a while, but I didn't know if they were close or not. For all I knew, Rage was merely a convenience for the sorcerer and that, perhaps, I had just given him the opportunity to dispose of a pet that he no longer needed." 

"Clow Reed merely lifted a finger to his lips, motioning for me to be silent. He knelt down next to Rage and I drew back with Rage in my arms, not sure of his purpose. He merely looked at me, and without him speaking I got the impression he was exasperated with me. Trying to relax, I let the sorcerer in close. He lifted his hand and passed it over Rage's face. The next thing I knew, Rage's screams were cut off and he went limp. Fearing the worst, I burst out, 'What did you do to him!?' Standing back up, Clow Reed adjusted his robes and headed for the door. Looking back over his shoulder, he said, 'Bring him. If you are done with your dramatics there is much to be done. The poison is eating him inside out, and soon, there will be nothing left. I must go to my laboratory, in the labyrinth. What I must do is not to be done here.' And he walked out. I sat there a moment, debating what to do. I thought, there is no way he can get any worse, so I hefted Rage over my shoulder and followed the retreating form of Clow Reed down the passageway." 

"Suffice it to say, we went down a long way. Finally, we came to a large, double doored entrance. There were odd markings along the archway above the door but I couldn't quite read what the inscription said. It was similar to Latin...and yet...it wasn't Latin. The only thing I could determine from it was that it was some sort of warning, whether it was warning of something on the other side of those doors or a warning to stay **_out_** I don't know. We stopped there, however, and Clow Reed said something under his breath. One of the doors opened silently, and, I admit, I was curious. When I tried to peek in to see what was on the other side though, all I could make out was darkness." 

"Turning back to me, Clow Reed said, 'I'll take him from here.' and then Rage's weight disappeared from my shoulders. I looked around but could not find Rage anywhere. I looked quizzically to Clow Reed, but he only smiled. Turning, he said, 'Wait here.' and then he walked through the doorway. Where the door had opened silently before, it shut now with an ominous thud. Somehow, I knew that if I even tried to get in there the results would not be pretty. So, I sat in the dim corridor and waited." 

Love looked at Sakura and shrugged. "What else can I say? I don't know how long I sat there but I know it was a very long time. By the time Clow Reed emerged Rage was with him. Apparently, whatever Clow did it worked, and I can't say I'm not glad for it." sighing, he finished. "Rage and I left VERY soon after that. Rage didn't want to stay any longer then he had to and I had a feeling that was only because Clow Reed didn't want **_me_** there, which is understandable, I guess. So we left, and never spoke of the incident again...until today." looking up into the sky, Love seemed to contemplate something up there. "I still don't know exactly what Rage remembers, though he seemed to remember quite a bit back there just now." 

Sakura waited a few moments before asking, "And Rage knows you were there the whole time? He knows it was you who took him to Clow Reed? Even though it could have possibly gotten you sealed again?" 

Love shrugged. "I would imagine so. I don't know if he remembers me being there all through the...ordeal...with him, but he knows I was the one who took him to Clow Reed." 

"Uh-huh." was all Sakura said. Then, smiling cheerfully, she asked, "Are you coming back to the group now?" 

Love shook his head. "No, no I think I'm going to go wander somewhere. I need to be alone, clear my head. I'm sure that, that Rage doesn't need me here." 

Still smiling, Sakura said, "Well, all right, if you say so. Though, try and talk to Rage, eh?" 

Love nodded. Smiling a small smile back, he teleported out. 

Even after Love left, Sakura still sat where she was, that same smile on her face. Truth be told, she wasn't the least bit happy right now...she was **_pissed_**. To think, after all Love had been through with Rage, **_for _**Rage, and Rage still had absolutely no concept of just how much Love was **_hurting. _**Sakura was aware that Rage didn't fully understand just what it was to express feelings to a great degree, but, what was going on had to stop. If Rage and Love were merely a normal couple Sakura happened to know, she would have told Love to leave Rage. But, as it were... 

Sakura stood up. She may not be able to do much where Love was concerned, he wouldn't listen to her if she just told him to tell Rage how he felt, and he certainly wouldn't be happy with her if she told Rage. So...she'd just have to go to the next best source. Walking slowly back to the group Sakura tried to calm her anger toward a certain card. She walked past Tory, Madison, and Li, ignoring the curious, discrete glances they were sending her. Stopping in front of Rage, she waited until he looked up at her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" 

Shrugging, he stood up gracefully. Sakura led him a little ways away from the group in order not to cause a scene and have questions asked afterward. Stopping abruptly, she turned and faced Rage without warning. Surprised, Rage raised himself up on his toes for a moment so as not to bump into Sakura. "Love is gone." Sakura said flatly. 

Settling back on his feet, Rage hooked his thumbs in his sword belt. "I know." he said simply. 

Sakura's gaze narrowed slightly. "You know?" she repeated, her voice slightly lower, "Don't you think you should, maybe, go after him?" 

Rage studied her. "Why? Love can handle himself." he was silent for a moment, then, "Why the sudden concern for Love? What's going on?" 

"Why don't you go ask Love? I'm sure he'll tell you." Sakura said evasively. She had come out here to give Rage what for, but, now she found that her temper had somewhat deflated. Looking up into utterly puzzled eyes, Sakura found it hard to be angry with someone who had absolutely no idea what it was she was angry about. Sighing in defeat, Sakura turned to walk away. Looking back over her shoulder, Sakura said, "Talk to Love." 

Sakura managed to make it all the way back to her abandoned spot on the grass without looking back behind her. Kero looked quizzically at her. "What's going on? Where did Love and Rage go?" 

At Kero's words Sakura found the courage to peek over her shoulder. Rage was gone. Smiling, she turned back around, "It's nothing Kero. Just something between the two of them. So? Where were we?" she asked, looking around. 

After a noticeable pause, Kero continued, "We were...finished...discussing Betrayal. I think I'll move on to Insanity now." 

Sakura glanced over at a tense Li Syaoran. When she'd caught his attention, Sakura mouthed, 'Are you all right?' Li smiled reassuringly at her and gave her a not-so-discrete thumbs up. Sakura smiled back. Anytime anything about Insanity was mentioned, Li tended to close in on himself, with good reason. Sakura hoped he'd be okay throughout the conversation, and knew, without a doubt, that he would be. One of the things he seemed to hate most was showing weakness in front of others. The other thing was missing out on key information. If there was something here that may help defeat Insanity he wasn't going to miss out on it. 

"Well...Insanity is...insane." Kero smiled lopsidedly scratching the back of his head, embarrassed at his lack of vocabulary. "He used to be like the others, but, over time, his 'Gift' got the best of him, I suppose. His ability is that of Visions. His power in that area is so great that it is said that he can sometimes see into the future. I do not know for sure. He does not carry weapons upon his person, but he has a knack for making potions and concoctions. He likes mixing things together that no one would normally **_ever_** mix together, and he is rewarded in his efforts by creating incredibly strong results. He carries small flasks no more than three centimeters wide and ten centimeters tall. Watch out for them, though he does prefer to get inside his victim's head rather than waste a potion." he glanced quickly at Li then back again. "In that, Insanity and Betrayal are somewhat the same." 

"The Dragon card,...well...I think that's somewhat self explanatory. Basically, the card is just one, huge dragon. But, be careful! Like the dragons from legend, this one can spit Fire from it's nostrils and mouth. And, just to be original, " and Kero smiled wryly, "this dragon can also spit Ice." 

"Ice?" Madison echoed, surprised. 

Kero nodded. "Yep, Ice. Gives you something to think about, doesn't it? Okay, its scales are incredibly hard. No piercing those babies with a sword, " Kero glanced pointedly at Li, "and it will take some strong Magic to get through its defenses also. The tail is something else you've got to worry about." 

"Great," Li replied blandly, "it's not as though we don't have enough to deal with." he said sarcastically. 

Kero glared. "Don't interrupt, Kid." clearing his throat, the Guardian Beast got back to business. "The tail is covered in about two to three metres of more than razor-sharp spikes. If those things hit you..." Kero trailed off, not needing to finish. 

Sakura watched Kero, puzzled, "Kero...?" 

"Hmm?" he asked, turning to her. 

"I was just wondering,...all of the other cards that Clow Reed had created have been in the image of people. Why, suddenly, a dragon?" 

Although the question was serious, Kero smirked, "Clow Reed went through a dragon 'phase' during the Medieval times." 

"Figures." Sakura muttered. 

"The next card is the Death card." Kero grimaced in distaste. "You've met him." he said, addressing Sakura. Sakura only nodded. "Well, Death deals in the Dark Magicks. I can't really describe his attacks to you, I've never personally practiced the Dark arts, " Kero shuddered, "too 'out there'." 

"That's okay," Sakura murmured, "I've already seen a few of his attacks." 

"Well, for those who don't know, the best way I can describe it is, his Magic seems to...absorb...the things around him. He deals strictly in Magic and carries no weapons. He does carry what I like to call 'The Deathscythe', which is a staff with a very sharp blade at the end, like a sickle, but that is used to channel his Magic, not for physical contact. Though, "Kero muttered, "I don't doubt he could do some serious physical damage with it." 

"The last on my list of entertainments for this evening, " Kero said lightly, trying for a bit of light humour. "Is the Magic card." Kero's slight smile disappeared, though, as he continued to speak, "Magic does carry a weapon, a sword, but he really doesn't use it that often. However, don't assume that means he doesn't know **_how_** to use it." he advised. His eyes darkening, he said slowly, "Magic's main weapon **_is_** Magic, but not Ice, Water, Fire, Air, Earth, Light, or Dark. He has the ability to do them **_all._**" Kero ignored the wide eyes around him. "Of course, he **_is_** stronger in some types of Magic than others-I know he cannot do the Dark type very well-but the point is, he **_can_** do them all. And he has **_great_** knowledge in the Magical arts. He also has the ability to create and call up demons, well, " Kero amended, "not **_full_** demons, thank God, but half demons are not to be messed with. I can only imagine how many he's been able to summon in the time he's had so far..." 

"Kero!" Sakura burst in, her expression disbelieving, "How are we supposed to beat and **_seal_** a card like that?! With the amount of power he has..." she trailed off, thinking. 

Kero eyed her evenly. "Clow was able to do it. So can you." 

Sakura looked back up, frustration in her eyes, "First of all, Kero, I'm not Clow. I still haven't figured out how to get my Magic to work! Second, Clow really didn't **_seal_** him, Kero,...he just...trapped him for a few centuries. **_I_** have to seal him **_permanently_**." 

Kero's gaze never flinched. "You can do it, Sakura. You can." _you have to._

Sakura ran a hand through her hair. "This is too much, Kero. Saving the world...again!...it's too much to think about. Especially against the odds I'm suffering at the moment!" 

"What odds?!" Madison said. Laughing, she continued, "You already captured six out os thirteen! That's almost half! I'd say you're doing pretty well, wouldn't you?" 

"Yeah, but, " Sakura said, caving, "I had a **_whole_** lot of help." 

"And you still will, Mistress," Yue said unexpectedly, "we will always be here to help you." 

Sakura smiled slightly, but it was obvious something was still bothering her. Sitting up straight, Li put a scowl on his face. "Come on, Sakura. When I was a kid I used to think you were weak. I never thought you'd capture the Clow cards! Now look at where we are! Battling a whole new batch of Clow cards! You can't tell me you're still intimidated by them? If so," and Li paused dramatically, "then I guess I was right. You never should have been the Card captor. I could do a better job at catching those cards than you could." 

For the first few seconds after that sudden and definitely unexpected speech there was silence. Then, Kero scowled and exploded, "Just a minute, you Chinese brat!..." Tory stood up and moved menacingly in Li's direction. Even Madison was eyeing him like he'd grown two heads. Everyone froze, though, when Sakura stood up behind them. Kero and Tory looked over their shoulders warily as Madison looked up, expecting to see Sakura's eyes filled with tears. 

It wasn't tears her eyes were filled with, but there was something there. A furious, bright light, behind a pair of lowered eyebrows. Her lips turned down in a frown, she marched up to Li and Tory and Kero quickly back peddled to get out of her way. Stopping just inches form him, she poked a finger at his chest and looked up at his face. "Listen, I could beat you at beach volleyball, track and field, I'm a better gymnast than you, **_and_** I captured the Clow cards and gained Yue's approval and **_you_** didn't. So don't you tell me that I..." Sakura trailed off as she realized Li was smiling. In fact, his eyes were swimming with mirth. Furious, she demanded, "What's so funny!?" 

Straightening his face with the utmost difficulty, Li said evenly, "It's good to know you've got your confidence back." 

Sakura stood there, her finger still poking into Li's chest, at a loss for words. It took her a few moments to realize just what Li's real purpose in making her angry had been...to forget about her worries with the Forgotten....and yes, to even gain a bit of her self confidence back. A smile slowly spreading over her face, Sakura stood up on her tiptoes, and it was Li's turn to be dumbfounded as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Li." she said softly, backing away. 

Li stared at her and the look on his face made Madison giggle, discretely, of course, and behind her hand. (~.^) Tory was stuck between glaring at Li and staring after his apparently insane sister. Finally, he muttered, "I get her mad enough to spit and she starts throwing things at my head. **_He_** gets her mad enough to start throwing **_fireballs_** and what does he get?...a kiss." Madison promptly elbowed him in the side.   
~ 

"Sometimes...I don't know why I even bother." 

Love paced back and forth on the earth as he muttered to himself, still upset over Rage. Gnawing on a fingernail, he said, "I's not like he's ever going to love me back, now is it? I should just leave, it's not like he **_needs_** me here. He's got his precious Sakura." sighing, Love plopped down on the grass. Raking long, narrow fingers through his hair he stared at some tree or another. Lying down abruptly, Love was unmindful of any dirt that may find its way into his clothes or hair. Flopping onto one side he lay still for a moment. Then, after a few minutes, he flopped over on his other side. Finally, he exploded upwards and exhaled a great gust of breath. Propping his face dejectedly on his hands so that his face looked a bit smooshed, he murmured, "It's hopeless. I could leave him, but I'd just end up coming back. God! That man is like a bleeding magnet!" Love sighed, "Why couldn't things be a bit different. Why couldn't he just...love me?" 

"What was that?" 

Love nearly pulled something in his neck as he turned around, Rage's sudden entrance scaring the daylights out of him. "Rage! How much did you hear?" Love was suddenly frightened...what if Rage had heard!? 

"Not much," Rage said dismissively, "Actually, not anything. Do you usually have conversations with yourself when no one else is around?" 

Love smiled. "Beats talking to trees. I answer myself." 

Rage arched an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." was all he said. When Love didn't say anything else, Rage cleared his throat. He had noticed that Love had been bothered by something lately, but, he figured it was none of his business. Besides, if Love truly needed help, he would have come to him. Still, seeing the normally cheerful smile less and the brightness in the hazel eyes fade...Rage admitted he missed seeing those things. His life was a rather lonely, miserable thing, he could admit that. He didn't know if it was because of the type of card Clow had made him, or if, over the years, he'd become cynical, jaded, and bitter. He suspected it was a bit of both. Love was the only friend he had, and he enjoyed the attempts Love made to make him laugh...if those things disappeared..."Sakura asked me to follow you. She said something was bothering you." Rage said abruptly, the normally peaceful silence getting to him. 

He wasn't quite sure what he had said-he knew he was never a great conversationalist to begin with-but whatever it had been, it had been the wrong thing. 

Love's face darkened in disbelief, but then, why should he be surprised? He should have known the only reason Rage would have followed him would be because Sakura had asked him to. Love knew he was angry at that moment, knew he should just teleport out before speaking with Rage, give himself time to cool off, but he was just so irrationally angry and jealous at the moment, that he opened his big mouth. "Well...it's good to know you actually notice me once in a while, even if someone has to point me out to you first." he snarled. 

Rage eyed Love carefully, never having seen Love this worked up before. "Love...I don't know..." 

"Of course you don't know!" Love exploded. "You've never known! You just sit up there on your high horse, Ice Prince of the world! while we little people suffer. You're my friend Rage, but right now, I don't like you very much. If it takes someone else's prodding to get you to worry about me, then don't bother. As you know, I can take care of myself!" only after his tirade did Love teleport out in a huff. 

Rage stood, staring at the little puffs of pink left behind by Love, his mind a complete blank. He was no good at deciphering other peoples' emotions, he didn't know the first thing about feelings, and he had absolutely no idea what to do about Love. Something was very wrong, though, and seeing Love so upset bothered Rage. He needed to think, try and find a way to talk to Love. He'd always been able to do so before. But...not anytime soon...Love had made it clear that he did **_not_** want to be followed. At least...that's what Rage thought."   
~ 

To be continued...   
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Geez...you'd think guys would know by now that when a girl, or, in this case, a guy ^.^ storms out of a room (or thin air) you're **_supposed_** to follow them, whether they want you to or not...'cause they always do. ~.^ Boy, I kind of made Rage seem like a jerk in this chapter. ^.^a Oh well, it's part of his charm. Oh! and poor Love and Rage! They had a break-up! Well...as much of a break-up as you can have when you're not together in the first place! ^_^ 

Okay, I know there was no card in this chapter, but his was sort of a 'get back into the writing' thing for me, so I went easy. I did, though, give you a small background on the rest of the cards Sakura has to capture. I hope that's a small constellation. If not, oh well! We'll see what happens. 

I guess that about does it. I will smack myself one more time to ensure there will be no more four month periods between chapters. >. Gomen! And, well, I've forgotten everything else I wanted to say. See you next chapter!!   
  



	29. Love and Friendship Conquer AllCh28

By Maurynna

Author's Notes: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed right now. You guys are the ones who have stuck with me through these horrible months of absence. All I can say is thank you and give you all an invisible hug for putting up with me. You're the best!

Also, very important…the reason why I haven't updated sooner than now was because, to put it bluntly, I didn't have a computer. I got rid of the other one (silently cries) and now have this thing. Still, even with that setback I should have had the chapter out sooner…except…the cds I copied my files to weren't exactly working properly. They kept informing me that there WAS nothing on the discs. Well…I had a little panic attack. I thought I'd lost all my files including my entire Cardcaptor fic!! But, (sighs happily) as you can see I got everything under control. So, now that you know there was a definite reason why this chapter hasn't been out sooner…there's no need to kill me for yet another horridly long wait. ^.^

Okay, just so you know, my favourite writing program has been taken away from me, !.! So I'm forced to use this thing from now on. What I'm trying to say is, if there are any unusual things going on in this chapter in relation to paragraphs, or anything like that, it's because I haven't fully figured out how to work this thing yet. Bear with me.

syrupjunkie – Well, I'm happy I was able to bring some joy into your 'sorta crappy day'. Thank you, I was hoping I would be able to do an acceptable job on the other cards' backgrounds. Yeah…no more four month breaks. I'm sure the rest of you out there will be happy to hear that, too. Thanks for reviewing! J

a.n.g.e.l – I hope this gets out soon enough for you, Angel. I'm glad you like my fic!! It's inspiring to hear that from people.

Zenin - *sigh* You're not the only one to fall in love with Rage. ^.^ Hehe…I think I like my character a **_little_** too much. And Love…you can't rule him out…he's just so damn cute. Yes, you are a tad late, but don't worry about it. And don't be depressed. !.! I'm sure everything will turn out fine…maybe. ;) 

Starlight Princess – lol…thank you very much, Starlight. You always think so much of my chapters. I hope you continue to think all of my chapters are beautiful.

Saiera – Thank you. It kinda does build up his character…doesn't it? ^__^ I'm sure Rage would disagree.

Sailor Chan (silverdroplets) – Hey, Silver. Went and changed your name, did you? Cool. I like both, I guess. But then, J you didn't ask for my opinion, now did you? Okay, on with the relevant stuff. lol, I'm glad you liked my chapter, and yes, you are an S+S freak. ^.^ No, no…I'm fine…honest. Thanks for worrying though. Geez… *blushes pink*…you guys need to stop giving me such compliments. I'm really not that good believe me. But then, I guess it's true when they say you're your own worst critic. *sheepish smile* 

cherrywolf – I'll try and hurry, really I will. Sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I'm glad you like my fic!!

AngelDreamz – Thank you. I try. Ooh…now…I can't tell you just what's going on inside Rage's head. But then, that's mainly because…I don't know half the time myself. *sigh* Rage is so damn complicated he's getting hard to write. Lol…but I love him anyways. You'll just have to wait and see what happens with the Rage and Love situation. I know, isn't it sad that poor Love isn't getting any love? He deserves more than that. *evil fantasy involving Rage and Love pops into head* Heh…I bet he'd go for that (just kidding!…maybe). Umm…*scratches head*…I think I have quite a ways to go before I get good enough to have a book published. But! Practice makes perfect! ^.^ If you're ready to burst from curiousity then I think I've done my job well. Don't worry…everything will resolve itself in the end…though, maybe not quite how some people may think. ~.*

cherrywolf – Hmm…déjà vu. Lol…review as much as you want. Comments are always appreciated, and I'm doing my best on getting this chapter out as I type.

azhrei – You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome! ^.^ Now it's my turn…thank you for taking the time to read my fic, azhrei, even when you're not supposed to be reading anything. ~.^ I hope you like this chapter.

Kallima Angelos Tera – Quite right, about Rage, I mean. J *raises eyebrow* …'just to see what happens'?? lol…devil's firstborn, indeed. Yes, they do…it's a slow process .

CreatiStar - *slowly regains breath and steps away from the mouth of death* Thank you, I love that you love this fic so much. Sorry about the going away thing again. My reason this time is in my author's note…*grumble* *grumble*…stupid new computer…And yes, the romance will start soon. Lol…I'm glad Death and Insanity have that effect on you. MAHAHA…I have accomplished my goal!!! Lol…hehe…forgive me…it's two in the morning and I'm not myself.

A hyper person – I'm sorry…but I think it's best if I stick (or try to) to English names. Geez…remember what kept happening in earlier chapters? I kept switching _between_ Japanese and English names, and I wasn't even aware of it! No, I think it's best if I don't venture into Japanese again, it'll just confuse more people than I would like. My story has that many pages? *blink* *blink* I honestly didn't know. ^_^ Thanks for telling me! Yes…I thank you for not flaming me…seeing as how I would not take to it kindly. Yes, I am used to long reviews, love them, actually, because a long review tends to give me much more information about what the person thinks of my fic. . I hate reviews that are a sentence long, basically saying my fic was good. Thank you for that…but I would like to know _why_ you thought my fic was good. See where I'm going? Yes, well, I DO have a valid excuse this time…so no flames.

Twisted Rose - ^_^ Thank you.

A Hyper Person – *grins* Back again, are you? *whistles* Well now, I can't tell you the fate of the characters…that would give away the story. ;) You'll just have to wait and see. That's okay, I prefer happy endings also…though…we don't always get what we want.

