Authors Note (A/N): This story takes place about a year after Sakura defeats Eriol. She is 12 in this story and in the sixth grade. Li never confessed to Sakura, and the 2nd movie didn’t happen. Things in italics are either thoughts or emphasis.
by Shadowpheonix
Li stood there, staring at the spot that Sakura had just been. “No,” he whispered, his voice growing louder and more intense. “No!” he screamed. Nothing else was on his mind, only Sakura. I can’t have lost her. I CAN’T have! I’ll get her back. Whatever happens. I promised we’d face it together! He was lost in his thoughts, standing there, still staring at the spot, the spot that had caused all his misery.
“Li!” Tomoyo cried, “Li! Snap out of it! Hello?”
Li just stood there, contemplating what he could possibly do. After a few, long moments, Li walked forward, to the spot where Sakura had been standing minutes before. There must be some clue here. I won’t lose her!
“Li, come on! Maybe Eriol knows what to do. Let’s talk to him.”
Li continued his search, ignoring everything else. He felt a sharp pain in his arm, and ignored that as well. His mind was on nothing other than finding Sakura. And making whoever did this pay! He thought violently.
“Li! We’ll never find her just standing here! Let’s go!” Tomoyo said forcefully. She grabbed Li’s arm, attempting to pull him aside. Li pushed her away, completely unaware of what he had just done. Tears began to well up in Tomoyo’s eyes. “I can’t believe you! It’s like you don’t even want to save her!”
Li finally heard her. “Now you’re going too far! You know how much I care about Sakura! How could you say that? You think I’m just fooling around here? Unlike you I’m actually doing something useful! I thought you were her friend! Either make yourself useful, or get lost!”
Tomoyo began to cry. “I… I… I care about her too! B-But you don’t have to be so mean! You could try to be less stubborn sometime, and listen to the people around you. You’ll never find her this way!” With that, Tomoyo turned and ran.
Li stared after her, torn between whether to go after her, or to continue his fruitless search. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I should talk to Eriol. What would Sakura do? No! I can’t think like that… She’s not gone yet! He began to run after Tomoyo, knowing that he should apologize. “Tomoyo! Wait up!” He caught up to her, grabbed her arm, and tried to talk to her. “Tomoyo, I’m…”
Tomoyo cut him off. “So, you finally decided to listen to me? I don’t know why Sakura likes you!” Pushing him off her arm, she continued to run.
What is wrong with her? Where is she going? Li went after her, he couldn’t think of anything else to do. He followed Tomoyo up to a large house. Li recognized the house as Eriol’s. I may as well talk to him. That’s probably why Tomoyo came here. He walked up the steps, after Tomoyo.
“Hello, is Eriol home today?” Tomoyo asked urgently. “I really must speak with him.”
“No, I’m sorry. He’s gone back to Europe. He said he’d be back in a couple of weeks. Is something wrong? Can I take a message?” A tall, butler-like man asked.
“No, it’s ok. Does he have a cell phone?” Li chimed in. He was too impatient. I can’t wait a few weeks! Sakura’s in danger!
“Yes, he does. Here, I’ll write down his number for you. This must be really important…” The butler mumbled the last part to himself.
“Please hurry,” Tomoyo said with big, round, pleading eyes. “It really is very important.”
“Here you are. This is his phone number. If he doesn’t pick up, you can call his house with this other number.”
Li took the paper with a quick thank you and ran home, forgetting that Tomoyo still existed. “Li! Hey! Wait for me! Don’t be so selfish!” Tomoyo said as she ran after him.
Li ran into his house, picked up the phone and quickly dialed the numbers on the sheet of paper. Come on! Pick up! He thought, pleadingly. “Hello?” came a voice over the phone.
“Eriol? Hi, this is Li. I… I have something important to tell you.”
“Is it about Sakura? And a new dark power that has seemingly abducted her?”
“Yes! How do you know? Where are you? What are we supposed to do?”
“Well… I really don’t know. I just know where the power came from. And there’s no way for us to get there. Unless…”
“What? What are you talking about? Unless what? I’ve gotta save her!” Li was panicking. This was his last hope. He’s gotta know what to do! He’s the reincarnation of Clow Reed! “Well? What can we do?”
“Be patient. Wait for me, at my house. I’m almost there.”
“Ok. Thank you.” Li hung up. He started running out the door. Tomoyo caught his arm.
“Stop ignoring me! I care about Sakura too you know! Tell me what Eriol said!”
“Look, just come with me. I don’t have time to tell you anything. Eriol’s coming here. He said he was almost at his house. Let’s go!”