Skiff – Holy cripe…you are, by far, the longest review writer I've ever seen…I like it. ^_^ Thank you for those five reasons…I feel so special! Seriously, you guys are way too nice. I feel so inadequate thanking all of you because the gratitude I feel seems so much more…important than simple thank-yous. But, I don't know how else to express my appreciation. So, I guess I'll just have to stick with what works for now…thank you. ^_^

Skiff – Yeah…that's all I could say, too. Lol. Quite right, quite right…I do need to focus on more than just that one aspect in the story. As for Insanity…give me time…I DO have this all planned out, you know. I'm getting there.

Skiff – I have an excuse! I have an excuse!! I'm sorry for keeping you waiting…again. But I Do have an excuse this time (I believe I mentioned that). ^.^

A Hyper Person – I know…I'm sorry. For some reason, the way you wrote your review has me feeling really crappy right now. Usually, reviews never make me feel this bad. I think it must be the guilt. Sorry.

Zenin – Thank you. Ah, another Rage x Sakura fan. *sigh* Just wasn't meant to be. 

Serena – Thank you, I'm glad you understand my predicament. Thanks again, and I WILL finish this one day…even if it kills me.

Aisha-chan – I am SO happy you want to draw the characters from my fic. Please do! I would be ecstatic to see them. I've tried e-mailing you back about it, but I guess you haven't checked your e-mail. Sorry, I can't have those pairings in this story…it just wouldn't work. But, if that's what you want to draw I'd love to see it! Anyways…good luck on the drawings!! ^_^

Skiff – I…can't write a reply to this. I thought I felt bad before. Just in case you didn't see it in my author's note, I'll explain again. I'm sorry for not updating. I was getting rid of my computer and had to save my files to a cd. I double checked the cd to make sure everything was in working order. It was. But when I tried putting all of my files back on my new computer when I finally got it, it kept saying there was nothing on the disc. I panicked. I thought I'd lost all my work, including every single thing I'd ever written. I didn't accept the fact that it was gone, though. I took my cd's to a friend of my fathers who knows quite a bit about computers in the hopes that he might figure out where my fic went. After a while he did, and I finally got my stuff back. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting.

A Hyper Person – I'll only start calling her Tomoyo if enough people write in telling me they want me to change it. Otherwise, it's going to stay the same. I have this chapter ready; I don't know if I can do two without making you wait another week or two for it IF I started right away. I thought you might like this one out as soon as possible. I hope it's long enough for you. Sorry for making you wait.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me.

**_Warning:_** Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, Insanity, Despair, Fear, Betrayal, Dragon, and Magic belong to ME. Do not even THINK about using them without my permission first.

**_Warning:_** Okay…if things go the way I want in this chapter (which sometimes doesn't happen *bows head, exasperated*.) then there will be shonen-ai. Not Yaoi, not anything quite so heavy, but most definitely shonen-ai. You have been warned.

**Cardcaptors: Love and Friendship Conquer All-Ch.28**

Sakura was beginning to think she had made a terrible mistake.

It had been three days since she had lost her temper with Rage and told him to go after Love. Three days since Love had nearly broken down in front of everyone because of Rage's insensitivity. Three days…since anyone had seen Love at all.

Sakura sighed, her fingers playing idly with the edge of the blanket on her bed. She was beginning to think that she should have just let Love cool down before anyone went after him, especially Rage. God knows Rage upsets Love enough-whether it was in a good way or not. Who knows what went on exactly between the two cards, and Rage wasn't talking about it no matter how she 'subtlety' probed. For all she knew, they could have had some colossal fight and Love may have been even **_more_** damaged than he already was…all because of her.

Flopping onto her back abruptly, Sakura stared at her bedroom ceiling ignoring the curious-if not a bit confused-look Kero was shooting her from the floor in front of her television where he was currently engaged in video games…yet again. Truth be told, she did not need something-someone-else to worry about at the moment. Sure, the Forgotten were enough to worry about as it was, but that wasn't why this new worry bothered her. 

Before that little incident three days ago, she had been ready to make the big step and finally tell Li that she liked him. She had been going over the things Love had said to her that one day in her room and she had been going over how much she enjoyed seeing Li since she'd been back, even if she had been a bit harsh with him where the Forgotten were concerned. She was merely worried for him…for everyone. Looking back, she realized Li must have been pretty hurt all of those times when she asked him to leave so she could talk to Rage alone, all of those times she'd practically _ordered_ him to do, or not do, something. Basically, she had been treating him like his opinions didn't matter, like _he_ didn't matter. She hadn't meant to, she'd just been so worried over this new threat that it sort of took priority over anything else in her life. She needed to fix that.

Sakura smiled slightly. She remembered what she felt when Li was near. When he gave her those little half smiles of his her heart tended to flutter in her chest. When his expression turned cloudy she would become worried, wondering what could possibly be plaguing his thoughts now. And when he touched her…Sakura sighed, still smiling, drawing Kero's attention back to her again. Those few, rare times when Li had hugged her-usually when she was leaving the country or coming back from the past-she'd gotten that warm, fuzzy feeling she'd experienced that one time when she'd kissed Li in a desperate gamble to save him from Insanity.

But…and Sakura frowned…she really didn't know how to deal with Li. She had known him since she was ten, but she'd never truly breached Li's concrete walls of defence that he had erected around his emotions. At least…she didn't think she had. It was like stepping in quicksand where Li's emotions were concerned…Sakura really didn't know how deep and how far she could go before she was swallowed whole. 

And then, of course, there was still the big question…did Li like…correction…did Li _love_ her? She knew he did care, they were friends after all. But, what if it was only friendship he wanted? Sakura shook her head lightly, trying to clear it of that particular troublesome thought. Okay…so there was a possibility that when she went up to Li and said, 'I love you' there was a possibility that he might say, 'I'm sorry, but I don't'. She could live with that…maybe…okay, who was she kidding? But what choice did she have? It wasn't like she could force him to love her…where did that thought come from? When she tells him how she feels and he doesn't return her feelings and just wants to be friends, then that's how it would be. It wouldn't be easy on her part, but she'd sure as hell try to make it as easy for Li as she could. She really didn't want to ruin her friendship with him.

"Kero?" Sakura said suddenly, flopping over onto her stomach and raising herself up on her elbows.

Kero looked up from his video game, pausing it in the process. "Yeah, Sakura?" Kero replied, trying not to sound too eager. Frankly, Sakura's silent brooding on the bed had been driving him nuts. Every time she sighed, every time she stirred restlessly on the mattress Kero had hoped she'd tell him what was bothering her…because something obviously was. Her continued silence nearly _had_ driven him insane, cool video game or not. So, finally, she says something, and he's nearly bursting waiting to hear what she has to say…

"…Do you think I'm attractive?"

"Eh?" Kero fell over, a sweatdrop appearing on his head…what sort of question was that!?!

Sakura eyed him, a confused frown on her face. "Kero?"

Pulling himself together, Kero demanded, "_Why_ do you want to know?"

Her frown intensifying, she said, "B-because. I want to know." 

Kero rolled his eyes, "You do realize I'm not exactly the right person to be asking this, right? I mean…I'm not exactly human, you know." he said pointedly.

Sakura sighed in exasperation, "I know. Just give me an answer. Do I seem…pretty to you?"

Kero wondered at her sudden lack of confidence in her appearance. What had brought this on? Looking her over, Kero announced, "Well…from the perspective of a winged lion…" he replied drolly, "I'd say you're a fair cut above the rest." he put his finger to his chin, thinking, "Though…you don't exactly look like those tall women that are advertised on the television. You know, the ones from the Covergirl commercials and the Videl Sassoon ads?"

"Thanks Kero," Sakura retorted, a heavy dose of sarcasm to go with her urge to strange a certain Guardian Beast.

Kero shrugged. "Honestly, though, I think you're pretty." he finished up with a winning smile. Sakura smiled back at him. 

Becoming serious, Kero asked, "Okay, what's bothering you?"

Sakura's face fell a bit. She couldn't tell him about Li…him and the Sun Guardian were still on shaky terms…though they had gotten better! Marginally… "I'm worried about Love." she confessed. Kero may not like the Forgotten, but at least she didn't have to tell him she was in love with one of them. Sakura smiled wickedly. But, oh, wouldn't that put a priceless expression on Kero's face?

"Really? Why?" he asked, perplexed. Though, surprisingly, he didn't seem at all angry at the mention of the card.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Because we haven't seen him in three days. What if something's happened to him?"

Kero shrugged. "The way I see it, that's his own problem." he replied. He noticed the look on Sakura's face and quickly said, "It's not like he can't take care of himself, Sakura. No human, well, except you, of course, could harm him. The only thing he'd have to worry about would be running into another card, which is probably highly unlikely. You know that he avoids them; I've told you that. Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine."

Sakura nodded slowly, Kero's attempted soothing just what she had been looking for. Of course Love was fine…he was Love. Nothing was wrong…

Kero's eyes narrowed suddenly and he stared out Sakura's bedroom window. Sakura watched him, waiting. "One of the Forgotten," he said quietly, by way of explanation. "and by the feel of it, It's not trying to hide Its energy."

Sakura frowned. "Why didn't I feel it?"

Kero looked at her sideways, "Probably because you're so preoccupied. Try clearing your head, then you'll feel it."

"Where?" Sakura asked simply, getting up and grabbing the Key of Clow from her dresser.

"I'm not sure…it almost feels like…" Kero paused, feeling it out. His lips pursed. "…Tokyo Tower, I'm sure of it."

"Oh, great," Sakura muttered. She took off her jeans in favour of shorts for better moveability but kept her loose T-shirt on, unmindful of Kero since he wasn't paying attention anyways, too interested in trying to figure out which of the Forgotten he was sensing.

Picking up her phone, Sakura quickly dialled Madison's number. "Hello?" Madison asked on the other end.

"Forgotten. Tokyo Tower. Meet at Penguin slide. Now." Sakura said simply and hung up. She turned to Kero, "I'm picking Madison up at the King Penguin slide and flying the rest of the way. You know how to get there." 

"Right." Kero said, 'game face' on. Turning, he flew out the open window and to the park.

Sakura rushed out her door and down the stairs, nearly running Tory over in her hurry to get out the door. Pushing past him, she opened the front door and ran out of the house. Tory ran to the door himself, yelling at Sakura's retreating back, "Where are you going!?"

"Clow stuff!" she yelled back over her shoulder, but she didn't slow down.

"Be careful!!" Tory yelled loudly, hoping she wasn't too far away that she couldn't hear him. He stared after her retreating form for a moment before walking slowly back into the house.

Sakura sprinted nearly all the way to the Penguin slide. When she got there Kero was there. She was surprised to see Madison there as well. Huffing and puffing, she asked her, "How did you get here so fast?"

Madison grinned. "By the urgency of your voice on the phone I got the impression that if I didn't get here _fast_ you would have left without me. So…" she winked, "I took a taxi."

Sakura smiled too. "Well, let's do this. I want to seal that card before it has a chance to do any damage. Oh, Key of Clow, Power of Magic, Power of Light, surrender the wand, the Force ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared in her hands. "Fly card!"  wings appeared on her wand and she motioned to Madison. "Come on."

Madison ran over to Sakura and took a seat behind her. Immediately, the Fly card took off, heading for Tokyo Tower. Kero flew close beside them, his eyes ever watchful, searching for anything suspicious.  

It took remarkably less time to fly to the Tokyo Tower than it did riding the train on a school trip. Sakura smiled in remembrance. The last time she had been to the Tokyo Tower was when she had battled Yue in the Final Judgement. Sakura grimaced slightly. To think…she had almost forgotten everyone and everything that had to do with the Clow cards that day. Sakura shuddered and hoped Madison hadn't noticed. She sincerely hoped she would never, _ever_, be in a position where there was a chance she could forget again.

Sakura approached the Tokyo Tower and circled it once, looking for any sign of the Forgotten. Seeing nothing that was out of the ordinary, Sakura took the Fly card in and landed on the Special Observatory on the top floor of the Tower. She didn't have to worry about anyone spotting her here since the special observatory was only open to a few people at certain times of the day (I don't really know if that's true, I'm just using it as an excuse so that no one will spot Sakura. I've never been to the Tokyo Tower and everything I write about it now is solely based on pictures that I found on the structure.).

Calling Fly back, Sakura looked around, searching for the card. "Do you sense it now?" Kero asked from behind her, his coal black eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I can definitely feel it now…_what_?!" she asked as Kero eyed her.

"Well…it's just that…Sakura," Kero breathed, "I can't sense the card anymore. It's hiding its energy."

Sakura frowned. "Well, that can't be right. Kero, if the Forgotten was hiding its energy, I wouldn't be able to sense It." she pointed out.

Kero looked a bit uneasy but said calmly enough, "Remember when we were tracking Rage, and suddenly, his energy disappeared? Li and I couldn't sense him, but you could. He had been hiding his energy, Sakura. He'd even admitted that. This is very odd." Kero mumbled to himself under his breath.

"Odd or not," Madison intoned, "I think we should worry about it later."

Kero snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "Right. Okay, Sakura, you're our only way to find the card. Let's get this over with as soon as possible."

"Shouldn't we wait for help first?" Sakura questioned. She could admit that that was her fault. She had been in such a hurry and had been so worried about another card that the possibility of contacting anyone hadn't even occurred to her. Well, except for Madison, but that was almost like a reflex. All those years of getting a hold of Madison before a battle…old habits die hard.

"I contacted Yue on our way over here." Kero informed her. "He should be here any moment. As for the Kid," Sakura sighed at Kero's seemingly inability to call Li by his name, "If I sensed the card for the short amount of time that I did then chances are he sensed it, too. I'm sure we'll be seeing him soon."

"What about Rage and Love?" Madison asked, curious.

Kero hesitated for a moment, then he shrugged, "They'll get here when they get here…if they get here." Kero said hopefully, stressing the _if_.

"Well…if you don't think we should wait…" Sakura started slowly.

Kero scoffed and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Backup'll arrive anytime now, Sakura. I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, you'll be able to fend off the card long enough for at least Yue to get here." he said optimistically.

Sakura turned her back to him with a sceptical expression, _Yeah right_, running through her head.

Sakura travelled around the outside ring of the observatory, moving slowly, her senses open for any trace of danger. Kero would fly on a little ways ahead then dart back to Sakura's shoulder again. Madison was following closely behind Sakura, her face buried in her camcorder. 

They must have been halfway around the tower when a rustling of wings startled the trio. The three of them looked up and Sakura and Madison smiled. Kero snorted, "Took you long enough."

Yue eyed Kero dispassionately. Turning to Sakura, he asked, "Have you located the Forgotten yet?"

Sakura sighed. "No, not yet."

"Is there anything you would like me to do, Mistress?" Yue asked, hovering over their heads, wings beating slowly.

Sakura smiled. "Actually, there is." she made a face. "Trying to cover the entire circumference of this thing is tiring and taking too long. Would you mind flying around the other half for me and tell me if you see anyone or anything?"

"Of course, Mistress. I shall return shortly." and he flew off.

"With Yue helping we'll be able to find the card a lot faster." Madison commented, following Yue's flight with her camcorder until he was out of sight around the tower.

"Yeah, but do we want to?" Kero muttered.

Sakura continued her patrol, not wanting to make Yue fly any farther than he had to. It wasn't a long wait before the Moon Guardian came flying back in the opposite direction he had left from. Landing just in front of Sakura, he immediately informed her, "I have found nothing out of the ordinary, Mistress."

"So, that means that the card isn't on the outside." Sakura said looking toward the glass leading into the tower. "I guess that means it's in there."

"How can you be sure?" Kero asked.

Walking back to the set of glass doors they'd passed, Sakura replied, "Because, Kero, the card feels _very_ close. There's nowhere else but here for it to be." she reasoned.

Sakura reached for the handles on one of the doors slowly. Kero and Yue tensed behind her, ready for violence. Madison held her camcorder in both hands, her sights riveted on the door, but ready to move out of the way should anything come through that door. Just as Sakura was about to open it, it was pushed open from the inside, nearly throwing Sakura off her feet in surprise. Yue rushed forward from behind to steady her, his wings spread wide and ready to fly with Sakura in his arms should he need to. 

Sakura tightened her grip on the Clow wand, having almost dropped it. Ready for anything, she looked up toward the door…and nearly fell over again. "Rage?!"

Rage stood calmly in the doorway, one hand still on the opened door, staring at the group of four as they stared at him. There was silence until, when one white eyebrow arched, Rage said, "Sakura, what a surprise." his tone suggesting that he was not surprised to find her here at all.

Stepping away from Yue, Sakura asked anxiously, "You've been inside? Did you find anything?"

Rage shook his head. "I have only just teleported here, Sakura. I have not had the chance to investigate as of yet." his expression hardened, his eyes turning to ice. 

Sakura took a deep breath. "Okay. This is it. Is everyone ready?" when she received nods she turned back to the open doorway. "Be careful Madison." she cautioned.

Sakura stepped inside. Rage unsheathed his sword once she'd passed ready to defend. Kero and Madison followed her in and then Yue, folding his wings behind him so that he could get in the doorway. It was turning to evening outside and the interior of the Tokyo Tower observation room was dim, and getting darker. Sakura still had sufficient enough light to see, but only just. She squinted her eyes a bit as she attempted to peer as far into the room as she could. She didn't see anything out of place. Sakura frowned, frustrated. She _knew_ it was here, and the card was so close that it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. But there was no sign of it!

Sakura was just about to pass the elevators that led down to the main observatory when Kero exclaimed, "Look!" Sakura's head whipped around, trying to locate the source of Kero's anxiety, thinking he must have spotted the card, her Clow wand coming up. "The elevator!" Kero said, his voice lowered but filled with intensity.

Sakura looked to the elevator, and realized what had grabbed Kero's attention. The needle that told you what floor the elevator was resting at…was moving. Someone was coming up. Normally, that wouldn't be so odd, except for the fact that no one was allowed up here right now!

Raising her Clow wand in a defensive manner Sakura reached for a Clow card. The little needle kept going up and Sakura watched, transfixed, waiting for the doors to open. When the elevator did reach this floor, Sakura found herself being pushed back into Yue by Rage, who took an offensive stance in front of her. Sakura craned her neck around Rage's back, wanting to see what came out of the elevator for herself.

The doors dinged and everyone tensed. They opened and there was Li, ready to step off the elevator. When he saw Rage, however, his sword drawn, he decided it might be better if he stayed where he was. Raising his hands above his head, he said dryly, "I'm unarmed."

"Li!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing from behind Rage who had lowered his sword when he had seen it was Clow Reed's descendant.

Li smiled. "Hey Sakura." his expression turned serious in the blink of an eye, though, and he asked, "Have you seen the card yet?"

"No. But it's here." Sakura murmured, looking around. Sighing, she said, "Come on, let's keep looking."

"What took you so long?" Kero whispered snidely as Sakura and the others searched.

Li glanced at Kero. "Not everyone can fly you know." he replied smartly. He moved up to be by Madison.

Sakura was beginning to think the card would never show itself. The group had been working their way to the centre of the observatory, going in a circular motion around the inside and working their way in. By now, they were nearly to the centre, which happened to be darker than the rest of the observatory since the light couldn't make its way all the way inside to that spot. Sakura eyed the centre of the observatory, an odd feeling in her stomach. It was rather dark over there, but she figured that was because of lack of light…or was it?

Sakura's train of thought was cut off when the card's energy suddenly spiked. "Did you…?" Sakura started, her eyes narrowed.

All four of the guys behind her had tensed. "Yes," Kero said, "I felt that."

"As did I." Rage replied quietly, staring beyond Sakura and into the odd darkness. "It is no longer shielding from us."

Sakura took a deep breath. Feeling bold (who wouldn't with three big men behind you…especially when two of them aren't human. Oh, yeah, ^.^ and one stuffed lion.) She took a single step forward. "Show yourself!" she demanded, feeling rather proud of the fact that her voice concealed the trembling that was going on in her stomach.

At first, there didn't appear to be any difference in the room. The energy of the card was still high but nothing moved. Then, a dark shape seemed to appear out of nowhere in the darkness, creating an even greater dark. The vague shape of a person could be made out, but it was too dark to make out any details or to interpret which card it could be.

Sakura was about to issue another challenge to the card, but she was stopped with her mouth midway open, Rage startling the hell out of her. "Love?" Rage whispered, his body seeming to go slack for a moment. Sakura looked down at her feet and inched away, nervous that Rage might lose his grip on his sword and drop it on her foot.

After eying Rage for a moment, and trying to figure out just how he knew-or thought, in this case-that it could be Love, Sakura turned her attention back to the dark.

The shadows began receding slowly until brown trousers could be made out, and then a long, brown jacket covering a white shirt. The ends of long, caramel hair became visible, and then the shadows disappeared from a face that was lowered, the eyes hidden. Sakura's eyes widened as she realized that it was, indeed, Love, and that Rage had been right.

"Love." Rage said again, taking another step forward, fully intending to go to the previously absent baka.

"Wait." Sakura murmured, placing a restraining hand on Rage's arm. Sakura felt, with mild alarm, the muscles under Rage's shirt bunch. She fully expected him to pull roughly away from her. She had better explain fast. "Something…isn't right." she whispered to him, her fingers tightening on his arm just in case. She returned her attention to Love and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. She just****_knew_ something was wrong. Something just didn't feel…right. She tried concentrating on Love, straining her senses to the max. She tried reaching for her Magical core, her Self-like Yue and Rage had been trying to teach her to do-so that she might use Magic somehow in order to help her sense what she was missing. However, when she reached for that bright, white light that she had seen inside of Yue…she was greeted with nothing. 

However, it appeared she didn't need that extra boost of Magic. She concentrated on the spot Love was standing; her senses open as wide as they could be. That was when she felt it. "There's someone else there!" she said urgently, her eyes wide.

There was a short laugh from Love's vicinity. Two black-clad arms came out of the darkness, and, like two striking cobras, came and encircled Love's neck. The darkness vanished abruptly and the cardcaptor group stared as a woman was revealed. She was floating two inches off the ground, arms wound tightly about Love, clinging to his back. Smiling at the stunned group, she rested her chin on Love's shoulder, her glossy black hair falling over one ear and down Love's chest. She had a very feminine, elfin face with fair skin that looked as if it had never seen the sun. Her features were very fine; high cheekbones, delicately arched eyebrows, slanted eyes, and full, red lips. Sakura vaguely noted that her eyes were, indeed, coal black, just as Love had described them. Her irises were so dark that you could not distinguish them from her pupils, and that created a rather creepy effect. It didn't look like she _had_ pupils. Sakura knew without being told which card this was. 

"Betrayal." Rage hissed, his voice so menacing on that one word that Sakura really didn't think this card would see the light of another day. Rage's eyes moved from her to Love's still partially hidden face and something in his expression changed slightly. "Love," he said, tone softer, but still with that ice in it. "What do you think you're doing? Come here." he demanded in that way only Rage can.

Sakura gestured to Madison, telling her silently to get out of the way. When things got messy, as, no doubt they would, Sakura didn't want Madison in the middle of it. Madison nodded and moved off as quietly as she could to the sidelines, still videotaping as she went.

Love didn't move. Betrayal's smile grew wider and, instead of Love answering, she said dismissively, "Oh, he doesn't want to talk to you." she reluctantly let go of Love and floated back down to the ground, she disappeared behind Love's shoulders-as she was a few inches shorter than he was-for a moment before stepping out from behind him. Sakura could only gape. 

Betrayal wore a tight, black velvet dress that hugged her figure like a second skin. The long sleeves went all the way down to her wrists where half of the sleeve stopped and the other half went on to cover the backs of her hands, ending in a triangle shape. Her shoulders were completely covered by the velvet, no straps or bare shoulders here, but the V in the dresses neckline dipped so low into the valley between the card's breasts that more than a decent amount of cleavage was visible. The scandalous dress went down to cling to a flat stomach, narrow waist, and lush hips. Just below the hips the dress began showing skin in a criss-cross or X pattern running down the card's thighs to just above her knees. There was also a slit that parted the dress from the middle of her left thigh that kept going to the end of the dresses skirt. Slim, unmarked legs peeked out from between the opening. To complete the 'look' she wore black, high-heeled shoes, the heel so thin it looked like it would break under her weight. The shoes were tied together from below the ankle to midway to her knee by thin, black straps that criss-crossed each other (Gee, hope this description makes up for one that Despair didn't have.).

Rage wasn't in the least bit phased by Betrayal's appearance having seen her before, and _not_ under great circumstances. His eyes two cool, blue chips, he spoke to Love while keeping his gaze on Betrayal. "Love, what is going on? Are you out of your mind?"

Betrayal shook her finger once. "Tsk. I told you, he doesn't want to talk to you." moving close to Love again she ran her hand over his hair, almost like one would pet a cat. Crooning to him, she said, "And who could blame you?"

"I will ask one more time." Rage said ominously, bringing his sword up. "_What_ is going on?"

Betrayal turned to look at him, a small pout on her lips. But her eyes were glittering. "Rage. We meet again, though you shouldn't be here at all. Tell me," she inquired, "why weren't you killed by my poison?" when Rage neglected to reply she shrugged. "I don't suppose that's the most pressing issue right now though, is it?" frowning, she cast him a disapproving look. "I was so very upset when Love rejected me before. But, I vowed that I would have him. It took a few centuries, but I have accomplished my goal." she smiled.

"Love would never consider forming a relationship with you." Rage scoffed.

"Oh no?" Betrayal demanded. Reaching up, she cupped Love's face in her hand and tilted his mouth towards her. Parting her luscious lips she licked Love's own full ones before she fastened her mouth to his.

This time, Sakura didn't bother to try and restrain Rage; she knew she'd never have enough strength to hold him back. Yue, however, was a different story. Using his wings as extra leverage he held onto Rage for all he was worth, the upset Forgotten straining in his hold like an animal. "Rage, calm down." Yue murmured in his ear. It didn't have much of an effect.

Betrayal pulled away from Love licking her lips. "Mmm…he is simply delicious." she purred. "I would have spent another five hundred years in that cave if it meant I would have him all to myself." she turned her attention to Rage who wore a furious expression. "I can see why you kept him for so long. He must be simply wonderful in bed." Yue tightened his grip, Rage's struggles intensifying.

Sakura watched Betrayal with angry eyes herself. No _way_ would Love _ever_ let her do that to him, not after what she'd done to Rage. _Especially_ because of Rage. "What's wrong with him?" she asked, speaking to the card for the first time.

Betrayal blinked once, as if not understanding the question. "There's nothing _wrong_ with him, my dear. Everything is right. Love, why don't you look at our enemies rather than stare at the floor, hmm?" she suggested, guiding his face up and towards the group with her index finger.

Sakura gasped. Rage stopped struggling abruptly and stared. Love was looking at them all dispassionately, his hazel eyes dull and nearly lifeless. There was no expression on his normally cheery face. He seemed so…_empty._

"What have you done to him?" Rage whispered after a lengthy silence, his face a blank mask. It would have appeared that he felt nothing at this moment, if not for the very slight quiver in his voice.

"Why, I've helped him." Betrayal put a hand to her face, looking tragic. "Oh! When I found him he was so absolutely torn! He was so _angry_…" Betrayal looked to Rage pointedly. "…though he seemed more upset with _himself_ than _you_, which I cannot understand." looking back up at Love's expressionless face she smiled. Hugging him again, she rubbed little circles on his shoulder with her hand, the motions meant to be soothing. "When I first saw him I was sure I had my chance for revenge." her face hardened abruptly, her eyes glittering. "_No one_ refuses _me_." she growled. But, that smile was back on her face again and she ran her fingers through the silken strands of Love's hair while saying, "But then I got closer to him and picked up on what he was feeling. I almost fainted!" she declared, overdramatic. "His mind was in chaos! Not only was he furious, but he was also so very, very sad. Well…I couldn't let the poor dear remain like that!" smiling brightly, she continued, "I decided that I'd much rather have _him_ than my revenge. His mind was so fragile at that moment that I just stepped right in. It was easy." she added, as if in afterthought.

"Well, that explains it." Kero whispered to himself. When Sakura glanced at him, silently asking what explained what, he said to her, "It's not easy to control the mind of a Forgotten. It is _extremely_ difficult, even if the one who was doing the controlling was a Forgotten herself. If Love's mind was as fragile as Betrayal says, it would have been fairly easy to just slip in and create a few spells," Kero glared at her, "and work her darker Magicks."

Taking an offensive stance, Rage moved forward. "You shan't have him for long." he promised, sword at the ready.

Betrayal glanced at Rage's stone cold expression and moved slightly behind Love. She whispered something in his ear, and suddenly, Love's eyes weren't so lifeless.

Rage stopped in his tracks, watching Love half warily and half hopefully. "Love?" he questioned.

Life returned to the hazel depths and they glittered…but not with mirth. Drawing his sword slowly from its sheath, Love pointed it at Rage's chest. Love watched Rage with such damning hatred in his eyes that Rage felt his wall of ice crack, wanting to cave in. As if the eyes weren't bad enough, words began pouring from Love's mouth, "You! Have you come to condemn me again! I don't know why you even bothered to show up. Surely, you would be better off without me. You barely even notice me half the time! Too wrapped up in _her_." Love pointed his sword at Sakura. Laughing bitterly, he said, "You don't even care! You've _never_ cared about me." making a sudden and unexpected move, Love lunged at Rage screaming, "I'm tired of being your bloody shadow!"

Giving a surprised yell, Rage stumbled backwards and away from Love. Even surprised, he managed to block Love's thrust. But Love didn't just leave it alone after one strike. Jumping into the air, Rage sought to avoid Love's furious onslaught, dodging Love's attempted killing blows like a gazelle dodges a cheetah.

"Rage!" Sakura exclaimed, afraid for both him and Love. 

She ran two steps, intending to help, but Rage yelled, "No! I can hold him! Defeat Betrayal! Once she is sealed…" Rage trailed off as one blow came almost too close. He weaved right and away from the observatory wall, Love's sword just missing him and slamming into the plaster behind him. Huge chunks of the wall exploded outwards and scattered on the floor below. Love attempted to pull his sword from the wall, but found that he could not, the force behind his attack having driven the sword solidly into the thick tower's walls. Watching him carefully, Rage continued, "…once you seal her, her Magic will cease and the spell will be broken." 

Giving his complete attention back to Love, Rage launched his attack while Love was distracted. Rather than using his sword, though, he used his fist to knock Love back. Love grunted in pain and lost his grip on his sword, falling back in the air. Getting over the pain in his jaw Love came back at Rage, swinging his own fist at Rage's pale face.

Sakura watched Love and Rage fight for a millisecond more before confronting Betrayal. Lifting her Clow wand in a threatening manner Sakura said, "You've caused enough damage. It's time you were sealed again."

Betrayal laughed, the sounds of Rage and Love's battle echoing in the background, truly amused. "And who's going to seal me? _You_? I don't think so." she eyed Sakura up and down, her eyes full of contempt. "You may be descended from Clow Reed little girl, but I have _centuries_ on you."

Betrayal flung her arms wide and summoned up a great gust of wind. Bringing her arms together in front of her she propelled the wind forward, intent on knocking Sakura clear through the glass of the observatories windows and out into the empty air to her death.

Sakura clutched her Clow wand in her hands and braced her arms in front of her. "Shield!" the little pink bubble formed around her, Li, and her guardians. Sakura narrowed her eyes as the wind hit her, feeling the Shield card straining against it. But it was holding.

Betrayal laughed at Sakura's attempt to protect herself and increased the strong gust of wind to a forceful gale. Sakura cried out as her shield began to vibrate, too much pressure being put upon it. She felt like she had when she'd battled the Hate card. The Shield card had not been strong enough to keep Hate's fire out indefinitely, and it wasn't strong enough to keep out Betrayal's winds.

Arms came around from behind Sakura to land on her own arms near the Clow wand, making her jump and nearly loose her hold on Shield. "It's okay, Sakura." Li's voice said in her ear as a warm body pressed into her back, supporting her.

Sakura took a risk and chanced a glance over her shoulder. Li's face was inches from her own and he was wearing his trademark scowl, a glare directed over her head at Betrayal. Sakura just watched him for a few moments. Then, gathering courage from him she focused on the Shield card, strengthening it. It may be holding again, but for how long? "We can't keep this up forever!" Sakura said to Li, yelling to be heard over the whistling of the wind. "We need to go on the offensive!"

"I don't know about you," Li yelled back, a touch of humour in his voice, "but I'm a bit busy at the moment!"

"Give up!" Betrayal advised, her voice easily heard over her own wind. "Give up, and I might kill you quickly rather than slowl…" Betrayal cried out in surprise, feeling a second shield go up around Sakura's. Not only was this shield strong, but it was made out of Air! She received another surprise as her wind slowly turned back on itself and headed towards her. She cut off her spell before it could send _her_ flying through the observatory glass. Glaring at Sakura, who wore a surprised expression of her own on her face, Betrayal asked, "Who…?"

"You forget," Yue exclaimed, suddenly appearing in the air above the Forgotten's head, "that _I_ have centuries on _you_." forming his icicles in his hand, Yue sent them straight for Betrayal.

Giving a cry of alarm this time Betrayal dodged backwards furiously. As she did so, Betrayal unhooked several of the needles from her bracelet and hurled them at Yue. The needles were so small and flung so fast that Yue almost didn't see them coming. Stopping his assault on Betrayal he flung himself to the right in midair. Two of the needles came within millimetres of his face, just missing and slicing a few strands of his hair instead, sending the silver bits floating to the floor.

Betrayal looked down at the sleeve of her dress in disbelief. One of Yue's icicles had managed to hit her and had torn her beautiful, black creation. Not only had it torn her clothes, but there was a shallow gash running from the beginning of her arm at the shoulder to just above her elbow. Looking back up at Yue she noticed that he had managed to avoid all of her poisonous pins. Narrowing her eyes, she muttered, "Something will have to be done about you."

Betrayal looked at the three remaining cardcaptors starting with Sakura, who had called the Shield card back as soon as Yue went on the attack, another card now clutched in her fist. Betrayal quickly passed her by, sensing nothing from her except a dense, pink cloud whenever she tried to pick thoughts from the cardcaptor's head. She moved to Li next. He didn't seem to have the sort of impenetrable cloud surrounding his mind, but when she tried picking his thoughts for something useful to use to turn him against his friends, she was greeted with a _part_ of that cloud she had sensed from the girl. It was almost as if…a part of her was in the boy. Betrayal didn't quite know what that meant, but she did know she was reluctant to try and break that pink cloud…and that annoyed her to no end. She shouldn't be reluctant in anything concerning this _girl_. But…she had a feeling that if she tried to break that pink cloud the results would not be pretty.

She turned to Kero next and her gaze sharpened as it landed on the false form of the Sun Guardian. His mind was open and vulnerable…and all she was getting from him were feelings of self-doubt. Smiling wickedly, Betrayal secretly let out a tendril of her Power of Persuasion directly towards the Guardian Beast, whispering little lies into his head. No one noticed Kero's eyes slowly go blank; they were too focused on Betrayal. 

Smiling at Sakura, Li, and Yue now, Betrayal raised her hands slightly in a sign of surrender. "Well, it looks like I might have a bit of trouble facing all three of you. Why don't you just seal me, I don't want anymore wounds than I already have." she said sweetly.

Sakura exchanged glances with Li. Both expected a trap. Somehow, it just wasn't conceivable that after all Betrayal had said and done that she would give up merely because she had been wounded. But what could they do? If she refused to fight then the only other thing to do would be to seal her.

Sakura took a hesitant step forward, not sure what to expect. 

"Be careful." Li whispered behind her, his sword at the ready.

Sakura raised the Clow wand. "Betrayal card! Return to your power, confi-ahh!" Sakura cut off mid-chant as a large, orange shape brushed by dangerously close to her, a gust of air following in its wake. She looked up just in time to see Kero, in his true form, barrel straight into an unsuspecting Yue, sending the Moon Guardian crashing to the ground. Sakura couldn't help but wince as she heard an ominous **_crunch_** as Yue hit the ground, followed by a cry of pain.

"Kero!" she screamed. "Stop it!" she didn't have time to wonder how Kero had managed to transform into his true self with Death still left to capture first because Kero was speaking in the next instant…

Crouching over Yue, Kero bared his teeth. "You think I didn't notice? You think all of the private talks between you and my Mistress went unnoticed? I know what you're trying to do!" he growled, pressing a paw painfully into Yue's chest. "You wanted her for yourself, didn't you? It was the same with Clow Reed! Always demanding more of his time, alone, than was your right! And now you're doing it with Sakura! When you went out on the roof to talk that one night, you were trying to convince her to discard me, weren't you? You were trying to convince her that you were the stronger Guardian! You. can't. have. her." he enunciated slowly. Kero leaned forward, intent on taking half of Yue's face off with his teeth.

"Kero!" Sakura yelled again, rushing forward. 

Betrayal blocked her way, shaking her head, giving the impression that Sakura should know better. "I think we should let them sort out their differences…Kero Beros does not seem happy with Yue at all." she said sadly, pouting.

"Get out of his head. Leave him alone." Sakura warned, an anger boiling up from the pit of her stomach and leaking out into her voice. Kero was one of her best friends and the thought of him being influenced like he was at the moment really upset her, and that was an understatement.

"Oh, I don't think so." Betrayal said calmly. "You see, with both of your Guardians in their true forms now, I really don't want them aligning themselves with you at the moment. Four against one really isn't fair, you know. Six against one is even worse." tilting her head to the side, Betrayal gazed at Sakura quizzically. "However did you get both Love and Rage to join you? In all my years I never thought I would see the day one of us aligned ourselves with Clow Reed's forces. It's unheard of."

"Things change." Sakura murmured.

"Yes…I suppose they do." Betrayal said quietly. "Anywho," she quipped, smiling brightly, "with only the two of you to deal with now I don't think I'll have much of a problem. You don't look like much." she observed.

"Appearances can be deceiving." Sakura muttered, having had enough of being insulted by her 'High-and-Mightiness'. "Firey! Release and dispel!"

Betrayal created an Air shield around her as Firey headed her way. She laughed as the shield absorbed Fireys flames harmlessly. "You'll have to do better than a Clow card if you want to defeat me! Those pathetic cards do not even compare to us!" Betrayal projected the Air in her shield outwards and blew Firey away from her and back to Sakura and Li.

Sakura felt her cards panic and knew that Firey could not stop itself in time. "Firey! Return!" Sakura called back quickly, relieved when the flames from Firey were pulled into the card and not her flesh. Glancing over at Li, she said, "I don't know if my attacks are strong enough to break through her defences, Li."

Holding a charm out in front of himself he glared at the card while he replied to Sakura, "The card's strong Sakura, no doubt about that, but you can't think that way. We've got to stop her. To help Yue and Kero…" after a pause, "…and Rage and Love, too, we've got to beat her. Firey didn't seem to work, why don't you try another one of the element cards? They're the strongest."

"Right." Sakura nodded. Sakura took out the four cards and regarded them in her hands. Earthy, Firey, Windy, and Watery…but which one to use? She didn't dare try Windy-though she loved the card dearly-knowing Betrayal's talents with the air currents about her. She already tried Firey. She looked over at Kero and Yue. Yue was still fending off the Sun Guardian, trying desperately to keep those huge fangs away from his throat. So she dared not use Earthy either, she didn't want to risk upsetting Yue with a jolt to the tower. Sakura shivered, an image coming to her mind of a startled Yue losing his purchase in Kero's fur and Kero's head descending to…

Sakura glanced down at the last card in her hand. "Right…Watery it is."

~

"Kero Beros! You must calm yourself!" Yue commanded urgently, his arms straining to push Kero back.

"And give you the advantage?" Kero snarled, "I think not. When I've finished with you Sakura will have no _choice_ but to talk to _me_ when she has a problem. Not _you_."

"You do not understand." Yue explained as calmly as possible…well…as calmly as you could when there was a good three hundred pound lion sitting on your stomach. He knew, though, that he couldn't over-react. He must try to make Kero see reason with logic, counter Betrayal's half-truths with irrefutable facts. Kero must be made to see how utterly foolish Betrayal's lies sounded. 

Slitted, silver eyes met spun gold ones and Yue said earnestly, "Betrayal is making you do this, Kero Beros. You must see this. Everything you are accusing me of now is nothing more than a subconscious fear you have been harbouring, nothing more."

"You're lying." Kero hissed, lunging forward suddenly. Yue's head jerked back and slammed into the floor as Kero's teeth came just a little too close to his face.

Shaking his head, dazed, Yue's arms began to tremble with his lack of concentration. Realizing the new danger he was in, he knew that he could not continue this on the ground. Kero Beros had too much of an advantage in the position he was in…and Yue could not hold him indefinitely.

Taking a deep breath, Yue tensed and pushed his great, white wings against the floor sending him careening forward. Kero, surprised by the sudden upward momentum, was abruptly flung off the Moon Guardian to land unceremoniously on the floor. Yue didn't wait and took off into the air, knowing Kero would follow him. That was fine…as long as he wasn't pinned to anything.

Kero did indeed follow him, snarling furiously as he leapt up into the air. He formed a fireball in his mouth and shot it with precision at Yue. Yue raised a shield and braced himself for contact. The fireball hit and strained against the shield before fading back into the air when it could not get through. Dropping the shield, Yue regarded Kero calmly. "As long as we have known each other, Kero Beros, have you ever known me to try and take away the affections of our Mistress?" he asked reasonably.

"You attempted such with Clow Reed." Kero growled, lunging forward.

Yue avoided Kero's airborne attack, his long, lean body an advantage in the air. "I never tried to take away Clow Reed's affection from you, Kero Beros. I admit I was greatly unhappy when Clow Reed told us he was leaving. If it appeared as if I was spending more time with him after that…can you blame me? But I did not discourage him from seeing you…ever. You were always very much a part of him, as was I. There were no favourites, Kero Beros." Yue finished quietly.

Kero shook himself vigorously, as if shaking off all that Yue had just said. "That is the past. Clow Reed is gone. It is Sakura that I am concerned about now." giving a pain-filled growl, Kero said, "She never comes to me anymore. It's always to _you_. You're always the one she runs to, the one she calls. It is as if I do not matter. You know how I feel! You did this on purpose! You said so yourself. You wanted to spend all your time with Clow Reed. Now that he is not here you are using Sakura as a substitute. It's not right!"

"Think about what you are saying, Kero Beros." Yue prodded urgently. "You are jealous of the attention Sakura has been recently paying me. You are upset because _of_ Sakura." Drawing himself up, he insisted. "You are her Guardian. You are here to protect _her_. Whatever trouble exists between us we must always put our Mistress _first_, and right now…_you are not doing so!!_" Kero started, so surprised was he to hear the normally composed Moon Guardian's voice raised. Taking a breath to collect himself, Yue went on, "Your feelings toward me at the moment do not matter. Our Mistress is in trouble. This foolish fight you wish to indulge in now puts our Mistress at risk because she has next to no defence against Betrayal."

Kero's eyes flickered uncertainly. "But I…" he trailed off, his brows knit together, confused, the voice of Betrayal on one side, the voice of Yue on the other.

Yue took advantage of his confusion. "If you do not cease your attack, Kero Beros, and let us both help her, Betrayal will kill her."

~

Rage didn't know what to do.

Love seemed hell bent on causing him serious harm. Rage didn't know what it was that was driving Love's sense of betrayal, and every time he attempted to speak with Love about it, it only seemed to enrage him further. As the fight wore on it became increasingly more violent, Love's attacks more brutal, more determined.

"Love," Rage demanded, catching Love's fist and trapping it, blocking another blow meant for his head. "What is it that enabled Betrayal to gain this power over you! What is bothering you!?"

Yanking his hand from Rage's grasp, Love yelled, "You're what's bothering me! It's you, it's always been you!"

Rage reared back, surprised. "What are you talking about? What have I done that's made you so upset?"

Love laughed. "You just answered your own question." sobering, he ground out, "If you haven't figured it out by now, you don't deserve to know." Then, pulling a knife from his jacket, he slashed at an unsuspecting Rage.

Rage jerked back, but not in time to stop the edge of the knife from slicing a shallow gash into the side of his cheek. Grabbing Love's wrist faster than Love was able to move, Rage twisted. Love cried out and the knife dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers. Tightening his grip, Rage lifted and then flipped Love over his head into the air behind him. 

Love caught himself just short of the wall. Looking back at Rage, he slowly moved his fingers, determining that Rage hadn't broken his wrist. "It's nice to know you won't hesitate to hurt me when you get the chance, even after all we've been through."

Rage snorted, he couldn't help it. "That's a bit hypocritical, don't you think? You've been trying to put a sword, your fists, and now a knife," he gestured to the slowly seeping wound on his cheek, "through my skull. What do you call that?"

"Retribution." Love whispered. 

Rage regarded Love with a weary expression. "What have I done? I cannot hope to end this without knowing what it is that I have done that makes you so angry you seek bloodshed."

Fists clenched at his sides Love said nothing for a moment. "I will not tell you the whole thing, but I will tell you this…" he hissed. "You've made my life a living hell! Every moment of every day I hurt. You have caused me so much emotional damage I feel as if I've fallen into a black hole where there is nothing but darkness. The pain never goes away, never ceases! It would be bearable…if not for _you_. All you need do is simply open your mouth and I am cut to the quick!" pausing, he lowered his head. "No one should have such power over one person," he whispered, "no one should be able to hurt me as you do."

There was silence between them. Rage stared at Love's lowered head, his long time friend's words repeating them in his head, especially the last whispered words. Though he still did not understand what he's done to evoke such feelings of pain in Love one thing was abundantly clear…he made Love's life a living hell.

Rage frowned, for the first time in his life feeling a pain on the inside rather than the outside that was caused by another. Love's words…hurt. They hurt him. The concept was unbelievable, though now that they were out in the open he could not deny it. Love was the only one who had stayed with him through the fight against the Forgotten when Clow Reed was still alive, all the years of imprisonment in that dank, dark cave. He was the only one there when the depression set in after Clow Reed had trapped them, thinking himself betrayed. Rage had come to…rely…on Love. Yes…that was it. He had come to rely on the constant company, the support, the witty remarks, the foolish jokes, and that ever present grin. After all that Love had given him, it appeared he had nothing to give in return except a world of suffering.