“Alright, but you better tell me everything when we get there!”
Li ran out of the room, with Tomoyo closely behind. I hope he’s there already. I hope he knows what to do. He arrived at Eriol’s house and waited in front of it like Eriol had told him to do. “Ok Tomoyo. What do you want to know?”
“Just tell me the whole story! I want to know what Eriol said!” Tomoyo said, staring at Li as if he should have known that was what she would ask.
“Ok, ok! He didn’t say much. He already knew about what happened. He told me what I was going to tell him. Then he said something about not being able to go save her. He said ‘I just know where the power came from. And there’s no way for us to get there. Unless…’ Then when I asked him what he was talking about, he told me to come here.”
Li looked at Tomoyo.
“Ok… so what are we supposed to do? Just wait? Did he say how long it would be?” Tomoyo asked.
“No, he didn’t say much at all. He just said to come here. So I guess we just wait.” Li sat down, weary from all the running and thought over everything that had happened, searching for a clue. Sakura has to be ok! I couldn’t live with myself if anything ever happened to her! Li was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn’t even notice Eriol until he touched his arm.
“I thought you wanted to hurry. You didn’t even notice me.” Eriol said. His voice had a hint of sarcasm.
“Sorry, I was thinking about everything that Sakura said. I was hoping to find some clue. Anyways, now that you’re here, what are we going to do to save her?”
“Calm down Li. Eriol’s doing everything he can.” Li was caught off guard. He had forgotten, again, that Tomoyo existed.
“Sorry.” Li said, half-heartedly. “So, what are we going to do?”
“Li, do you have your Lasin board with you?”
“Of course I do, I bring it everywhere, just in case. What do you want me to do with it?”
Eriol sighed. “Can’t you figure that out by yourself? What does your Lasin board do?”
“Oh. You want me to use it to try to locate the Clow Cards that Sakura’s holding.”
“They’re not Clow Cards anymore, but yes.”
“Ok, I’ll try.” I can’t believe I didn’t think of this! Li invoked the powers of his board and a white light shone. The white light didn’t go in any particular direction. It just hung, suspended in the air for a moment. Then, the light shot into Eriol’s house. “In there.” Li said.
“So I was right. That is where she is. There’s only one way there.” Eriol said, half to himself. “Let’s go.” Eriol walked into his house, greeted by his butler with a cheery “I didn’t expect you home so early, sir.”
Li and Tomoyo followed him into his house. He walked into his study. Among the bookshelves he found a small brown book. He opened it and started mumbling to himself. Li decided it was a bad idea to ask him what he was doing, so he sat down and waited patiently for once. He exchanged glances with Tomoyo, who clearly did not know what was going on either. Suddenly, Eriol thrust the book at Li. Li, caught a little off guard, fumbled with the book. “Hold on to that. You might need it.” Eriol walked to another bookshelf and picked out another book. It was the same size as the first one, but instead of brown, it was red. He took a look in that book, thrust it at Li as well and continued with his search.
Five more times he repeated the process, each book with a different colored cover. At the end, Li was carrying 7 different colored books: red, brown, green, blue, yellow, white, and black. “Those might come in handy where you’re going.”
“Where’s that? And what are these books for?” Li couldn’t hold in his question any longer. He glowered at Eriol, demanding an answer from him.
“There’s no real name for where you’re going. All I can tell you about them is written in those books that you carry. There are a few spells in those books as well, though I don’t think you will ever be powerful enough to use them. Take those books. Read them if you must know what’s going on. Come back here tomorrow and I might be ready. Oh, and Li? Learn to be patient!”
Li stared at him as if he were speaking Latin. “What are you talking about? It’s been two and a half hours since Sakura disappeared and you want me to just sit at home reading books? You want me to wait until tomorrow? If I do that, she may be gone forever! We have to go now!”
Eriol glared at Li, quieting his last sentence. “We can’t go now. I don’t have the proper spell set up. If you would just be patient, we might be able to get ready by tomorrow. Go home and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll need it.”
“Eriol,” Tomoyo said insistently, “We really care about Sakura. Are you sure we can’t go now?”
Eriol took a different tone with Tomoyo. “I’m sorry Tomoyo. We really can’t. I don’t have the spell set up. I’ll try my best to get it ready by tomorrow. I’m sure Sakura will be fine. She’s very resourceful.”
“I believe you Eriol. I’ll leave you to your spell now. Good night.” Tomoyo left the room.