"You…wish to kill me?"

Love looked up at the quiet tone, something odd about it. He was greeted with Rage's impenetrable stare. Tensing, jaw locking, he said, "I wish to get rid of the bane of my existence, who just happens to be you."

Silence, then, "Well, get on with it."

Love blinked, momentarily speechless. Then his eyes narrowed, "Are you mocking me?"

Rage shook his head very slightly. "No. I am not quite familiar with foolish emotions, but when I think about the pain you say you are in…" Rage trailed off frowning again, unable to find the necessary words he was looking for. "I have taken away a good portion of your life. As they say, an eye for an eye, and what-not."

Love watched Rage for a moment more, his attitude not at all what he normally would have expected. He glanced over at the far wall, at his sword that was still imbedded in it, and then back at Rage. Floating towards it, he watched Rage carefully, looking for any signs of a trap. When Rage made no move to stop him, just watched him with unusually dull eyes, Love turned his back and made a dash for the sword. Reaching it, he pulled it from the wall with a grunt, using most of his strength to do the job. Turning back, he found that Rage still hadn't moved. For some reason, Rage's passivity angered him. Walking toward him on air, he sneered, "What? Not going to fight back?" he raised his sword in front of him. "Somehow I just don't believe that. You never go down without a fight. Hell…you never go down, period."

Rage didn't respond. Love frowned, annoyed. "What's the matter with you? Say something, damn it!" he snarled. Rushing forward, he backhanded Rage across the face. Rage's head turned but he made no sound. When he turned his face back to Love, his eyes were still that dull shade of blue. It hurt to look at after seeing the blue so sharp it rivalled the sea. Furious, needing a reaction, Love formed a ball of pink energy in his hand. "Fight back!" when there was still no response, Love cried out in frustration and anger, drawing his hand back and letting the ball go. It hit Rage square in the chest and with a grunt he fell from the air.

Landing with sickening thud on his back, Rage lay where he had fallen, not moving. Love teleported from the air down to the ground so that he was standing directly over Rage. There was a pained expression on his face and his eyes were shut. Raising his sword in a threatening manner, Love demanded, "Get up." When Rage didn't move he kicked him in the ribs. This drew another grunt from Rage but nothing else. "Look at me!" Love yelled. Rage opened his eyes slowly, regarding him with a sad expression. Enraged, Love put one foot over Rage so that he was standing with one foot on either side of his stomach. "Fight me." He said again, pointing the tip of the sword at Rage's throat. "Do something, damn it!" he yelled suddenly, tears suddenly forming in his eyes. "Fight me!"

It looked as if Rage wasn't going to reply again, but suddenly his mouth moved and one word formed at his lips, "…No."

One tear finally fell from those luminous caramel eyes, sliding down his cheek to land on Rage's shirt. Dropping to his knees he gripped the front of Rage's shirt with one hand. "Why won't you fight me?! Why won't you defend yourself!?" he finished by shaking Rage by his shirt, as if to emphasize the question.

"Fine." he snarled, letting go of the shirt. "Whether you fight back or not is of no concern to me." he informed him, though his eyes were still misty. Bringing his sword to Rage's throat, he said, "I'll kill you now and end my pain. It ends with you."

Love held the sword at Rage's throat, but his eyes were on Rage's. He stared into the twin orbs, dull and devoid of any emotion, even amusement. He blinked, hard, as the memory of those same two eyes came to his mind, a picture of them bright and sparkling when he was amused, hard and brutal when angry, and glittering with rage whenever he fought. He remembered those little half smirks Rage was so fond of giving, though he never really ever smiled, Love didn't think he knew how. He remembered the thoughtful expressions on his face whenever something was taking up his complete attention, how he would sit when sharpening his sword, that same look on his face. He remembered the wistful expression on his face when he first told him about Sakura; the first time Love had seen him so close to smiling. The look hadn't been for him, but oh, how happy he had been that Rage had finally found someone to love.

"I can't do it." He whispered, the spell's web cracking. The sword, now held in a trembling hand, was slowly taken away from Rage's flesh. His eyes were swimming now, and more tears fell, this time landing on Rage's own cheeks. "I tried, I tried so h-hard," he cried, his voice catching on the last word, "but I can't. I couldn't l-live…" Love bent down, staring intently into those eyes. "couldn't live without you." He whispered.

Then, doing something that returned the life back to those blue eyes when all his fighting had failed to, Love kissed Rage, and the spell shattered.

~

Yue watched with bated breath as Kero's eyes flickered with pain and uncertainty. "What will it be, Kero Beros?" Yue pressed, "My life…or Sakura's?"

"I cannot let her die." Kero whispered raggedly. His face tightening into a mask of determination, he declared, "I _will _not let Sakura die!"

Yue felt as well as saw Betrayal's spell shatter, Kero's desire to help Sakura much stronger than his desire to take the Moon Guardian's life. Kero shook his head slightly, "Yue?" he asked questioningly.

"Betrayal placed a spell on you, Kero Beros. You have managed to break through it. We must help Sakura, she is in grave danger."

Kero tensed at this. He was suddenly very glad Betrayal's magic had enabled his transformation into his true form; he was now able to actively help Sakura in her battle against the Forgotten.

Kero nodded at Yue's earlier words. "Yes, let us hurry."

~

"I'm going to use Watery, Li." Sakura murmured to him. "But, I'm afraid that if Betrayal puts up that shield again, Watery won't be able to get through."

"We have to try, Sakura. I'll help you as much as I can." He promised. "Maybe, if we combine water attacks-my element chants to Watery's power-we might just be able to break through." he suggested.

"It's worth a try." Sakura said hopefully.

"Are you two done chatting over there?" Betrayal asked, a slightly bored note to her voice. "If you insist on spending all your time discussing your battle plans, at least speak up a bit so I can hear you." She smiled. "Makes it easier to crush you."

Sakura and Li exchanged glances.

"Watery! Release and dispel!"

"Element, Water!"

Two highly pressurized water geysers headed straight for Betrayal. Laughing loudly, this being the most fun she's had in centuries, Betrayal raised her shield again. The water exploded into the shield, leaving water coursing down the entire expanse of it…but the shield held.

Eyes glittering, Betrayal exclaimed, "It's no use! You cannot defeat my shields! Nothing you can throw at me will possibly be able to break through! You are beaten!"

"Not yet we're not!" a huge, orange fireball followed by a string of icicles accompanied the sudden statement from out of the air.

"Kero!" Sakura cried, taking her eyes off Betrayal long enough to glance up into the sky. She smiled happily, tears gathering in her eyes, as she saw both her Guardians in the air together side by side. Returning her attention to Betrayal she smiled again, though this time it was filled with renewed hope and a sense of triumph.

Kero and Yue resumed their attack on Betrayal's shield, this time non-stop. Betrayal winced as the extra pressure being put on her shield weakened it. "How did you…?" she began, wondering how on earth Kero could have possibly escaped her spell. She couldn't finish, however, as all of her concentration was focused on holding her shield.

Sakura's expression was determined behind her Clow wand, Watery continual attack bombarding the Forgotten's defence. She could feel the colossal resistance, but she could also feel-and see-the added amount of effort and concentration from Betrayal as she held her shield against the added attacks of Kero and Yue. It _was_ taking effort, though. At this rate, Sakura knew Betrayal would eventually tire and her shield would falter…but…Sakura couldn't keep her attack going forever, either. Neither could Li or her Guardians. So, the real question was…who would tire first?

Sakura couldn't wait and take the chance that Betrayal might outlast them all. She had to do something and she had to do it now.

Sakura stared at Betrayal, thinking. The glistening rivulets of water caught Sakura's eye and she frowned. Then her eyes widened. "Li! I have an idea!"

"What?" he said simply, his attention completely focused on what he was doing.

Recalling Watery, Sakura pulled out another card. She regarded it for a moment and then watched Li's water spell assault the surface of the shield. She looked back down at the card again and hoped this might work. "Li, Kero, Yue! Stop your attacks when I tell you to!" she yelled, getting ready.

"What?!" Li asked again, though this time Sakura had his complete attention.

Sakura just shook her head, staring at the Forgotten. Gathering up her courage, she yelled, "Now!" the three attacks all stopped immediately. Not giving Betrayal any time to take advantage of the respite she called forth her card…

"Thunder! Release!"

A loud crack of thunder was heard just before a yellow streak of lightening crashed through the ceiling and smashed into the wet shield. Betrayal screamed as her shield, a super conductor, gave almost immediately under the superior might of Thunder.

As soon as the shield was down, Sakura and Li simultaneously called out, "Thunder!" "Element Water!"

The two attacks hit her at the same time, the combination particularly violent. When the two cardcaptors called their forces back, the effects were devastating. No longer was Betrayal the beautiful, confident woman who had clung so shamelessly to Love's back. Now, her long black hair was matted and singed, damp and completely uneven from where Thunder had burned the strands to a crisp. The fair skin was greyish now, almost black in some places. The dress was torn and burned in so many places it might have not even been there for all the good it did now. A direct hit by a lightening bolt would have killed a normal person…but Betrayal was still standing…and she was still alive.

Sakura watched with disgust as charred, blackened lips pulled back from Betrayal's mouth and smiled at her…she wondered how Betrayal could possibly _smile_ like that. "Very clever," a thin, raspy voice came from the broken body. "But you haven't quite finished me off yet."

Feeling nauseous, Sakura raised the Clow wand, intending to seal her.

Betrayal picked a handful of her poisoned needles from her somehow undamaged bracelet and flung them in Sakura's direction. Surprised, not having expected Betrayal to have any sort of energy left in her to fight, Sakura almost didn't dodge the needles. "Jump!" she cried. Landing, she chanted quickly, "Betrayal card! Return to your Power, confined! Betrayal card!"

Betrayal was slowly pulled into the card. Sakura reached up and pulled the card out of the air. She looked down at the Betrayal card-she was staring up at her with a seductive gleam in her eye, one arm raised, the bracelet on her wrist in plain sight-and sighed.

Kero and Yue landed in front of her and she grinned at them, relieved that that was finally over. Kero was now back in his false form, the Magic that had sustained transformation gone now that Betrayal was sealed. Sakura put the Betrayal card away and walked towards Kero, prepared to give him a big hug…

"Sakura…"

Sakura turned around and regarded Li, still smiling. "Yes, Li?" the smile faded from her face, though, as she got a good look at his expression…something wasn't right…

That was when she noticed the blue-tipped needle sticking out of Li's arm.

To be continued…

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well now…I've written myself quite a pickle here. ;p I've got quite a few things that need to be dealt with next chapter now. *sigh* Why can't I just write simple stuff that's easy to take care of?? Oh well ^.^ them's the breaks.


	30. From The Depths of Despair and Back Agai...

By Maurynna

Author's Note: No…your eyes do not deceive you. I am not dead and this is actually a new chapter. Fancy that. I would just like to say, don't expect chapters to be out on a regular basis (not that you hadn't already figured that out for yourselves by now). As for why I haven't updated in so long, that would be my business and no one else's. As for your reviews…I haven't read the last hundred or so, mainly because I'm chicken. Just thought you should know that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me.

Warning:****Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, Insanity, Despair, Fear, Betrayal, Dragon, and Magic belong to ME. Do no even THINK about using them without my permission first.

**Cardcaptors: From The Depths of Despair and Back Again-Ch.29**

****

Sakura stared disbelievingly at Li's arm, unable to quite comprehend what it was that she was seeing. The flesh around the thin, blue-tipped needle was already red and showed hints of swelling. Sakura's eyes slowly left Li's arm and traveled up to his shoulder, then his face. When green eyes met brown the uneasy silence seemed to become deafening as each card captor stared at each other, speechless.

Curious, Kero – who had transformed back into his false form after Betrayal had been sealed – peered over Sakura's shoulder. "What…?" his facial expression soon turned to one of shock when he saw the lethal pin in Li's forearm. "…Oh no." he finished simply.

As the situation overrode Li's shock his face went from a healthy tan to a pasty white. His eyes showed undisguised horror and Sakura thought his eyes looked a little moist. However, swallowing hard, Li's expression seemed to harden and those tears Sakura thought she had seen disappeared before her eyes and was replaced instead with a look of grim finality; as if he had just accepted his imminent death.

Moving with surprising speed Sakura was suddenly by Li's side, gripping his uninjured arm so tightly that Li winced while she stared at his other arm making no effort to hide the tears that appeared in her eyes and made slow tracks down her cheeks. "Li." her eyes flew to his face, those intense green orbs expressing everything she was unable to say.

Li smiled gently down at Sakura, though the smile was strained around the edges. "It's okay, Sakura."

More tears falling from her eyes Sakura cried, "It's not okay! How can you say it's okay!?"

Finding himself in the unexpected position of having to be the optimistic one for a change he replied, "We have time, Sakura. We can find a cure for this; everything's going to be fine."

"No," she whispered, her eyes desperate, "no. Maybe if it was a normal poison we could do something, but don't you remember what Rage told us about it? This poison was created by magical means by a very powerful card. You can't find a normal cure for this."

Li frowned, his gaze losing it's hard won confidence and becoming uncertain once more. "There's a cure for everything, Sakura. We'll find it."

Kero nodded. "I'm sure Yue and I could find something to help." Yue said nothing, just looked more solemn than usual, as if he realized the horrible truth of the situation that no one else, except Sakura, seemed to accept. "We have quite a bit of knowledge about magic, Sakura, we'll think of something." Kero continued.

Sakura shook her head rapidly, the tale Love had told her spinning round and round through her head. "No…you don't understand." Unable to keep her eyes on Li's face any longer she looked down despondently at the ground, her one hand still gripping Li's sleeve tightly. "Rage merely told us the symptoms of the poison. He didn't mention a cure because…because…I don't believe there is one. Not an herbal one, anyways. Remember when I spoke with Love after he had run off? Well, he told me all that had happened when Rage was poisoned. He also told me just what he had to do to save Rage. Li…it took Clow Reed himself to dispel Betrayal's poison."

There was a small silence. Madison shuffled her feet slightly before saying timidly, "Just because Clow Reed healed Rage that one time doesn't necessarily mean that he was the only one who could do it."

Sakura wheeled on Madison suddenly causing the nervous and frightened woman to take an uncertain step back. "This isn't something that can be cured by a twentieth century doctor, Madison; this is ancient Magic. If we showed this to a modern doctor they wouldn't know the first thing about how to get rid of it. Besides, the poison is made of magic, it will take magic to undo it. I don't know about you, but I don't know of any full blown sorcerers running around now-a-days."

"We are well versed in Magic, Sakura." Kero reminded her.

"How well versed Kero? Hmm?" Sakura could admit that she was going overboard, that she should just shut up now before she said something that would truly send everyone into despair, but she just couldn't seem to stop talking. "You said so yourself, neither you nor Yue ever messed around in the darker Magics, and that's exactly what we need at the moment, experience in dark Magic. Do you really think that no dark forces were used to create that poison? How can you possibly hope to undo something which you do not first understand?"

"So what are you saying?" Madison demanded, "That there is no hope? That we should give up?"

"No! That's not what I…" Sakura trailed off. That had been exactly what it had sounded like. But…truthfully…where was there hope? How could they hope to beat this? Sakura dissolved into tears again.

Li came up beside her and wrapped his good arm around her. She turned into his embrace but remained tense. "You can't give up, Sakura." Li's voice sounded watery itself now. "Because, if you give up, what will I do? You've always been the one I looked to whenever the situation became desperate because you always believed that we'd come out of it, and that made me believe." Burying his face in her hair suddenly, he whispered, "If you don't believe I'll make it then how can I?"

Speaking up suddenly, Yue said, "There is always hope, Mistress. There is surely someone alive that can understand this poison. There must be something we can do. If worse comes to worse you can always call Betrayal from her card and try to get her to tell you how to cure him."

Sakura laughed mirthlessly. "Do you honestly think that Betrayal would willingly tell me how to cure Li? She'd sooner kill me. And who alive today could possibly find a way to cure him? There's no one…" Sakura trailed off suddenly her eyes widening. Glancing around her she seemed to be searching for something. When she could not find what she was looking for she abruptly opened her mouth and, as loudly as she could, yelled, "RAGE!!"

~

(warning: yaoiness)

Love raised his head slowly, his lips clinging to Rage's in an unmistakable effort to prevent them from parting. His eyelids flickered, his eyelashes fluttering against the soft skin beneath his eyes before the lids raised to reveal hazel eyes turned to a warm, spiraling green. He looked down at Rage's as yet expressionless face – the ice eyes still closed – and the intense, liquid green of his eyes soon changed back to plain hazel as shocked realization dawned. "No." his voice came out no more than a breathless whisper, nearly indistinguishable to the human ear.

Rage's eyes opened. There was no fluttering, his eyelashes sweeping up swiftly, and his eyes were something other than an icy blue for once. He stared up at Love for a few endless moments, Love's tears slowly drying upon his cheeks. All too soon the eyes regained their icy quality and the hardness returned, a glare forming in the blue chasms.

Love scrambled off of Rage, the warmth from the fallen card's hips still imprinted upon his thighs. Falling onto his elbows a few feet away from Rage, Love stared at him wide-eyed, quite unsure of what Rage was going to do; though he thought he had a pretty good idea. "I…I can explain. Rage…" Love could do nothing but stutter, his eyes still locked on Rage's.

Rage placed one hand upon the floor and slowly rose, his immaculate white shirt rumpled and his perfect trousers creased. Love's eyes rose with him and he held his breath, trepidation stealing it from his lungs along with a faint sense of awe. Rage was simply gorgeous. His long, snow-white hair hung in disarray about his face, obscuring one crystal blue eye from view. His clothes were so disheveled that it looked as if the forgotten had just stepped out of bed…or out of a wet dream. Some of that pale expanse of chest showed through the opening of his shirt and Love's eyes could not help but be drawn to it even through his fear.

Love's uneasiness doubled when all Rage did was stand there and stare at him. Never one to be comfortable with silence at the best of times Love found he couldn't keep quiet. He had to know…he had to know what Rage thought of him now. He had to know exactly what was going to happen to their friendship because, even though Love harboured feelings of more than friendship for the card, he would rather remain friends with Rage than have him ignore him. Or worse, hate him. "Rage?" Love inquired tentatively, almost expecting an outburst of some sort. When silence still greeted his inquiry Love rose cautiously to his knees, peering up into Rage's still unreadable face, his own caramel hair falling about his shoulders untidily. "Rage? Say something." He pleaded. "By god, don't just stand there. Please, let me know what you're feeling."

An unknown emotion flickered through Rage's eyes too fast for Love to catch and he held his breath. Rage appeared to be putting great thought into what he had to say next. Just as Rage opened his mouth to say something, Love leaning so far forward on his knees in anticipation so as not to miss anything, there came a shout from the other end of the observatory.

"RAGE!!"

Rage's head whipped around in Sakura's direction, his brow furrowing in concern at the urgent tone in her voice. Love's eyes flicked in Sakura's general direction but soon returned to Rage's now half turned form. Rage turned back to Love and looked down into his pleading, vulnerable eyes for what seemed like hours. Then, his eyes narrowing suddenly in decision, he turned without a word and walked quickly towards Sakura. 

Love stayed kneeling for a few moments, utterly shocked. He did not…he could not have just walked away without saying a word! Love slumped, withdrawing into himself, hurt beyond words at Rage's casual dismissal of him and his feelings, which had finally been brought out into the open after all these long years. Sakura's voice rang out again calling for Rage. Love raised his head slowly and glared at nothing in particular, suddenly more angry than he could ever remember having been in his entire life. _Her_…If she hadn't called for him then Rage never would have left him there. The little whore…she had no right, none whatsoever. Love didn't realize just how angry he was until he felt a sharp pain in his hand. Looking down, startled, Love saw that he had dug his fingernails into the palm of his hand so viciously that they had drawn blood. Lifting his hand up to better examine it Love stared. Then he began laughing. He laughed so hard that he fell onto his side clutching his middle. He only got a grip on himself when he felt two tears track their way down his cheeks. Look what love had done to him; it had turned him into a jealous, half crazed maniac. What had Sakura done to him? Nothing. And look how fast he had begun to hate her when he thought of her and Rage together. She had been the one to encourage him to tell Rage how he felt; he knew she had no designs on Rage at all, and he still reacted that way.

Managing to pull himself together enough Love got to his feet. Well…what was he to do? He began walking slowly after Rage, his legs seemingly too heavy and difficult to move. He would find out how Rage felt eventually; and he would find out. He had kept his feelings hidden for so long that he couldn't just shove them back inside himself now that they were out in the open. And if he found out that Rage would rather never see him again…then so be it; as long as he didn't have to pretend anymore.

~

Sakura opened her mouth again to scream for Rage when he suddenly appeared in front of her, his sword out and ready, his eyes scanning for danger. Sakura abruptly swallowed the scream back into her throat and nearly choked on it. "Rage." she whispered, relieved. If anyone could help, surely, he was the one.

"Where is the danger?" he asked without preamble, his eyes still searching though nothing in the tower moved.

Sakura shook her head dazedly, not understanding Rage's question at first. Then, comprehension dawning, she shook her head again and said, "No, there's no danger. That's not why I called you." taking a breath in order to fortify her nerves, she continued, "I need your help. _We_ need your help." she emphasized the _we._

Rage looked down on her for a moment before putting his sword up, though he didn't sheath it. "Betrayal is sealed, correct?"

Sakura nodded.

Rage slowly sheathed his sword. "Then what is the problem?" he asked, his voice taking on the sure, commanding tone it normally held now that things were a bit more under control.

Sakura gestured behind her at Li. She had to try twice before she could get her voice to work enough to say, "He's been poisoned."

Rage's expression didn't change and it took him a moment before he simply asked, "What?"

Not able to take any pleasure in finally having dumbfounded Rage, Sakura repeated, "He's been poisoned. He was struck by one of Betrayal's needles. Rage…what are we going to do?"

Rage was silent for a moment longer before he inquired, "Do? What is there to do?"

Sakura's shoulders straightened slightly, a sudden determination spurring her on now. "You were the only one to be poisoned by Narcisis and live. Surely there is something you can tell us that might help Li, or at least something that will slow the poison down." 

Rage shook his head in much the same manner Sakura had the first time when he had asked what was wrong. Raking his hand through his hair in frustration, Rage ground out, "I was out of my mind most of the time, Sakura. I hardly remember anything that went on while I was under the poisons influence."

"Surely you remember something." Sakura pressed, her voice taking on a desperate edge. "Surely you must have been conscious part of the time when Clow Reed had healed you."

Opening the fist in which he clutched some strands of his hair, Rage lowered his arm and looked Sakura in the eyes. "If I was conscious at all during that time I do not remember it." he said quietly.

Sakura's shoulders slumped for what seemed the umpteenth time that day. This couldn't be it, there had to be something else. Sakura's head snapped up as she remembered something. "Love. Where's Love?"

Something flashed in Rage's eyes that made Sakura uneasy, but his voice was neutral enough when he asked, "Why?"

Swallowing, Sakura replied, "You may not have been in your right mind at the time but Love was. He may be our only hope." Sakura turned ready to call Love.

"Don't bother. I'm right here." Love spoke up suddenly, walking up to the group until he stood ramrod straight beside Rage and in front of Sakura, his voice sounding graver than anyone had ever heard it.

Sakura beamed at him in gratitude. She fully expected him to grin back at her, so when he didn't, just stared at her with much the same expression Rage now wore on his face, Sakura's smile faltered, then died altogether. Clearing her throat, she ventured, "Li's been poisoned by one of Betrayal's needles. Rage doesn't remember anything that went on with Clow Reed. I was hoping you would."

Love gave her a funny look before reminding her, "I wasn't in the room, remember? Clow Reed did not allow me entrance."

Sakura waved her hand vaguely, as if dismissing what Love had just said. "Yes, I know, but what about after? After Clow Reed had done curing Rage? He must have said something to you then."

Love shook his head. "I never saw Clow Reed after he had cured Rage. When everything was done and over with a letter appeared out of thin air. I opened it and it told me to head back upstairs and head right. It was signed Clow Reed and it gave me directions to a certain room. When I got there I opened the door and found Rage unconscious, but free of poison, upon a bed. Neither of us saw Clow Reed again while we were there." Love shrugged as if to say he had no idea what Clow had been thinking.

Sakura frowned, sure she had been on to something there. Turning to Kero and Yue she asked, "Do either of you remember this?"

Kero shook his head. "I had no idea that Rage was even on our side until just recently, Sakura."

Yue also shook his head. "I do not remember an event like this happening. If Clow Reed did indeed cure Rage then he summoned no one to help him."

Sakura's mind raced, unable to accept the fact that there was no way to save Li. Where before she had been nearly hysterical with fear, convinced that there was nothing they could do, her courage was rallying behind her. Her mind finally latched onto something that had happened not too long ago and she found she could not open her mouth fast enough to say what she longed to ask. "Love, remember when we first met and Rage and I fought? Remember when Yue wounded him with his sword?"

"How could I forget?" he asked, an unusual amount of bitterness creeping into his voice. Sakura ignored it, more important things on her mind.

"You healed Rage with your Magic. Do you think you could do something like that with Li? Use…what did you call it?…Soul Magic to take the poison from him?"

Love looked uncomfortable. He glanced at Li, who was standing quietly and regarding everyone with slightly haunted eyes. "While I do not wish to see anyone else suffer from this poison I do not know if I can help. I admit that my healing magic is strong; I do not think any normal healing spell would cure him. You are right, if anything could take the poison from him it would be Soul Magic, but I am inexperienced in the use of Soul Magic. I also fear that I am not strong enough to draw the poison out."

"Could you try?" Sakura pleaded.

Love stood for a moment, indecision plainly written upon his face. He glanced over at Rage. He really couldn't help it; years of habit die hard. But Rage wouldn't look at him. Knowing that Rage normally would have protested him using any Soul Magic because it was dangerous for him, Love became annoyed. Did the blasted man not care about him at all anymore?

Squaring his shoulders with resolve Love nodded. Striding briskly over to Li he demanded, "Lay down." And began rolling up his sleeves.

Li raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Love glanced up from his partially rolled up sleeve, his hands stilling. He gave Li a look that nurses often gave irascible patients. Li looked away, uncomfortable. "Look," Love finally said, "while you may think you're quite the looker, I have absolutely no intentions of molesting you while you lay prone beneath me." Li gaped and the others stared at Love's crude words. 

"That…that's not what I…" Li spluttered.

Love sliced his hand through the air, stopping Li's words. "It would be easier for me if you were lying down. If you want to get all modest on me fine, but I really don't think we have time to argue over such a stupid thing as that when poison is coursing through more of your bloodstream for every second that is wasted."

Nodding, realizing just how unimportant this small thing was when the results might cure him, Li carefully lay down on his back upon the cold floor of the Tokyo Tower.

Kneeling on one side of Li, Love stretched his hands out over the wound on his arm. Looking back up at everyone who was now staring down at him he said, "I would advise that you stay back. If this works, I don't quite know what will happen." Looking back down at Li who stared silently back up at him Love smiled slightly, "I'm kind of hoping this doesn't work. I don't know what it's going to do to me." Ignoring the now intense stare Li was focusing on him Love closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

As with Rage before, Love seemed to kneel there for an eternity nothing happening. Then Li tensed, as some force seemed to enter him from Love. Love's hands began to glow in a soft, pink luminescence. The pink glow remained for what seemed like longer than it should, but since Sakura didn't know exactly what Love was doing or how it was done she didn't know if anything was wrong. She was probably only paranoid. However, Love's brow suddenly furrowed and he frowned, tensing up himself. The pink glow on his hands finally began to change colour, but it was not getting lighter as it did last time; it was getting darker. Sakura watched in trepidation as the pink glow turned to a light purple, then a darker purple, and then something darker even than that until the glow was now a black radiance. The colour coming from Love's hands was _black_.

Love's breathing was coming fast now, and his face was drawn tight in an expression that almost looked painful. Li stared up at him warily. Besides a small, stuffy feeling that had been present since Love began, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.

Everyone jumped with the exception of Rage and Yue when Love suddenly cried out. He began leaning back from Li, trying to pull his hands away from Li's body, but it was like his hands were attached to the card captor. The black light was pulsing now and Love struggled more fiercely to get away from Li. Rage took a small step forward and Sakura glanced at him, trusting him to help Love fix whatever had gone wrong. But, to her amazement, Rage stopped suddenly as if remembering something. His eyes became shuttered and it was clear that he meant to get no closer to the two men on the floor.

Sakura turned her face back in time to see Love finally pull away from Li, the black light disappearing. Sakura could have sworn there was a resounding _pop_ when Love had finally broken free, but Sakura knew no actual sound had been made. 

Love slumped over onto the floor beside Li, his eyes closed, unable, apparently, to even hold himself up on his elbows. Sakura fully expected Rage to go to him and see if he was alright, but when Rage still didn't move, just stood there, Sakura went over to him herself. She knelt beside Love, giving him a wide-eyed look. She glanced over at Li and even he looked worried. Reaching out a hand tentively, Sakura went to touch him. She hesitated an inch or so from his face, afraid of what she might find when her hand connected with his skin. What if he were…no…she wouldn't think that way. He was not…dead. It took more than that to kill a Forgotten; and Sakura found herself actually thanking god that that were so.

Working up her courage, Sakura slowly reached out and laid her hand against Love's cheek. There was no response, but Love felt normal to her; his skin was warm and – thank god – alive. Running her palm against his cheek for a moment Sakura gazed down at Love and a thought ran through her head. He really was beautiful; and then on the heels of that thought came another. How can Rage not be in love with him?

Moving her hand up she ran it carefully through the long strands of his hair. She was amazed at how soft it was. Madison didn't even have hair this soft; she doubted many women did.

She was startled out of her perusal when Love suddenly turned onto his side and snuggled against her, his face resting on her thigh. Her hand abruptly froze in his hair, her face a mask of shock, her mouth forming a small oh of amazement. "See anything you like?" Love purred more than spoke. He didn't see the sudden glare all the males in the room were throwing him. His eyes still closed he smelled the skin under Sakura's clothes and smiled, "You have the loveliest pink aura surrounding you." To emphasize his point he rubbed his face against Sakura's thigh as if he were a great big cat.

Snapping out of her paralysis Sakura suddenly bolted up and away from Love nearly causing Love to smack his head against the tiles of the floor. His eyes were open now and he gazed up at Sakura, smiling. She glared at him. "What…what was that?!"

"What was what?" Love asked, puzzled. There was a distinct gleam in his eyes though.

Sakura gestured wildly in front of her. "T-that. What you just did. What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Being himself." Rage said unexpectedly. Sakura turned and glared at him for good measure. Rage shrugged, his face impassive. "He is the Love card." As if that explained everything.

It didn't. "The Love card," Sakura emphasized Love, "not the…the Lust card." Love thought that was rather amusing and chuckled softly. Sakura turned and glared bloody murder at him.

Sobering, Love said very solemnly, "Lust is a part of love." When Sakura only continued to look as if she might do him violence, Love said, "I'm sorry if I offended you, but after that, I needed a bit of a distraction. And I meant what I said…you really do have a lovely aura." And he grinned at her.

But Sakura was too preoccupied with what he had said before that. "After what? What happened? Did you cure him?"

Love's expression became solemn again. Looking down at the floor for a moment he remained silent. He looked up, but not at Sakura. Looking directly into Li's anxious brown eyes he said quietly, "No."

Sakura sagged. Sitting down abruptly, she asked, "Why?"

Love looked slightly angry at that. "I would have cured him if I could have, but I could not." Calming somewhat, he continued, "Using Soul Magic to heal requires you to give a little of yourself to the one you are healing. I let part of myself into Syaoran in order to do what I had to. The only way I could think of to get rid of the poison was to draw it out of him and into myself." Several people gasped, but before anyone could interrupt Love held up a hand, stalling them. "If I had been strong enough then I would have been able to draw the poison into myself and get rid of it in my own body. However, if I was not strong enough, which I was not, then two things could have happened. I could have successfully drawn the poison into myself but would have been unable to purge it from my own body, therefore dying myself. Or, I would not have been able to draw the poison out at all, which is what happened." Love glanced up and looked around at everyone. "I could not draw the poison out. Betrayal's magic stopped me from doing so. I am afraid that I cannot help you."

Li was stunned speechless. Love could have…given up his life for him. He could have sacrificed himself and died from the effects of the poison instead of him. Love had known this and still he had tried to purge him of it. Looking down upon the Forgotten in the first expression of kindness that had ever come from him where they were concerned, Li smiled gently and said, "It's okay. Thank you for trying."

Love looked quizzically at Li for a moment, as if he had done something completely unfathomable, before Love returned the smile with an uncertain one of his own.

Sakura, however, was already shaking her head. "No. You have to try again. If you just try harder…"

Love cut her off. "I tried my best. I am not strong enough. It would take someone far stronger than me in the arts of healing to pull this off. I doubt if even Clow Reed himself could do it again…" Every muscle in Sakura's body froze. Love trailed off, looking at her curiously. 

A thought was forming in Sakura's brain. A crazy, far fetched thought, but hey, it had been done before, it could be done again, right? Sakura stood up and, looking at no one in particular, she said, "Clow Reed has done this before; he could probably do it again."

Kero studied her quizzically. "Yes…but Clow Reed is dead."

Sakura looked at him. "I've met Clow Reed in the flesh, once."

It took Kero a moment to realize what she'd just said. "What!? Go back in time! Again!? Sakura, you don't know how! Clow was the one who initiated the spell the first time. How do you hope to plan to pull that off?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't know, but it's Li's only chance. I have to go back, I just have to." She whispered determinedly. 

Rage tilted his head to the side. "Your courage is admirable, Sakura, but the Wizard is right. You cannot hope to do what only Clow Reed knew how to do."

Sakura turned on Rage, a sudden anger assailing her at Rage's sudden cold treatment of Love. "Well thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it."

Rage became slightly angry himself, not accustomed to having anyone talk that way to him. But he only replied, "I did not mean to…"

Sakura ignored him. "As for only Clow knowing how to do it. I think I might know of one other person who knows how to go back in time, too." Sakura turned to Li and held out her hand. "Li, did you bring the Time card?"

Li's eyes went wide and he nodded. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the small pack of Clow cards he almost always carried on him. Fishing out the Time card he handed it to Sakura. Sakura took it from him and sat down on the floor again. Everyone came to sit around her, even Rage, though they did their best not to crowd her. Madison had her camcorder in her hand again and was watching Sakura like a hawk. "How do you plan to do this?" she asked quietly.

Sakura turned her head and looked at her best friend. Smiling a bit uncertainly, she replied, "I'm going to just do what I was doing the first time this happened. I don't know how else to go about it."

Kero sat down in front of Li, surprisingly, and said, "I know you can do it, Sakura." His eyes were uncertain, but he tried not to let his doubt show.

Li smiled. "I'm really grateful that you're doing this for me, Sakura, but if anything goes wrong, or if there's any danger, don't bother, okay?"

Sakura raised her eyebrow at him. "Li Syaoran, you should know by now that I'd go to almost any lengths to save you." She winked at him. He smiled back but his expression said he was worried about her.

"Okay," Sakura breathed, "let's give this a shot."

"This should be interesting." Love commented as Sakura laid the Time card upon the floor.

To be continued…

This was going to be longer, but I wanted to get it out. Also, I thought it might be better after all if I split it up into two parts.


	31. And They Cried A Sea of TearsCh30

By Maurynna

Author's Note: While I realize that there are a lot of things in this fic that don't make a great deal of sense to those of you that have seen the entire two seasons of CCS and especially those of you who read the manga I have decided not to revise my fic at this point in time. I have, in fact, finally seen all two seasons of CCS and now I want to go back and change things in my fic…but if it was this difficult for me to finish it how well do you suppose I'm going to fare writing the rest of it AND re-writing it. Not well, I think. So, if I do redo it, it won't be until after this is finito for sure. May I just say that it is extremely hard to write anything when you've lost the desire to DO anything? My creativeness and any spark of imagination I had is gone. All that is left is darkness. And yet…I'm still slowing trying to finish this damn thing. I really want to see it finished, but honestly, I had given up on it ever being finished.

I have also come to the conclusion that I do not know when to end chapters. I should have made this whole fic one big chapter, apparently. :p

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors, nor do I claim to. I am not getting paid for this so please do not sue me.

Warning: Rage, Love, Famine, War, Disease, Death, Hate, Insanity, Despair, Fear, Betrayal, Dragon, and Magic belong to ME. Do not even THINK about using them without my permission first.

**Cardcaptors: And They Cried A Sea of Tears-Ch.30**

Sakura sat with her eyes closed, all of her attention on the card she held underneath her fingertips. Well, almost all of her attention. She could feel six pairs of eyes boring into her skull…which made concentrating a little difficult. She knew that so much was riding on whether or not she was able to actually go back in time or not. And, honestly, she really had absolutely no idea what she was doing. Clow was the one who had gotten her through time the first time; he was the one who knew all about magic. She knew, to put it bluntly, jack shit. What would she do if she failed? How could they possibly cure Li? All of this and more ran through her head as she knelt on the ground and tried to remember what the hell she had been doing the last time.

Taking a deep breath as if to draw strength and fortitude from the very air, Sakura concentrated on the Time card. Reaching for the card's energy, Sakura grasped it firmly within psychic hands in her mind. She began concentrating upon the Time card, trying to see if anything appeared to her or jumped out at her, unable to really think of anything else to do. The energy in her hands became almost like a tangible force and the as yet unseen energy seemed to become visible in the form of a transparent green mist. The more Sakura looked at the mist the more solid it appeared to be. Sakura reached for it in her mind and saw herself appear behind her eyelids. She was much smaller than the hands holding the Time card's energy and slightly smaller than the circle of mist coming from the card. Hesitating a moment Sakura wondered whether or not she should continue. Kero said it himself; messing around with magic when you don't know what you're doing is dangerous. Sakura squared her shoulders in determination. Dangerous or not, she had to do this for Li.

Reaching out once again she floated towards Time's energy and her own enormous hands – which she found a bit unnerving. Stopping just in front of it Sakura laid her hand against the green mist and found the surface nearly solid. She tried pushing her hand through and met with resistance. Sakura frowned. Not just resistance from the mist, but resistance from…Time itself. Time wasn't letting her inside that green sphere, and Sakura didn't know why. All she knew was that she had to do this, and whether Time cooperated or not she was going to open this sphere. Pushing with her psychic hands, the force of her mind behind it, Sakura tried to breach the sphere.

"What do you suppose is going on?" Madison whispered urgently to Kero.

Kero looked quickly to Madison then back to Sakura. "Honestly, I have no idea."

Sakura was still kneeling where she had been when she had first put the Time card on the ground. But now, her face was set in a deep frown of concentration and her hand just moments before had seemed to move of its own volition from the Time card to some invisible thing in the air in front of her. Her hand was positioned so that it appeared to be pushing on something.

"I never should have let her try this." Li said morosely, and a bit angrily, his fists clenching on his thighs. "It's too dangerous. She has no idea what she's doing. What if…what if she never wakes up?"

"Li!" Madison exclaimed, aghast.

"Well…aren't you just the epitome of optimism." Rage informed him with only a slight hint of sarcasm lacing the tone of his voice.

Li glared at him. "I didn't ask for your opinion nor do I want it."

Rage narrowed his eyes. "Well that's just too bad. In case you haven't noticed, we're all in this together. So whether you want my opinion or not is of little consequence to me, boy."

Love looked uneasily between Li and Rage. "Gentleman…let's not let things get out of hand, hmm?"

Li ignored him. "In this together! What the hell is that supposed to mean? 'In this together…?' You were fighting against us just a few days ago. What changed? Or do you just change sides that easily?"

Rage made as if to rise then stopped, his body tight as a wire. "Do no imply that my honour is so frivolous, _boy_. You know full well why it is I was fighting against you to begin with." Glancing at Sakura's still trance-like state his face relaxed a little. "Now is not the time to start a fight - though I would dearly love to bury my sword in your flesh - and if you were not acting so childish you would see that." Looking directly into Li's eyes Rage said firmly, "You're jealously of me is amusing. Are you so insecure that you think she is so easily lost to me?"

Li's jaw dropped and he sat in stunned silence, his face turning an alarming shade of white. Then, snapping his mouth shut, his face flushed with colour until it appeared sun burnt. Rising, he fairly growled, "You…!" Rage made to rise as well.

Yue was suddenly between them. Placing a restraining hand on Li's shoulder he said quietly, "Rage is right about one thing; now is not the time to start a fight. Sakura is facing a difficult trial and you are not making it easier for her. Remember, she is doing this for you." Li glanced at Sakura then looked guiltily down at the floor.

Turning to Rage, who had seated himself again, Yue gave him a long look. Speaking finally he said, "I am sorely disappointed in you, Rage. YOU are the one acting two hundred years younger than you are." Rage remained silent.

Love hugged his knees to his chest, well aware that until this point in time he would have been the one who would have tried to restrain Rage, not the angel. He would have even tried for putting his hand on his shoulder in an excuse to touch him. But now, he felt awkward. With the current mood between them he didn't think Rage would at all appreciate him to interfere, let alone to touch him. God, he couldn't wait until he managed to be alone with Rage. He had to talk to him.

Yue sat back down on air. Kero flew over to him and sat on his shoulder, careful of pulling the silver strands of his hair. "Why is it that you can patronize him and remain intact but when I even look at him he bites my head off?"

Yue eyed him askance. "I don't know, Kero Beros. Might it have something to do with the contempt you've been showing him whenever he is in your presence? Try saying something…halfway decent to him."

Kero crossed his arms. "He's insufferable. Even if I paid him the greatest compliment on earth he'd still shrug his shoulders and act indifferent."

"What you have to understand, Kero Beros, is that that is what Rage is like. He does not act this way to be insulting…most of the time. He acts this way because he does not know how to act any other way. I realized this long ago and accepted it. I think that is why he puts up with me most of the time." Yue confessed thoughtfully.

"Look! I think something's happening!" Madison exclaimed.

Everyone's attention was suddenly back on Sakura and the rise of her second hand.

Sakura now had two hands against the green sphere and was pushing with all her might. She didn't know why, but she had this feeling that she just had to get in there and that if she didn't all was lost. "Come on!" she pleaded, leaning her face against the surface. "Please…" Still, nothing happened. Becoming angry now, Sakura punched the sphere in frustration. "Open up! I don't know what I'm doing but Li's _dying_. I don't know why you're trying to keep me out but I am your Mistress. I command you to. Open. Up!" she yelled the last and punched the sphere again for good measure. She was so angry she swore she saw a white light behind her metaphysical eyelids before her fist connected with the sphere…and sunk into it. Opening her eyes in surprise Sakura stared at her hand for a moment. Then, hope beginning to blossom in her heart she pushed her hand forward and watched as her arm sank up to the elbow. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Sakura plunged forward into the green sphere.

Opening her eyes Sakura stumbled out into what she could only assume was the other side of the sphere. Looking around Sakura realized with amazement, closely followed by elation, that she was once again in the corridor she had been in when she had first been drawn into the Time card. There was, however, no white light to guide her to where she needed to go.

Time suddenly appeared in front of her and Sakura started in surprise. "Mistress, you should not be here."

Frowning, still upset at the resistance Time had shown to her, Sakura asked, "What's going on? Why did you try to keep me out? I need you to take me to Clow Reed, it's terribly important. We need to hurry."

"I cannot." Time replied solemnly.

Sakura stared at him, hoping she hadn't heard him right. "You can't? What do you mean you can't? Why not?"

There was a pause. Time's gaunt face seemed to become thinner than it already was and he replied finally, "Clow Reed has ordered me not to."

Sakura was struck speechless. She couldn't even blink. "W-what? How…why would he do that?" she whispered.

"I do not know, Mistress. I only know that I was told not to allow you through the corridor of time."

"But…this doesn't make any sense." Sakura didn't know what was going on. Clow Reed knew she was going to come through again? Then…did he know about Li? If so, why had he forbidden her from coming to him? She needed answers, she needed to talk to Clow Reed. This was all a misunderstanding, surely.

Looking back up at Time, Sakura's lips thinned with determination. "Time. I need you to take me through to Clow Reed."

Time gave her a sad look. "I told you I cannot. Clow Reed said…"

"I know what he said!" Sakura interrupted, her voice raised. Calming down, she continued, "But I am your Mistress and I'm ordering you to take me through time to him."

Time hesitated. "You are indeed my Mistress," he agreed, "but he is my Master. I cannot go against his wishes."

Her anger once again rising and coming through in her voice, Sakura said, "Clow Reed has been dead for centuries. I'm your Mistress NOW and you obey ME." Regretting what she was going to say next but unable to get Li's pale face out of her mind, she continued ominously, "If you don't take me to Clow Reed I'll make sure you're erased from existence."

Time looked uneasy. "You cannot destroy time." He said, but he sounded uncertain.

"Wanna make a bet?" Sakura stared hard at Time and put every bit of will behind that stare. For a moment, she could have sworn she heard a peal of thunder and a brief flash of lightening in the blackness of the corridor, but she knew that wasn't possible.

Time's shoulders sagged. "I concede. You are the stronger one." Lifting his right hand his hourglass appeared in it. Lifting his left he pointed into the distance. A door suddenly appeared with a blinding white light coming from it and Sakura realized this was the same door she had stepped through before. "Come. This way."

Not taking time to savour her victory, or to feel guilty about how she had treated Time, Sakura followed the card to the doorway where she left him standing as she stepped through.

There was silence as Sakura suddenly vanished from in front of them.

"So," Madison finally ventured, "I guess this means she made it?"

"Let's hope so." Kero muttered. "She either made it, or she's stuck somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?" Li questioned.

Kero looked at him. "You don't want to know, kid. Believe me, you don't want to know."

"I guess all we can do is wait." Love commented.

No one else spoke, but everyone was staring at the spot where Sakura and the Time card had previously been.

Sakura reappeared in a long hallway. Looking around, she realized that the hallway she was in looked awfully familiar. It took her a second more to realize why. She was in one of the winding corridors of Clow Reed's labyrinth.

Sighing in relief Sakura looked down at the card she held in her hand. "Time…thank you." Sakura placed the card in her back pocket along with the rest of her deck.

Sakura looked left and saw nothing but hallway with occasional breaks in between that branched off into other hallways. She turned her head to the right and was confronted with much the same thing. Neither way looked particularly familiar to her and she determined that while she was able to identify the hallways because she had been here before she had not been in this _exact_ location. She had no idea _where_ Clow Reed was or which way she should go. If she chose the wrong direction she could very well end up wandering the halls for days before she found anyone or anyone stumbled upon her.

"Oh! That's just great!" Sakura muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and kicking the wall beside her lightly. Sighing in frustration she leaned against the offending surface and began thinking.

It wasn't as if she could turn around and go back the way she had come. Even if she succeeded in managing her way through time three times what would she do when she got back? She couldn't look Li in the face and tell him that she made it through only to give up so easily. She could yell for someone but Sakura had the feeling that she could yell herself hoarse and no one would be able to hear her. So what then? Sakura smiled to herself; now would be a great time to be a telepath. She could just send a thought to Clow Reed and he would know she was here. Sakura's smile soon disappeared from her face. It was Clow Reed that had tried to keep her from getting here in the first place, or so she assumed. Even if she could somehow contact him would he even come for her? Or would he ignore her? Suddenly the popular saying adults told their children when they were little came into her head; if you get lost you should stay in one place so that people can find you faster, not wander around in search of others. Sakura thought that was all well and good, but staying in one spot here just might have her starving to death before anyone found her.

Sakura shifted and felt the Clow cards in her back pocket. Sakura's face lit up; the Clow cards! Grabbing them out of her pocket she started rifling through them. There had to be one here she could use to find Clow Reed, there just had to be! Sakura's shuffling stopped abruptly and she stared at the Arrow card. "I could use this…" she murmured to herself.

Undoing the Key of Clow from around her neck she chanted the ritual which unsealed it. Throwing the Arrow card into the air she cried, "Arrow card! Release and dispel! Arrow!" The Arrow card appeared in front of her, bow and arrow held calmly in her hands.

"Arrow, I need you to lead me to Clow Reed. Can you do that?" Arrow nodded and smiled at her. "Great!" Sakura beamed in exhilaration.

Arrow turned from Sakura and fitted an arrow into her bow. Then, drawing back, she quickly fired the arrow down the right hallway. It thunked solidly into the corner of the hallway on the left side where there was a branch that led off into another hallway. Sakura looked silently to Arrow for affirmation and Arrow nodded yes at her.

Holding her staff loosely in her hand Sakura headed for the next hallway. When she reached there Arrow fitted another arrow to her bow and fired off another shot that struck the corner of another hallway that Sakura guessed she had to turn down. This method was repeated many times and Sakura began to wonder just how large Clow Reed's labyrinth was. Had she known she would be walking this much she would have brought a jug of water with her…could you even bring things like that through time with you? She brought the Clow cards but they were magic, Sakura figured that made them an exception.

Sakura rounded the next corner, an arrow sticking out of the wall just above her head, and smacked right into a…chest? "Ow…" Sakura complained. Sakura looked up and her breath caught in her throat. Then, a spectacular smile breaking out on her face, she exclaimed, "Yue!"

Yue looked down at Sakura with an expression more reminiscent of the Yue of the future; sad and regretful. "Mistress." He replied simply.

"I am so happy to see you!" Sakura continued, the smile never dimming. "I know you're probably surprised to see me, and I'll explain everything to you later - it's a long story and I don't have much time – but I need you to take me to Clow Reed."

Something flickered in Yue's eyes. Sakura wasn't quite sure what it was but it made the smile on her face dim just a bit. "I'm sorry Mistress…I cannot take you to him."

Sakura just stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Not Yue too…her eyes narrowed and her hand tightened into a fist around the staff. "Can't…or won't?" Sakura asked softly.

The look in Yue's eyes became an entreaty and he lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. "Both, I suppose. I cannot because I have been ordered to keep you away. I will not because I cannot disobey my Master's orders."

Sakura tried for the same argument she had had with Time. "I am your Mistress, too. Doesn't that count for anything?"

Yue shook his head. "You will be my Mistress in the future, that is true, but right now Clow Reed is my Master and you being here does not change that. His word takes precedence over yours."

Closing her eyes tight in order to keep the tears of frustration that suddenly sprang there from falling to her cheeks in her anger, Sakura said as calmly as she could, "Why? Why won't Clow Reed let me see him? He obviously knew I was coming, so he must also know why I'm here. Why won't he let me see him?"

Yue began to reach out a hand to Sakura but quickly drew it back to his side, not sure how she might welcome his attempt at comfort. "I do not know, Mistress. He did not tell me why. Only that I was to keep you away."

Sakura's eyes popped open in astonishment. She stared at Yue and felt like laughing hysterically. "He…didn't _tell_ you?" Sakura gestured wildly down the hallway. "My friend is _dying_. He was infected by Betrayal's poison and doesn't have long to live." Sakura was too worked up to get any satisfaction over the widening of Yue's eyes at the mention of Narcisis. "Clow Reed's the only one that can help him. You've _got_ to help me, Yue! You _have_ to take me to Clow Reed!"

Yue slowly shook his head. "I cannot." He said sadly.

His eyes were filled with sympathy, for her no doubt, and pity. For Li. That served to make Sakura even angrier. How dare he feel pity for Li when he wasn't even willing to help him! Sakura glared for a good second before she made to sweep by him. "I'll find him without you."

Moving faster than Sakura could see Yue grabbed her arm. Sakura didn't think she'd ever been more surprised in her life. Yue had actually laid a restraining hand on her! She looked from Yue's hand, so much larger than her own, that gripped her arm so firmly back up into his eyes, her own wide. "I can_not_ let you pass." Yue reinserted firmly. There was a hint of steel in his voice this time and Sakura realized that he would hold her there indefinitely if he had to.

Desperation was beginning to creep up on her. She couldn't stay here! Not when she was so close. She had to reach Clow Reed; she had to save Li! And nothing, no one, was going to stop her.

Sakura jerked her arm angrily from Yue's grasp. He watched her warily but made no attempt to restrain her again. Rubbing her arm as if he had hurt her more than he actually had Sakura glanced at an anxiously hovering Arrow clutching her bow to her chest out of the corner of her eye. Looking back at Yue she said, "Fine. Obviously there's no way I'm going to be able to get by you. I'll just have to find another way to save my friend."

Sakura began to turn away, covertly watching Yue out of the corner of her eye. She saw him relax marginally in relief. She gripped her staff as hard as she could in her hand and, before she could think twice about it, brought it swinging around in a spurt of adrenaline, and more than a hint of fear, at Yue. It struck him on the side of the head and he went sprawling to the ground. "Arrow!" Sakura cried anxiously. Arrow didn't have to be told twice. She fired another arrow and Sakura began to run with the Arrow card ahead of her.

Yue braced himself upon one arm on the ground and shook his head. Being what he was made him stronger than a normal mortal and what normally might have killed someone merely stunned him. His silver eyes dilated and blazed with more anger than had ever previously been witnessed in the moonlit depths. He surged to his feet, spread his wings as far as the walls of the hallway would let him, and shot off after Sakura as fast as he could.

Sakura heard the wing beats behind her and realized that Yue was up and giving chase already. She ran faster. Panting now, more out of fear than exhaustion, Sakura kept her wide eyes fixed on Arrow and her markers. The wing beats steadily got closer and Sakura couldn't resist a look over her shoulder. One look was enough. Putting on a fresh burst of speed made possible only by the sudden burst of adrenaline brought on by the heightened state of her fear Sakura ran as if demons were after her.

She had never seen Yue look so…_frightening_. Even in battle there was always a sense of control about him; he never let his emotions get the better of him. That's what made him so lethal. Had that ability only been brought on by the maturity he had gained over centuries? He looked as if he wanted to do her serious harm. She had never seen his eyes that way before; they were practically glowing!

Sakura's silent contemplating was abruptly cut off as Yue rammed into her with more force than a football player. Sakura hit the ground with an oomph, nearly the full weight of a grown man crushing her. She felt one of Yue's hands grip her upper arm and she panicked, thinking he meant to harm her in some way. Bringing her elbow back she got Yue in the ribs and she heard him grunt as his hold loosened marginally on her. Trying to use this opportunity to scramble out from under him she extended her arms and dug her hands into the floor for extra leverage, her fingers turned into claws. She managed to wriggle halfway out before hands gripped her hips and unceremoniously flipped her over, dragging her back underneath Yue. Sakura gazed up at Yue who was now crouched above her, both hands still gripping her hips painfully, his wings spread out gloriously behind him.

Bringing the staff of Clow up again she attempted to hit him once more. He was expecting it this time, however, and grabbed her wrist with one hand. Yue forced the hand that was holding the staff of Clow to the floor and held it there forcefully. "Please, Mistress, I do not wish to hurt you."

"Then let me go!" Sakura cried, arching up suddenly in an attempt to buck Yue off of her.

Yue's eyes widened slightly but Sakura's actions only proved to make him settle more firmly over top of her. "I cannot. Please…" this time it was Yue's voice that held the pleading note in it.

Weariness and despair over the whole situation finally settled in and Sakura's body went limp under Yue's. "Please, Yue," Sakura whispered, two tears escaping from her eyes to slide down the side of her face and down her ears to fall to the cold floor beneath her. "I have to. Li's dying…he's relying on me. Please! I couldn't live with myself if I let him die!" More tears fell from her eyes and pooled on the floor beside her head.

Yue took his hand from Sakura's hip and moved it towards her face. He hesitated, his hand just above her cheek, and looked into her eyes. Luminous green purer than a glade stared back at him. Yue's hand completed its motion and he cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away the moisture around her eyes. "Please do not cry." He whispered.

"Yue," Sakura brought her free hand up and brushed it through the silvery strands of Yue's hair. His eyes closed and he turned into the touch much as a cat would. Waiting until he opened his eyes again Sakura continued, "this is much more important than Clow Reed's orders." Yue's face tightened slightly and he made to pull away from her, his hand disappearing from her face, but Sakura tightened hers in his hair. "This is a _life_ we're talking about, a very important one. You may not know him yet, but he's a very close friend of mine and I care for him deeply. He's an important person in the fight against the For…I mean…the new Clow cards, and we need every person we can get." Sakura searched Yue's eyes but saw that, while he sympathized, he was not swayed. Thinking fast, Sakura murmured, "What if it were Clow Reed?"

Yue's gaze faltered for a moment. Looking back at her uncertainly he questioned, "What do you mean?"

"If Clow Reed was dying wouldn't you do _any_thing you could to save him? Even if it meant your life?" Again Yue looked away. "That's how I feel about Li." Sakura finished quietly. "Please, Yue, you've got to help me, if only just this once. You have to agree that this is more important than Clow Reed's orders."

Sakura watched Yue anxiously for any sign of relenting. Aside from the rapid back and forth movement of his eyes as he quickly thought about what she had said and about the consequences of disobeying Clow Reed, there was no other external sign that told Sakura in what direction he was thinking.

Slowly, Yue released Sakura's wrist. Sakura unclenched her fist and released the silver strands of Yue's hair as he made to rise. He rose to his knees, then to his feet, until he stood looming over her. He looked at her for a moment before offering her a hand up from the floor. Eying him cautiously Sakura took the offered hand and winced slightly as he pulled her to her feet. She was going to have a bruise on her shoulder from where she had connected with the floor when Yue tackled her and two more bruises on her wrist and hips where he had gripped her so hard. Flexing the wrist that held the staff of Clow experimentally Sakura noted with relief that it hurt but didn't appear to be sprained or broken.

"I'm sorry." Yue said simply.

Sakura shrugged. "It's okay. You were only following orders."

Yue shook his head. "A convenient excuse. I did not have to handle you so roughly."

Sakura glanced at Yue's temple where a purplish bruise was already beginning to form. "Considering how hard I hit you I'm surprised you didn't hurt me worse; that would have been enough to enrage anyone, I would imagine. I'm sorry about that, by the way."

Yue smiled slightly this time and Sakura returned it. "You were only doing what you felt you had to." He paused, staring at the wall, a small frown coming over his face. After a minute or so of silent contemplation of god knew what he said slowly, "I'll take you to Clow Reed." Before Sakura could jump for joy Yue gave her such a look of resignation that it dispelled any feelings of joy she had.

Turning, Yue headed silently off down the hallway, the tips of his wings trailing along the floor occasionally as he walked. Sakura looked at a much more relaxed Arrow card and brought the staff of Clow around. "Arrow card return!" After Arrow was safely back in her back pocket she ran after Yue.

Sakura didn't dare say a word to him as they walked for two reasons. The first was that she was so guilty over what she had done to him, namely braining him with the staff, that she couldn't bring herself to say anything to him. The second was that there was such an air of melancholy surrounding him now that Sakura was hesitant to breach it. Surely Clow Reed wouldn't be _that_ angry with him for disobeying his orders, would he?

Sakura noticed that the walls began to look more familiar to her, if that was possible, considering how they all basically looked much the same. But they did. Sakura realized she had been in this hallway before, and that they must be getting closer to Clow Reed. Yue stopped abruptly in front of a door that Sakura knew was Clow Reed's. Yue knocked twice before opening the door and going inside.

Clow Reed looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. "Ah, Yue. How did you do with…" Clow Reed's gaze fell upon Sakura as she stepped around the angel's wings and he finished flatly, "…Sakura." Clow Reed's black eyes became chipped like onyx and his steely gaze fixed upon Yue. "I see I should have sent Kero Beros instead."

Yue flinched slightly and lowered his eyes in shame, feeling truly awful for having disappointed Clow Reed. "I'm sorry, Master." He whispered.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Clow Reed. "No!" She stepped in front of Yue and pointed her finger accusingly at Clow Reed. "It wasn't his fault. I made him take me to you. If you're going to be angry with anyone be angry with me. He didn't do anything wrong!"

Clow Reed smiled again. Closing his book he stood up from his chair and walked over to his bookshelf. "Except for disobeying my orders, you mean?" Placing the book upon the shelf he shook his head. "First Time, and then Yue. Is it perhaps that I need better servants? Or are you more trouble than you appear to be? Well, yes, of course you are. What a silly question." He finished as he faced them, his hands disappearing into the sleeves of his robes.

Dismissing his odd behaviour Sakura demanded, "Why did you try to keep me from coming here?"

The smile disappeared from Clow Reed's face. "That…is a complicated question with an even more complicated answer."

"You must know why I'm here." Sakura said. She was still only guessing on that one but Clow Reed's next words dispelled any doubts she had.

Clow nodded. "I do, and, regrettably, I can't help you." And he turned away.

"What?" Sakura exclaimed in disbelief. "What do you mean you can't help me?" When Clow Reed didn't answer her she stormed over to him until she was standing in front of him. "No! I went through too much to get here just to leave without at least an explanation!"

Clow Reed gazed down at her calmly. "Leave me." He told Yue without looking away from Sakura.

Yue bowed deeply, his hair sweeping the floor. "Yes, Master." And he left, shutting the door behind him.

Sakura glanced from the now closed door to Clow Reed, who was still watching her. "That was cold, don't you think?"

Clow Reed smiled ironically, "I'm rather displeased with him at the moment; _I'd_ say that was downright cheery."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, still angry with him but feeling uneasy now. "So why won't you help me?"

Clow Reed was silent for a moment, just watching her. Finally, his eyes moved from her to rest on the bed in the corner. "What exactly did Love tell you about the time he brought Rage to me?"

Sakura frowned. She had been hoping for a straightforward answer. Guess she should have known better. "Not much," she began, "just that he brought Rage here, you took him into your laboratory, and that you eventually rid him of the poison." Sakura frowned again. "Oh, and that he didn't see you at all after that."

Clow Reed went and sat down heavily upon his bed. "And didn't you find that a bit odd? That he did not see me once after I had cured Rage?"

Her brow knit in confusion, Sakura replied, "Well…I don't know. I thought that maybe you just didn't want to see Love, since he was one of the Forgotten."

Clow Reed laughed. "My dear, any chance to see one of my children that do not want to cut my throat is a rare occurance. I would have liked immensely to spend more time with Love if I could have."

"Then…why?"

Clow Reed leaned against the bedpost and closed his eyes momentarily. Opening them again he gazed tiredly at Sakura as he began to speak. "As you have no doubt surmised, it takes a great deal to undo the magic of one of my children. You would not have come here if you thought someone else could cure Li Syaoran. You were right when you assumed I was the only one who could do it. However, it takes a great deal of effort, even for me."

"Love did indeed bring Rage here, and I did indeed cure him, but it is not so simple as all that. The magic I needed to summon to heal him required time, which I did not have. I placed a spell around the poison coursing through his body to slow it down so that I would have the necessary time I needed."

"How much time…do you need?" Sakura ventured quietly.

Clow Reed's gaze did not meet hers. "Twenty-four hours, at least."

"Twenty-four?" Sakura whispered. "But that…that doesn't leave a lot of time."

"I know." Clow Reed informed her. "After I have summoned the required amount of energy I must then focus on removing the poison. Love has already explained this to you, has he not?" Sakura nodded slightly, not bothering to wonder how Clow Reed knew that. "I must draw the poison out of the victim and into myself where I must then proceed to cleanse it from my own body. If I am not powerful enough then I cannot even draw the poison out of the body. If I succeed in doing that much and am not capable of cleansing myself the poison will eat away at my body until I die."

"But…you healed Rage, right? So there's nothing to worry about. You could do it again."

Clow Reed gave Sakura a look she couldn't quite interpret. Then, standing up, he began to undo the sash on his robe.

"W-what are you doing?" Sakura asked uneasily. Clow Reed lowered the robe so that his shoulders and upper chest were revealed and stopped. Sakura's uneasiness vanished in the wake of her fascination with what was covering Clow Reed's shoulders and parts of his chest.

The skin was…black. Not a normal, African American black, but a charred, corrosive black. It looked like something had eaten away at his flesh. "What…?" Sakura found herself reaching towards the dead skin before she even realized what she was doing. She snatched her hand back guiltily and looked up at Clow Reed.

Clow Reed smiled slightly. "It's alright. It's perfectly safe and I don't mind."

Sakura reached out hesitantly and touched her first three fingers to one of the black patches. It felt completely smooth, no hair grew on the black patches, but hard. It felt almost like a callous, but not quite. Sakura moved to another patch where there were additional marks on top of the black. Frowning, Sakura took a closer look and realized they were the scars from where something had…popped.

"It's the result of drawing the poison into myself." Clow Reed explained. Sakura looked up at him in horror. "This is the damage it did before I was able to cleanse myself of it. Their magic had become powerful since I had last seen them." Was Sakura imagining things, or did Clow Reed seem proud? Stepping away, Clow Reed readjusted his robe so that everything was back in its proper place and not a speck of black showed. Smiling slightly he said, "Neither Kero Beros nor Yue know of this. They don't even know I ever healed Rage."

"But how did you keep them from noticing?"

"With quite a lot of effort." Clow Reed replied with humour. Sobering, he replied, "I suddenly had quite a lot of errands I needed them to run. Also, I stayed out of sight for a while. That was why I could not see Love afterwards," he added as an afterthought, "I could not risk having Kero Beros or Yue running across me. I looked…well…let us just say I was not looking my best and they would have noticed."

Sakura stared at the place where the black scarring had been for a moment more before looking up at Clow Reed and asking, "What does this have to do with trying to keep me from seeing you? Why won't you help me?"

Clow Reed looked away. Sakura peered into what she could see of his eyes and determined he was thinking very deeply. When he looked back up at her he had sort of a resigned look on his face. "Don't you understand?"

Sakura frowned. "Understand what? I'm not a mind reader, and even if I was I don't think it would help me much with you; I don't think anyone would ever really be able to understand how you think. I'm sorry for the trouble it caused you in the past, but don't you think saving Li's life is more important than any reluctance you might have because of any pain this will cause?" Sakura gripped her arms as she folded her arms across her chest. "I know that sounds terribly selfish and uncaring, but I don't care. Li means a lot to me. I'd do anything to save him."

Clow Reed shook his head and laughed; Sakura flinched at the sound, not used to hearing something so bitter sounding coming out of his mouth. "Despite what you may seem to think I am not entirely noble." Clow Reed informed her. "I have my own selfish wishes and desires. I cannot simply go save every helpless child or injured kitten that comes across my path. There is no one on this planet that is that pure, and if there was they would eventually go mad from the amount of time and stress it would take to save _everyone_."

Clow Reed stood up and walked to the door. Standing there he looked across the room at Sakura and said steadily, "I cannot save Li Syaoran. It is time for you to go."

Sakura stood in silence for a moment. She felt nothing at first and she suspected that was because she was too shocked to react. She knew all the resistance in getting here had been caused by Clow Reed, but somehow she assumed that once she saw him everything would be alright. She would tell him the problem and he would agree to help her. It was naïve, she knew, but she still couldn't believe he was refusing to help her.

Silent tears began behind Sakura's eyes and they alarmed her. Somehow, she couldn't let him see her cry. Not now, not after everything that had just happened. She gazed back at Clow Reed her eyes glistening with unshed tears and her hands still gripping her arms fiercely. "Can't help him? Can't or won't?"

His gaze never wavering with hers, he replied, "Won't."

Sakura lashed out suddenly and knocked the numerous candles and tomes off the old table. Her fists clenched tightly together on the table and she demanded, "Why! Why! Just tell me why! Give me some answer that makes sense, because I don't understand! Fine, I know no one can save everyone, and I didn't think you could, but I KNOW you can save Li. I looked up to you, I thought you were wise and knowledgeable, and, from everything I've seen, kind. Now I know I was mistaken! You're nothing but a cruel, selfish bastard!"

Clow Reed's own fist suddenly connected with the door and he yelled, "Do not think you know everything! You have no idea what you ask!"

Both sorcerer and cardcaptor froze. The sheer surprise of Clow Reed's outburst held them both immobile. Sakura never thought she'd live to see Clow Reed with his voice raised, let alone live to see him committing acts of violence. He was the most soft-spoken person she knew aside from Julian.

There was a knock on the door that startled them both into action. Clow Reed stepped away from the door and Sakura straightened up from her bent over position on the table. Clearing his throat, Clow Reed said, "Come in."

Yue opened the door and stood in the doorway uncertainly, as if he expected another reproach from Clow Reed. Looking from Clow Reed to Sakura and back again he asked, "Is everything alright, Master?"

Clow Reed waved him away without looking at him. "Yes. Yes, everything is fine. Please shut the door."

With one final glance at Sakura Yue left and shut the door behind him.

There was another awkward silence before Clow Reed said suddenly, "I'm sorry. I did not mean to lash out as I did."

Sakura stared silently at the sorcerer. After he had apologized it kind of seemed like she should, too. But she couldn't bring herself to do so with the matter of Li's life still between them. "It doesn't matter." She finally said.

There was a lengthy silence before Clow Reed's shoulders suddenly slumped. "Why can you not accept what I have told you? Why can't you just leave?"

Sakura surprised herself by laughing. "Why can't I accept this? If you have to ask that…well…you're not quite as smart as I thought you were." Clow Reed raised one eyebrow but said nothing. Sakura gestured around her exaggeratingly with one arm, "Accept what you've TOLD me? You haven't really told me anything, aside from making it clear that you won't help me. If I went back, if I _accepted_ Li's death then I might as well accept my own because I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that my decision to _give up_ caused the death of my best friend. Can you say any different?"

Clow Reed shook his head. "I can't help you. I wish I could." He said softly.

"No," Sakura countered, "you said you _won't_ help me, which is something entirely different from _can't_. You just gave me that little speech about no one being able to save everyone. Well…that's just fine and hunky-dory, but what about the ones you can save? If you could save that one stray kitten as you passed it by wouldn't you?"

Clow Reed remained silent and Sakura, sensing that she just might be getting the upper hand for the first time since she got here pressed, "You brought me back in time before to seal the War card. You did that in order to save me in the future and, on a larger note, the world. YOU did that. You realized what had to be done in order to keep the Forgotten from running rampant on innocent people. This is no different. We _need _Li in the future. We need every able bodied person with magical talent that we can get. Unless you plan on coming to the future yourself to fight there is no one else besides him that can do a better job. If you don't save him then what was the point?" Sakura demanded, her emotions getting the best of her once more, "What was the point of having me seal War only to turn around and do this? If that's the case then you never should have brought me back at all. You should have let me die, let us all die, when War came for us."

Sakura stood as rigidly as possible, her muscles so tight they were screaming with tension. It was so quiet she was surprised she didn't hear Clow Reed's heartbeat along with her own that was thrumming in her ears. She stood this way for so long she thought that when she finally did move her muscles would protest.

"You really know how to wear someone down, don't you?"

It took Sakura a moment to realize Clow Reed had said anything. Shrugging she replied tiredly, "So my brother tells me."

Clow Reed stared hard at the door and another lengthy silence ensued before he continued, "Do you realize when you are?"

The question surprised Sakura. Again she had expected a 'yes, I will help you' or a 'no, I still won't help you. Now leave'. She should have known better, she supposed. "I'm in the past. I'm when I was the first time."

Clow Reed slowly shook his head. After another minute hesitation he said, "No…you're several months ahead of the last time you were here."

Sakura only stared at him in silence. It was a surprise to her that she hadn't just come back around the same time she had left…that had kind of been her goal. Although, if she was truthful, she really hadn't thought much about the actual time except that she would arrive around the same time as last time. Okay, so she had arrived a few months in the future. Sakura didn't really see the big deal; it's not like she had arrived _years_ from when she was last here. She knew that while she didn't see a problem there obviously was one, or Clow Reed wouldn't have mentioned it.

"Okay." Sakura replied, unable to think of anything else to say.

Clow Reed smiled slightly. "Something large has happened since you were here last. This something would account for Yue's new found fierceness in the halls and my exhaustion."

Sakura frowned in confusion, but then she looked, really looked at Clow Reed. She had already witnessed a weariness of the soul about him when they were arguing, but she had been so caught up in proving her point that she had failed to notice any details about him physically other than those black marks on his chest and…now that she thought about it…god knew where else.

There were bags under his eyes and the skin around the eyes seemed darker than the rest of his face. The hollows in his cheekbones seemed more pronounced and he looked thinner than he did the last time she had seen him. Finished her perusal Sakura looked back up into his eyes. "What's happened?"

Taking a deep breath he answered, "I've sealed them."

It only took a moment to realize what he meant. "You sealed the Forgotten? When?" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes wide.

Clow Reed ran a hand over his face. "Two days ago."

Sakura stood stock-still. "Rage…Love…" Somehow Sakura thought she should have been surprised that they were the first things she thought of, but somehow, she wasn't. And why should she be? The time that she had spent together with Rage and Love had created a…a friendship, Forgotten or not. She was worried about them, worried about them like she would be worried about Madison or Kero if something ever happened to them.

"Yes. Rage and Love." Sakura looked up at Clow Reed sharply. He hadn't said either of their names in a way that would suggest he felt anything strong towards their present predicament. In fact, the way he had said it he could have been talking about them at any other time over a splendid cup of tea. But, there was something in the tone, maybe it was that his facial expression was so carefully blank – a tactic employed by a certain other someone that was being discussed at the moment – that led Sakura to believe that there was so much _more_ behind that simple sentence.

"Clow Reed?" Sakura ventured hesitantly, unsure of how to console him or whether he even wanted or needed her comfort.

He brushed her concern away with a brisk movement of his hand. "What's done is done and there is no point in worrying about it now." But his voice was strained as though he was putting great effort into controlling it. He turned away from her and was silent.

Sakura was faced with an awkward dilemma. He had obviously turned away in order to hide the strong emotions that were no doubt playing across his face at this very moment. It was apparent that he needed to be comforted, someone to tell him that he had done everything that he could and that Rage and Love _would_ eventually get out again and that they would come to forgive him in time. He needed to be told that, but he had turned from her. He might need the comfort she had to offer but he didn't want it. Sakura stood there silently and waited for Clow Reed to compose himself.

Clow Reed turned back to face her suddenly and Sakura was surprised that, again, there was no outside trace of the chaos that must be going on inside of him at this very moment. His face was the same slightly cheery mask that it always was. Sakura started as she suddenly realized that that was what it was. A mask. One that he wore twenty-four seven since the cards first rebelled against him. Did he ever even let that mask drop, even when he was alone? Sakura thought about that and couldn't understand how he did it, how exhausting it must be.

"It is an enormous coincidence that you have come back at this exact time…but since I don't believe it coincidences I can only assume it was the work of a higher power. If you had come back before I had sealed my children then no amount of arguments, no matter how well constructed, would have been able to convince me to go forward in time to complete this venture as the results would be catastrophic. That was not a hyperbole."

Clow Reed walked to the door and jerked it open causing Yue to visibly jump out in the corrider. Saying nothing and leaving Sakura to follow as she would he exited the room and started down the hallway. Exchanging a glance with Yue, Sakura followed quickly behind the sorcerer, Yue right beside her.

"Does this mean…are you going to help me?" Sakura didn't want to let hope blossom but the stubborn thing had already taken root.

"I must admit my dear," he began, not slowing his pace for a moment as he continued on to wherever it was he was going, "you are very good at proving a point until it has been driven between the person's eyebrows. You were correct when you said that it was rather pointless of me to have brought you back the first time if I was only going to allow the people who fight with you to die in the future if I could have prevented it. You DO need Li, and I cannot let my selfish reasons deter me from saving his life when it could mean that my children would be allowed to run amok with no one left who was capable of stopping them." Clow Reed stopped abruptly in front of two large double doors. Smiling slightly he said, "I admit, I was…afraid."

Before Sakura could ask why Yue said instead, "Master…why are we…?"

Turning with a sunny smile on his face that succeeded in stopping Yue better mid sentence than a reprimand would have, Clow Reed asked politely, "Yue, would you mind finding Kero Beros for me? Ask him to come back here along with yourself, of course. I need you both. Thank you."

Yue was silent for a moment, but then he replied, "Of course, Master," and vanished.

Clow Reed turned back to look at the double doors. Sakura continued to study him rather than the doors. After a moment she ventured, "Where are we?"

There was that smile again. "We are…at the entrance to my laboratory."

Now why did that sentence seem to echo with foreboding? Sakura looked back up at the impossibly tall doors with a new respect and a hint of suspicion for the unknown. "Why are we here?" she asked finally.

Turning to her, Clow Reed said, "I need to summon some strong magic and I don't want to do that outside of an area that isn't protected by a barrier."

"…Barrier?" Sakura asked, not sure what he meant exactly.

Clow Reed gestured to the doors and stepped aside. Staring at him for a moment Sakura didn't move. It wasn't that she didn't trust him…exactly…but how did she know that something wasn't going to happen to her when she stepped up to those doors? The magic could react badly to her presence and it might set off some sort of booby trap; poisonous gas could leak out the mouths of the miniature lion carvings on either side of the door, a trap door could open beneath her feet and she could fall into a pit of snakes! Or part of the wall behind her could fall away to reveal a giant boulder which would start rolling towards her, intending to crush her, while she fled for her life down the hallway…

Sakura shook her head. Apparently her imagination was on overdrive…not to mention that the Indiana Jones movies she'd watched that weekend might…just _might_…have influenced her a bit. Besides, if there were any booby traps to worry about they'd most likely be magical in nature. When she touched the door she'd probably get electrocuted or something. Oh yeah…that sounded much better than snakes.

Taking a deep breath Sakura reached forward towards the door. As soon as her hand neared the door her hand touched something _sticky_ and suddenly there was a wall of purple over the doors. Giving out an involuntary yip Sakura jerked her hand back and wiped it on her pants. She stopped her nervous actions, however, when she heard quiet laughter off to her side. Shooting an annoyed glance Clow Reed's way she demanded, "What's so funny?"

Clow Reed gestured toward the doors and the still visible mass of see-through purple. "Did you think it would dissolve the skin from your bones?"

Sakura stiffened, embarrassed. "It could have." she replied tightly.

Clow Reed laughed again. Reaching into his sleeve he retrieved a coin. He held it up for Sakura to see and then proceeded to hurl it at the doors with all his might. As soon as it connected with the purple mass there was kind of a…high pitched shrieking sound before parts of the purple substance convulsed around the coin. The purple wall slowly subsided back to its smooth, unmarked surface much as water does after it's been disturbed. Sakura looked at the spot where the coin was swallowed, but she couldn't see it. Looking in other places, thinking maybe it was moved along with the purple…ness…when the wall settled, Sakura could find no trace of the gold coin anywhere. "Where did it go?" she finally had to ask, looking back to Clow Reed.

Clow Reed quickly ran his gaze over the double doors and, when his fast scan came up with no coin he said amiably, "Well, I would imagine it's completely dissolved by now. It dissolves smaller things faster, you know." he said as if this was a well known fact that anybody would have known.

Sakura just stared at him. Slowly she looked back down at her hand and a look of horror came over her face. "Why…how? Why wasn't my hand dissolved?" she asked in a kind of breathless voice. Then, her expression becoming outraged she finished, "I can't believe you let me touch that thing!"

"It is perfectly safe." Clow Reed admonished and proceeded to walk up to the door and lay his own palm against it. Nothing happened. Sakura met his eyes, her own puzzled. "It is based on force." he explained, and proceeded to push very slightly against the wall of purple. The surface began rippling slightly but that was it. Removing his hand he held it up for her to see. There wasn't a mark on it.

"I don't understand." Sakura confessed, wondering why his hand - her hand - hadn't been dissolved along with the coin.

"This is a barrier. It is one of the rarer ones because it keeps out physical penetration as well as magical penetration. Nothing can get in or out of this once it is created. It is there for the protection of, well, this very labyrinth. Some of the magic summoned here is rather dangerous and would, I fear, crumble the very walls around me did I not erect this barrier when I am in there. Of course," he went on, "it is also good for keeping out…those who are not welcome. To answer your question, your hand was not dissolved because the barrier reacts to force. The more force that is put against it, magic or otherwise, the more violent the reaction. When that force reaches a certain point the barrier will absorb whatever is causing the disturbance-quite handy for spells, that-and will absorb the violent force into itself, which is what resulted in the ripples you saw after the coin disappeared. The more violent the pressure exuded against it the more violent the ripples become. Believe me, I have seen this barrier _shake_ with the force of thunder. That is how the barrier gets rid of the energy it absorbs."

"Oh." was all Sakura could manage to get out. She looked back at the doors. Well, she did have to admit that it was a rather useful spell.

Clow Reed stepped forward and raised his left hand with his index and middle fingers extended and pointing upwards towards his forehead. He began speaking in whispers and Sakura had to strain to hear what he was saying. Even when she managed to catch some of it, it didn't sound like any Japanese, or even English, that she had ever heard before. When Clow Reed was finished the chant he stepped back and the doors swung inward. Sakura looked into the opened corridor and saw only blackness. She couldn't even make out the sides of the walls after the first couple feet it was so dark in there. She looked up at Clow Reed and he gave her a reassuring smile that somehow wasn't so reassuring.

Clow turned and walked confidently into the pitch black. As soon as he cleared the archway of the door two torches hanging highly, previously unseen, on both sides of the walls sprang to life. Sakura blinked and exhaled slowly. Well, at least she wouldn't be walking in without light now. Heaven forbid…she could have stubbed a toe or something. Sakura snorted at her poor attempt at humour and followed Clow Reed into the laboratory.

At certain intervals when they were just far enough away from the last torches that the darkness began to encroach upon them again Clow Reed would pass another set and light would blaze forth once more. Sakura followed quietly behind the sorcerer, staring at his red and purple robed back as they went. She noticed that as they walked the floor began to tilt slightly and she realized they weren't walking on level ground anymore but were going down. The walls were dank and bare and the silence was absolute save for the soft sounds of their footsteps. She could have said something, she supposed, but she honestly couldn't think of a single thing that needed to be said. The only question she wanted to ask was if Clow had meant it when he said he wouldn't let Li die. She didn't want any misunderstandings where this was concerned. However, she was afraid that if she asked he might reveal his earlier change of heart to be merely a mind game to drive her mad. If such was the case Sakura was afraid she might kick him or burst into angry tears. She wasn't sure which.

Another set of torches went off and Sakura could see a turn in the previously straight arrow passage just beyond them. Clow Reed entered the new opening and Sakura followed closely behind him. She had not walked more than a few steps before the passage opened up into a moderately sized room. Sakura stopped walking and had to raise her hand to shield her eyes as a fire suddenly blazed to life. Lowering her hand Sakura saw that the fire had sprung up in what looked to be some sort of marble bowl on legs near the right wall. Sakura let her eyes wander and saw a small, quite uncomfortable looking bed in the corner not far from the fire. Was that straw peeking out of the mattress? Her eyes shifted back to Clow Reed to see that he wasn't paying any attention to her, but was walking toward a table at the other end of the room. There was a shelf above the table that housed quite a few glass jars and vials upon it. The table had what looked like a few books, one open, a mortar and pestle, some candlesticks, sheets of parchment, and some quills and inkpots. There might have been more, but Sakura couldn't quite make everything out from the doorway.

She moved forward a few steps but stopped again, frowning. Had she imagined it? No, she could have sworn she had felt a slight breeze upon her face. She raised her head and looked around the room but found no windows, merely stone, though, considering how far underground they must be, she didn't know why she had expected to find any. She became claustrophobic for a moment, wondering how anyone could spend so much time down here without the benefit of daylight and fresh air. Shrugging it off, Sakura determined that the slight rush of air she had felt must have been from some cracks in the stones as there were no windows or vents of any kind.

She started walking again and as she neared the center of the room something shone in the flickering of the firelight. As she drew nearer her eyes widened and she finally stopped beside a pair of manacles. But, surely, they couldn't be…_manacles_. But they were. There was a chain with some length that was linked to them that ran to what looked like the exact middle of the floor where a lock secured them to the floor. There was something else, too. She hadn't been able to discern this from the doorway, but there were lines drawn onto the stone with what looked something like white chalk. The lines formed into a large circle which she was currently standing inside. There was an outer ring and then a smaller inner ring – though not by much - inside that one. The small space left between the two circles had symbols drawn all around the circumference. Sakura could only describe them as being slender and wavy; she did not recognize them and they did not look familiar to her. The only other thing drawn inside the inner ring was a large pentagram whose center was where the manacles were situated.

Sakura drew her arms up unconsciously until she was rubbing them uneasily. A shiver ran down her spine but she couldn't say why. She narrowed her eyes slightly as something else caught her attention. In the center of the pentagram near the manacles there was a dark patch of…something. Moving hesitantly, not really wanting to move to the center of that design, Sakura stepped forward. Stopping again directly in front of the dark patch and almost directly in front of the shackles she bent down to get a better look at the patch.

The patch, it turned out, happened to be a stain in the stone. It was black and Sakura's heart missed a beat as she realized what she was looking at. Indeed, how could she not, from all of her recent encounters with the Forgotten, recognize dried blood when she saw it? There wasn't too much, but there was enough to make anyone uncomfortable. Sakura crouched there, staring at the spot, and wondered why there would be dried blood in Clow Reed's laboratory. Why did he need to have _shackles_ down here?

Straightening finally, her arms still clutched tightly together, Sakura turned to find Clow Reed staring at her from the side of the table. She stared back and suddenly the shadows from the fire made him look just a bit sinister, and the fire shining in his eyes looked just a bit like madness. Sakura mentally shook herself. This was ridiculous, absurd! She had no reason to be afraid of Clow Reed; he was her friend, her ancestor, a _good_ guy. But she continued to stare at him, waiting for him to say something, anything.

After what seemed like years, Clow Reed blinked. His eyes shifted to the left and he looked down slightly, no longer meeting hard, green eyes but staring at a point just below them. "I do dangerous things here, Sakura, things that I cannot do elsewhere for fear of damaging…certain aspects of the real world. Sometimes I must summon dangerous creatures, creatures that are not bound by rules or law and would seek to do me serious harm if not restrained." His eyes focused on hers again. "Do you understand?"

After a short silence, Sakura murmured, "Not really. But, then again, I don't really think I want to know."

Clow Reed gave her a level look. "No, I suppose maybe it's better that you don't." Turning away he reached up and removed several vials and two glass jars from the shelf. Working up a significant amount of courage Sakura stepped over the ominous circle on the ground and moved to the sorcerer's side.

"Narcisis," he began, "is actually a combination of two types of poison." Leaning slightly forward he grabbed the mortar and pestle in the far corner of the table. "The first type is entirely natural, just a simple mixture of common, and a few not so common, herbs and liquids that produce a rather nasty effect on anyone who happens to be exposed to them. Luckily, I have all of the ingredients necessary here from the last time this happened in order to reproduce the antidote. Also, none of these ingredients need be fresh, so we don't have to waste time trying to find them all in a certain span of time. It will, however, take time to make sure everything is prepared properly."

"The second type is of a magical nature. Betrayel's knowledge of the dark arts and her level of power has ensured that an added 'kick', if you will, was added to the concoction. If you were intending to poison a mortal with just the herbs then they would indeed be dead before the day was out. However, if you planned on poisoning someone with a much stronger immune system who is not entirely say, mortal, the regular effects of the poison most likely would not be sufficient enough to kill him. Knowing the type of opponents she was bound to face when she chose to openly go against me she took the initiative."

Finished his explanation Clow began very carefully to unscrew one of the lids of the jars. Sakura's attention drifted from what he was doing down to the contents of the table. Her eyebrows raised in surprise when her eyes came to rest on the open book in front of Clow Reed and what was inside. "The book of Clow and the Clow cards." She whispered.

Distracted from the task at hand Clow Reed looked down at the book on the table. A sorrowful look came to his face and his eyes took on a far away look. When he finally spoke his voice seemed equally far away. "Yes. The book of Clow." He then proceeded to continue with the current task at hand.

Left to her own devices, Sakura wandered around the room for a bit. Avoiding the pentagram in the middle of the floor she went around and examined the marble bowl in which the fire was situated. After she had thoroughly examined all aspects of the bowl she grew very bored, there being practically nothing to do in the drab room. Eventually she was reduced to standing and listening to Clow Reed grinding whatever mixture of ingredients he had just put into the mixing bowl.

A short time later footsteps could be heard coming down the passage that led out of the laboratory. Sakura turned in time to see Yue and Kero Beros round the corner and step into the room. Yue's expression was nearly blank and Sakura couldn't tell the thoughts whirling behind the inky, liquid silver pools of moonlight. Sakura looked down and nearly gasped, taken aback by the look of hot rage simmering in Kero Beros' eyes. He was so furious he was nearly snarling, his lips starting to curl over his huge, razor-sharp teeth.

"Master," his low boom of a voice growled, "you cannot mean to do this."

With his back turned to his two companions Clow Reed continued to work silently, replying calmly, "Kero Beros, we have already discussed this."

Actually snarling this time Kero Beros moved further into the room, his stride taking him to the pentagram in the middle of the floor where he proceeded to turn and start pacing in a short, angry line back and forth. "We did not discuss anything. You simply told us you were leaving, you did not say why or when. And you most certainly did NOT," he growled, voice rising in volume, "explain why we cannot accompany you!"

His angry gaze settled on Sakura who stood frozen, her fingers gripping her arms tightly, her unblinking gaze never wavering from his in her shock and confusion. Growling, Kero Beros continued to pace, his attention now centered solely upon her. "I do not care if you are our future Mistress. I know this has something to do with you. You are the reason our Master is leaving us! You will leave now, and you will not return. Tell our Master that you do not require his help."

Stunned, Sakura could only stare, not understanding what was going on. She was only taking Clow Reed into the future with her. He was coming back. What was wrong with Kero? "I…I…" she stammered. Her gaze flew to Yue's.

He was gazing at her from the other end of the room, not having moved since he and Kero Beros had walked in. His arms were held loosely at his sides and his eyes as well as his face still held that empty look that made it impossible to guess what he was thinking or even feeling. But even though he was doing his best to give nothing of himself away at this moment his shoulders were slumped and his back was not quite straight, his wings trailing the floor seemingly dejectedly. His entire posture seemed to scream _defeated_ and Sakura didn't know why. "Kero Beros." He whispered, a note of resignation in his voice. And weariness, so much weariness, as if it had taken a great deal of effort to simply whisper his friend's name.

"TELL HIM!" Kero Beros roared, startling Sakura so badly she jumped, her eyes going wide.

"KERO BEROS!" Clow Reed's voice boomed through the small space, the volume of it drowning out Kero's outburst a moment before, making it seem like the roar of a small kitten. This time everyone in the room jumped as Clow Reed spun around, his one hand gripping the pestle he had been using so tightly his fingers were white. "You will cease this unseemly behaviour _immediately._ It does not become you and portrays you as lower than you are. You are capable of more than this. I taught you _better_ than this." His swirling onyx eyes switched to Sakura and he smiled, tight-lipped. "I am sorry Sakura. I apologize most profusely for Kero Beros' behaviour. He is not himself."

He switched his attention back to Kero Beros and then to Yue, before settling once more on Sakura. "I am also sorry that I must ask you to leave now." Shaking herself out of her stupor, Sakura opened her mouth to protest, thinking he meant to send her back. Clow Reed shook his head. "No, I am not sending you away. I only mean for you to wait outside this room. It will not be safe for you in here for what I must do next. I need only Yue and Kero Beros here with me for this. After I have finished making the physical portion of the antidote I shall attend to this last matter, and then we may go. I must warn you, however, this will take some time. A good portion of the day will come and go as I make the preparations. Will you wait outside, please?"

Sakura stared uncertainly at Clow Reed for a moment before her gaze moved uneasily to Kero Beros, and then finally to Yue. Deciding she could ask Clow Reed what was going on later and that she was wasting valuable time while Li suffered in the future Sakura nodded slowly. "Okay," she finally answered, her voice coming out small. She cleared her throat. "I'll wait out in the hall."

Taking one last look at everyone she began walking forward. She passed Kero Beros first. He was sitting on his haunches now, his head hanging down as he stared at the floor, his body tense. She felt she should say something, but she had no idea what. Inwardly sighing she left him behind and approached Yue. She slowed as she drew near, searching his face again for any hint as to what, exactly, was wrong with them. But again, as before, there was nothing. Making a disgusted noise, Sakura stomped passed him, becoming angry as she decided whatever was going on was stupid, and why the hell couldn't they just tell her what was wrong?

As she drew alongside the winged guardian his hand shot out and gripped her elbow. Startled, Sakura froze in place, her gaze flying to meet his. His eyes open to her now he looked down at her with uncertainty and vulnerability shining brightly from them. Licking his lips Yue hesitated, then said, "Treat us well in the future, Mistress." And abruptly let go of her elbow.

Sakura stumbled and caught herself before she managed to trip. Straightening, she turned to look back at everyone. Yue was no longer facing her, his head turned down and away, his hair hiding his face. His arms were hugging his lean form and his wings were half closed protectively around him. She looked at Kero Beros to see that he hadn't moved and was still staring at the floor as if there were something there. Lastly, she looked to Clow Reed to find him watching her, his eyes remarkably calm.

A feeling of doom suddenly and unexpectedly crashed down upon Sakura, making her breath catch. Feeling claustrophobic all of a sudden she nearly ran from the small room, slowing once she turned the corner into the corridor to regain her breath before she left entirely. _What the hell? _She wondered silently to herself. _Just…what the hell?_

Things in the future were not looking bright. Seven hours had elapsed since Sakura disappeared back into the past and Li had begun to feel the effects of the poison coursing through his system.

"It itches." He complained to no one in particular. He was now lying flat on his back, sitting becoming too much work about an hour ago. He was feeling warm, a little too warm, and fidgety. Things all around him, including the people who were sitting by his side, somehow seemed a little hazy around the edges and Li found himself squinting now and then in annoyance to make the feeling go away. But worst of all…was the unbearable _itching_ that seemed to start from just under his skin and had spread _everywhere_. It wasn't painful yet, though Rage had assured him it would progress to that level eventually, but it was so damn annoying! It was like when you had a normal itch that you had to scratch, but couldn't for some reason and the not scratching just seemed to make it worse. And why the hell was it so damn warm in here? He couldn't take it anymore! His left hand twitched and then he made to move it to his other arm to scratch, finally, and get rid of the awful pinpricks all over his body.

A pale hand gripped his wrist. Li's surprised gaze darted up and met the calm yet serious winter blue of Rage's eyes. Knowing that it was Rage who was touching him was probably the most surprising thing of all. He tried to tug his hand away but the card tightened his hold around him. Speaking calmly and matter-of-factly Rage commented, "Scratching won't help. In fact, it'll probably make it worse. And once you start you won't be able to stop and you'll end up scratching yourself bloody."

Li's hands curled into fists and tears of frustration pricked his eyes. "I can't help it. It's…maddening."

"I know." Rage replied calmly. Two sets of eyes, one brown one blue, met and held. A sense of sharing seemed to pass between the two rivals as Li remembered that the card did indeed know, for he had survived through much worse than this for much longer. A moment more of silence passed where Rage searched Li's eyes to make sure he wouldn't scratch and then he let go of his wrist.

Li reluctantly let his arm settle back down to his side, though his hand did bunch around the fabric of his shirt to prevent it from doing anything else. "How? How did you survive that?"

Rage shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." Then he laughed suddenly, no real mirth emerging in the sound. "Maybe I didn't. I don't really remember that time, but I think I went a little mad." His arctic eyes flashed to Love for a moment before moving back to the prone cardcaptor. He shrugged again and said nothing more suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. What was he doing trying to be kind to this rude and disrespectful boy? He didn't even like him; in fact, he didn't really even tolerate him. And yet, somehow he didn't want someone else to experience the pain he had when Betrayel had poisoned him. Well…not unless they deserved it anyway.

Love, who was sitting on the opposite side of Li that Rage was sitting on, cleared his throat hesitantly. "I could try to lessen the side effects. Most of my magic deals with healing and I think I might, for a time, be able to make it feel not quite so bad."

Kero raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And how do we know you're telling the truth?"

"Kero Beros." Yue admonished.

"Kero!" Madison responded angrily.

Staring at him with a guarded look, Love said, "What, exactly, are you implying? What would I have to gain by harming him anymore than he already is?"

Kero crossed his arms over his chest and glowered for all he was worth. "Is that so? Well, that's not what happened a little while ago, is it? If I remember correctly, you tried to kill us all. In fact, this whole situation the Kid's in now could be labeled as being your fault." He accused.

Though his face remained emotionless something in Love's eyes flinched. "It wasn't my fault. I was being controlled. I didn't mean…I didn't want…" he trailed off into silence, guilt plaguing him despite what he had just denied.

"It's no one's fault." Yue tried placatingly. "It is only Betrayel's, and she is sealed."

"I bet it was surprisingly easy to turn you, wasn't it?" Kero went on, relentless, "After all, once you betray one person it isn't so hard to betray another and another, is it?" he taunted.

Love's arms tightened around his knees but he said nothing to defend himself. Kero opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted vehemently by someone else.

"Shut up! Just Shut. Up!" Rage snarled, coming to his knees in his anger. Eyes blazing he continued, "Everything is so black and white to you, is it not? There can only be a good guy and a bad guy. There can be no in between and once you choose one side you can never go back. Don't you _dare_ sit there and have the audacity to preach to him, to us, when you can't even begin to imagine the sorts of things we have been through! You sit there all high and mighty and think you're better than us because you have never strayed from the righteous path. Well, not all of us have it so easy as you! In my opinion, those of us who have strayed yet managed to find our way back are far wiser than creatures who have never seen into the line that separates good from evil, white from black; that line is gray and you cannot even fathom what it must be like!" Breathing a little heavily, he sat back onto his haunches, glaring at the Guardian Beast.

"Rage." Love murmured, surprised and a little touched at the outburst. Kero's jibes must have bothered him a lot more than he had let on. But then, that whole misunderstanding where Clow Reed was concerned in the past had put a gaping hole into his soul.

Kero looked shocked and even a little chastised. He kept his eyes on the floor, not able to raise them to look at anyone, as he felt a little ashamed of himself.

"You go Rage." Madison intoned quietly, smiling slightly to herself. Yue just shook his head.

There was an awkward silence where no one knew exactly what to say. Then Li cleared his throat and said, "If…if you could help me, in any way, that would be much appreciated, Love."

Love looked at him with serious eyes. A moment later he broke out into a huge grin. Still smiling he scooted closer to the prone form and began to roll up his sleeves. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle." And he winked at him.

Leaning down slightly Love began to pull up Li's shirt. Li gripped Love's hands tightly, his eyes wide, "What are you doing?"

Still smiling, Love replied, "My magic works better skin to skin; there's a closer connection that way. I don't need the connection, but having it will probably ensure a stronger response and I'll be able to keep up the spell for a longer period of time." When Li still didn't release his hands Love's smile turned wicked. "Don't worry, I won't molest you. Don't be offended, but, you're not exactly my type. Sorry."

Li hesitated then let go. Love pulled Li's shirt up to his armpits then let it be. Leaning back down he put one hand in the center of his chest and then put the other over top of it, crossing it the other way. That pink glow that they had seen before began to emanate from them, but tinged this time with a yellowish cast. Li let out a relieved breath. "It feels better already."

Love let out a short, surprised laugh, "I feel so confident in my abilities when you all doubt me so much." His brow furrowed then and the looked like he was having trouble with something. "Damn, this is harder than I thought it'd be. The magic is strong." And then he was silent for a long time.

Sakura jerked awake when she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her. Shit, how long had she been asleep for? Where was Clow Reed? The answer to her question was the one causing the soft sound as he walked towards her, a small smile on his face. "It is finally done. I am sorry it took so long but I could not rush anything."

Sakura rushed to her feet from where she had been sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. She brushed herself off absently. "Are you ready? Is everything done? How much time do we have left?"

Clow Reed shook his head. "Not much. Just enough, maybe." He looked at her earnestly and asked, "Would you like to do the honours?"

Sakura blinked up at him cluelessly. "Huh?" she inquired.

The sorcerer smiled. "The Time Card. Would you like to take us forward? I can't…I can't use them now." He said quietly, his smile fading.

"Oh. Sure." Sakura said hastily, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her cards, frowning slightly. Once the Time Card was in her hands she looked at Clow Reed hesitantly. "Umm…I'm not really very good at this, and I've never transported anyone besides myself through time. Maybe…you should use my card and do it? It'll go faster, for one, and we won't end up anywhere we're not supposed to."

"Practice makes perfect. As for transporting multiple people through time all you have to do is be touching that person and they are transported with you. Though," he cautioned, "each additional person you take along with you requires that much more energy, so be careful. But," and the smile was back, "I don't think you'll have any trouble with just me."

Nodding, Sakura prepared herself. Reaching out she grasped Clow Reed's sleeve with one hand, but was startled when he transferred her hand from his sleeve to his own hand. She looked down at their held hands then up into his bottomless eyes. He merely continued to smile.

Nodding again Sakura swallowed nervously then concentrated. Both cardcaptor and sorcerer disappeared into thin air.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Madison asked again.

Love glowered at her. "I told you, I'm fine." He replied sweat glistening on suddenly pale skin that was usually bronzed. Half sitting, half lying down he looked over to Li. "Besides, it's not me you should be asking that of. I…I'm sorry I couldn't do more." The attempt to ease the symptoms had taken a lot more out of him then he'd like to admit, but he'd be fine. The kid on the other hand…His eyes strayed back to him guiltily.

Li was still lying prone on his back, but his breathing was rapid and coming in short, gulping bursts causing everyone to fear he'd hyperventilate if he didn't stop. His shirt had been completely removed along with his shoes and socks. The itching had progressed to burning and he couldn't stand for that much clothing to be on him, complaining they were too hot. He had begun to twitch constantly and his skin had a reddish tint to it and his veins looked more purple then blue, which disturbed Madison who was now sitting off to the side wringing her hands anxiously. He had begun to thrash earlier, and he could no longer keep himself from scratching. Afraid he would hurt himself Yue had grabbed hold of his feet and Rage had moved to his head and pinned his wrists to the floor. Love didn't think he had enough strength left to hold down a kitten otherwise he would've helped. Kero kept pacing back and forth on the floor, his face a mask of worry.

Li twitched again and moaned, the sound long, drawn out and tormented. He tried to free himself from the people restraining him, his eyes screwed tightly shut, but he couldn't. Oh, he was burning! Burning…he was being boiled alive!

Rage met Yue's eyes over Li's thrashing and shook his head, a grim look on his face. "It won't be much longer now. Soon, he'll begin to scream."

Madison shook her head vehemently back and forth. "No. No, I can't take much more of this."

Rage shot her a glare. "Oh, _you_ can't. How do you think he feels?" Seeing the stricken look bloom on her face Rage winced slightly. "I didn't mean for that to be as harsh as it was."

Madison smiled, but there were tears glistening in her eyes. "No, it's okay. I said something stupid, I deserved that. It's just, it's hard. I've known Li for so long, and to see him in so much pain…" she shook her head again, "It's just so hard. I wish Sakura was here."

As if the gods had heard and granted her wish Sakura and Clow Reed appeared out of nowhere, suddenly just there. Madison jumped up and cried happily, "Sakura!"

Kero flew straight up into the air and stared at his former master. "Clow Reed." Yue and Rage nearly came up off the floor before they realized there was a reason they were there and sat back down, both extremely tense. Love sat up straight but did not rise.

Sakura rushed over to Li and fell to her knees, her eyes roaming over him with trepidation. "Li."

She looked to Yue and Rage but neither one was looking at her. It was Love who answered, "He doesn't have much time left, but he can still be saved, if you're quick." Sakura nodded her thanks to him and turned to look at Clow Reed begging him with her eyes to hurry.

Clow Reed walked over to Li quickly and knelt down beside Sakura. Looking at her apologetically he said, "I need more room. Would you mind moving a little?"

Scrambling over towards Rage she settled herself beside Li's head. "Sorry." Madison sat down beside her and they gripped each other's hands tightly, feeling once more as if they were in high school and just by touching each other things would get better.

Reaching into his robes Clow Reed retrieved a small vial. Pausing, he looked up and met four pairs of eyes that were staring directly at him rather than Li. He smiled at them all a bit sadly then reached out to prop Li's head up. He unstoppered the vial and poured the green liquid into Li's mouth. Li fought him and Clow had to hold a hand over his mouth to make him swallow. Tossing the vial aside he pushed his sleeves back. Looking once more at the two Guardian Beasts and the two Forgotten he said quietly, "I have so much I would like to say to you all, but there is no time." He smiled brightly at them. "But I am so happy to see you all again, my children. Know that I missed you."

Yue's lavender eyes were glistening with tears and he was smiling a wavering smile. Love's expression was calm and serene and his smile was much more solid. Rage had such a tortured look upon his face it was hard to look upon. He looked as if he wanted to say something so badly but could not bring himself to open his mouth. Kero, however, had no such problem. "Clow Reed! It's been so long! I didn't think I'd ever see you again! How could you leave us? Why…?"

Clow Reed cut him off with a smile. "Oh dear…is that the form my spell took when you were confined? I'm sorry, Kero Beros, I did not know." His expression sobered and he finished with, "I would love to talk with you more Kero Beros, and you Yue, and explain all, but I have very little time."

His two former guardians nodded and Kero managed to settle himself back onto Yue's shoulder, but his little paws clutched at strands of the angel's hair frantically as if he needed something to hold onto.

Clow looked down at Li and let out a long breath. Placing both hands over his heart Clow closed his eyes and began the healing process.

Sakura watched Clow Reed save Li her body tense. It didn't look much different from what she had seen Love do twice except that the light around his hands was a light blue, and not pink. She wondered idly if the colour depended on the person and differed with who used it. He would do it, he would surely save Li. He had to, he was her last hope. He would save him and then everything would be fine; Clow Reed would go back to the past and they'd finish off the rest of the Forgotten. And then maybe, just maybe she'd be able to tell Li how she really felt about him.

The group sat in tense silence for about ten minutes. The only thing that changed was Li's rapid breathing; it seemed to ease a little. But he still twitched convulsively and his skin was still burningly hot. Another five minutes after that Li inhaled so suddenly and deeply that everyone jumped. If everyone hadn't been watching so closely they might not have noticed how the light blue glow was beginning to darken into a purer, deeper blue. But they did. They also noticed the sweat that suddenly broke out on Clow Reed's skin. It started as a mere shine then turned into little droplets that ran in lines down the sorcerers pinched face. Another five minutes after that Li appeared to be breathing normally and he even looked a little better. Clow Reed's breathing however was laboured now and his eyebrows were drawn together in such a fierce frown Sakura wondered if frowning that hard hurt a person's face.

It went on like that for another half hour or so. Li slowly began to look normal again though Clow Reed continued to look as if he was having a difficult time. The blue of his magic was now so dark that it could be mistaken for black though Sakura knew it was still blue.

Suddenly Li went completely limp and his head rolled slightly to the side. Sakura gasped in fear and let go of one of Madison's hands to reach out to see if he still had a pulse, but Clow's voice stopped her. "He is only sleeping." Came his voice, almost too raspy to make out what he was saying.

Rage and Yue slowly let go of Li's hands and feet and Sakura saw that he was indeed breathing evenly as a sleeper would. She could feel tears welling up behind her eyes and try as she might to stop them they seeped out past her rapidly blinking eyelids. Breathing in shakily, her voice cracking, she said, "_Thank you_. Thank you _so _much, Clow Reed. I'm so happy, I can't believe he's okay. I'll never…" with tears streaming down her face she looked up at Clow Reed and what she had been about to say next slipped from her mind.

Clow Reed was gazing upon her face with a peaceful expression on his face. There was a smile on his face but it was probably the saddest smile Sakura had ever seen on a person's face. And while his expression was nearly serene his eyes were glassy and unfocused. The way he was slumped into himself seemed to scream boneless to Sakura and he looked so exhausted, so very, very tired. "Clow Reed?" she ventured.

His eyes focused for a moment and he looked into her own eyes. His smile brightened, but now it seemed as if it was for her peace of mind more than anything else. "He'll be fine." He rasped out in that same small voice as before. "I'm glad…" his eyes lost focus again, "glad I could…save him." And then his eyes closed and he began to fall.

Giving an exclamation of surprise Sakura lunged forward at the same time Yue and Rage lunged for the sorcerer, but she was closer and she managed to catch him before he hit the floor. Love scrambled out from the other side of Li and ran to him as Kero flew anxiously above his head. Everyone crowded around in a circle as Sakura sank to the ground with Clow Reed in her arms.

"What's the matter?"

"Is he alright?"

"Is he injured?"

Love pushed Rage and Yue out of the way and laid his hand upon Clow Reed's chest. After a moment he snatched his hand back as if burned and clutched it to his own chest. "What! What is it! Love, what's the matter with him!" Rage demanded grabbing the shocked cards shoulders and shaking him. Love looked at him with wide eyes and shook his head.

Sakura had a sudden, horrible thought. Making sure his head was secure on her lap she used both hands to rip open the front of Clow Reed's robes and gasped in horror. She dimly heard Madison say faintly, "What…?" and she heard Kero gasp by her ear as well.

Clow Reed's entire chest and most of his stomach looked as if it was being slowly eaten away by acid. The black markings were moving up his neck and creeping down his arms like some slithering snake trying to bind him and crush him to death. She heard someone repeat Madison'd earlier question but didn't know who it was.

Clow Reed's eyes opened and he blinked once, twice, then managed to focus his eyes and looked around at everyone. He tried to smile reassuringly at everyone, but the smile turned into a wince. Looking back at all the worried faces, only two of them knowing what was happening, Clow Reed cleared his throat and managed, "I'm being eaten alive by the poison. I'm dying."

"No!" Kero exclaimed at the same moment Yue said, "There must be something that can be done."

Clow Reed shook his head. He could feel his energy leaving his body; it was becoming difficult to keep his eyes open. "There is nothing that can be done. It has progressed beyond anything that can be cured. There is too much poison coursing through my body to be removed. It is too late."

"It can't be." Rage whispered, his eyes fierce. "Not when I finally…get to see you again. You healed me before, and you were fine. Why? This must be a lie. It isn't true. It can't be."

Clow Reed smiled a small smile. "I was not, in actuality, fine after healing you the first time. The poison had eaten away at me a little even then." Kero and Yue made sounds of surprise and denial. How could they not have known, they wondered. "At the time Betrayel, all of you, were less than you are now. Even then you were all strong, but now…now, you are stronger. I could not…could not destroy it this time. I am dying." His eyes closed again against his will.

Rage's fist slammed into the floor. He yelled out his pain for all to hear and slammed his fist into the floor again leaving bloody imprints this time. "No! This isn't right! This isn't how it's supposed to be!"

Clow Reed chuckled, but the laugh turned into a hacking cough that racked his lungs. Sakura saw blood speckle his lips and she began to tremble. Clow Reed opened his eyes again and looked at the two Forgotten who were both kneeling side by side, one gripping his arms around himself so tightly it would probably leave bruises and the other with his arms hanging limping by his side, the one leaving a bloody trail along the floor. "You two…I was always so proud of you. You showed the most potential to be human than any of the others did. I always regarded you fondly, my students, my children."

Making a choked sound, Rage exclaimed, "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, Master! I doubted you, I hated you for so long after I was imprisoned! I wanted revenge, I wanted you to pay. I thought you had betrayed me. I never should have doubted you! I should have known, known you never would have done that. I am ashamed, ashamed that I so readily thought so lowly of you! I'm sorry. Sorrysorrysorry…"

Rage trailed off as he felt a warm hand on his clenched fist on the floor. Clow Reed was looking up at him with a fierce expression, tears leaking from his eyes. "I am so sorry Rage, Love. I couldn't save you. I tried, god damnit, I tried. I couldn't find a way to separate you all in the spell; couldn't find a way to keep you. But I had to save everyone, I had to lock them away to save humanity. I tried to find a way to release you, but I failed. I couldn't save you, I'm sorry."

Rage hesitantly took hold of the sorcerer's hand, but once he had it he gripped it firmly. There were tears in his eyes but they did not fall, held captive by sheer force of will. "Do not be sorry. You did the right thing. You have nothing to apologize for. You saved everyone. I forgive you. I forgive you."

Clow's gaze moved to Love who looked lost and abandoned. Love gave him a shaky smile and shook his head. "I forgive you. How could I not?"

Clow Reed smiled at that. "Be true to yourself, Love, no matter what happens. You will be happy eventually, I know you will. Listen to your heart." Love's eyes closed and he hunched in on himself even more.

The sorcerer's eyes moved to Kero and Yue next. He reached out his other hand for Yue who quickly took it, openly crying, crystalline tears making his eyes beautiful. Kero flew into Yue's lap. "And I'm sorry to you as well, my friends."

"Why didn't you tell us why you were leaving!" Kero demanded angrily, but there were tears coursing down his cheeks as well.

Clow chuckled softly. "Would you have let me go had I told you I was going to die?"

"No!" Kero yelled, a surprising burst of volume. "That's the whole point!"

"I had to come here, Kero Beros. If I had not, this fight might truly be lost. I am sorry that I left you. I hope you can one day forgive me for abandoning you. I will cherish the two of you always, even after death."

"Don't leave us again, Master." Yue begged quietly. "You're here now, don't go. Please. I don't think I can…"

With much effort Clow managed to lift his hand enough to cup the side of Yue's face and the grief-stricken angel closed his eyes. "You don't need me anymore, Yue. You're all grown up now, you don't need me. You have a new master now, and your own life to lead. Stand up and walk. I'll always be watching over you, no matter where I end up in the end."

Finally Clow Reed let his head rest back and looked up into Sakura's liquid green eyes. "Have faith in your abilities, Sakura. You are far more talented than you know, and stronger than me." Sakura shook her head in protest but Clow cut her protest off. "No, it is true. Your potential for greatness is astonishing. You only have to believe in yourself. You can do it Sakura, you can seal the rest of my children."

Wincing, Clow Reed shut his eyes again momentarily before blinking them back open again by sheer force of will alone. "And, I want you to know, that I'm sorry. For trying to keep you from taking me back with you, for trying to avoid what I know I needed to do." The coughing started up again and this time the blood flowed freely down his chin. Smiling up at the fresh tears coursing down her distraught face his eyes began to lose their bright glimmer. "I think…I think I was afraid to die. After living so long you'd think…I'm afraid." He whispered as the light went out in his eyes.

Clow Reed was dead.

To be continued…


End file.

Card Captor Sakura, Adventure