“Tomorrow then. I’ll see you then. It better be ready.” Li said. He better have it ready! Sakura’s in danger. I can feel it. “Good night!” Li stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
On his way home, he found himself thinking about Sakura. What I wouldn’t give to look into those emerald eyes again. I will save you Sakura! Nothing will stand in my way! He arrived at his house, still lost in his thoughts. He quickly undressed, took a shower, and went to bed. Eriol said to get a good night’s sleep, and as much as I hate listening to him, he must have a good reason for it. With that in mind, Li let sleep roll over him.
“Where, where am I?” Li said. He stood in a dark room. There was nothing there. He walked over to a pool of water. As he looked around the room, his eye caught on something. Huh? What’s that? He saw it clearly, a large half golden, half silver ring. He felt it call to him and reached out for it. Just as his hand touched it, someone screamed in the distance. “Sakura!” he said as he recognized the voice and ran after it.
“Li? Help me!” Sakura screamed. Li ran towards the voice. He finally saw her, sitting in a cage. Next to her, he saw a boy with a dark, black aura surrounding him.
“So, you came. You won’t save her. You may as well give up now.” The boy said.
“I’ll never give up! I will save Sakura if it costs my life!” Li said enthusiastically. “I will save her. You won’t stand in my way.” He had already drawn his sword, not knowing that he had it with him. He reached for his fire elemental, but stopped inches away from it. “Wha?” His arm stopped moving. He couldn’t move anything from his head down. “What did you do?”
“Nothing really. Tell me something, how many lives are you willing to risk for Sakura? How about hers?” The boy said, motioning towards another cage. Inside the cage was Tomoyo, lying lifelessly. “And what about her?” Again the boy motioned to a cage. This one held another girl, one that Li knew and loved for a sister. “Do you care about any of them as long as you get Sakura?”
“Meiling! No! What have you done to them?” Li struggled against the powers holding him in place. I have to save them!
“So, choose. If you choose Sakura, the other two will die. However, if you don’t choose Sakura, only she will die. What will it be? Make your choice quickly, or they’ll all meet the same fate.” The boy barked an evil laugh. “Well?”
“You vile little worm! Who are you to play with people’s lives like this?”
“And who are you, Li, to risk other people to save this one girl? Is it justifiable for you to save this girl, and put the others in danger just because you happen to like her?” The boy’s eyes seemed to grow to a dark penetrating stare. “So, once again, who will you choose? Does she really mean so much to you?”
“I… I can’t choose. I will destroy you!” Li shouted at the top of his lungs, knowing that he was powerless.
“I guess they’ll all go then. Oh well.” The boy smiled a wicked smile. “I’ll begin with this one, while she watches.” He was going after Tomoyo, forcing Sakura to watch.
“No! Leave them alone!” Sakura screamed, tears welling up in her eyes. “They haven’t done anything! You can’t do this to them!”
The boy turned towards Sakura. “Fine, I won’t hurt them. But you won’t be so lucky!” He lashed out at her with a torrent of dark energy. Sakura and Li screamed at the same time, feeling the same pain.
“Nooooooooo!” Li screamed as he sat straight up in bed, cold sweat covering his face and panting. It was just a dream. But all of this started with a dream. No! I won’t let any of them die. He looked at the clock. It was eleven fifteen. I’ll go get a drink of water. Li walked on downstairs. I wonder how Sakura’s doing. She has to be ok. Li poured himself a glass of water and the phone rang.
Li jumped three inches into the air, dropping the glass on the table. Who could it be at this hour? He thought, calming himself. He walked through the dark room, flicked on the lights, and picked up the phone. “Hello?”
The voice on the other side was raspy, as if its owner had a cold. “Li?”
“Yes, who’s this?” Li said, schooling his voice to calmness.
“It’s me, Meiling. I just had a dream. I wanted to talk to you about it. I’m sorry if I woke you, but I think it’s important.”
“Meiling? Where are you?” Li asked instinctively. Then he added, “What kind of a dream?” remembering the dream he just had.
“Well, I was walking in a dark room, and I heard a voice screaming. It was Sakura’s voice. Then I followed the voice, and saw a boy standing next to her. She was in a cage, Li!” Meiling began to cry. “They… they put her in a cage! And she was… she was screaming, telling… telling me to run away. Then he, the boy I mean, told me to choose. You were in a cage, along with Tomoyo. He said either Sakura would die, or the two of you would. I’m so scared Li. What should I do?”
Li stood there for a moment, unable say anything. Thoughts swam around him. What’s going on? He couldn’t puzzle it out.
“Hello? Li?” Meiling’s voice was desperate, seeking counsel from Li.
“Meilin, where are you right now?” Li asked, trying to stall for time.
“Well, I’m in my house, in Hong Kong. What’s that got to do with anything? Li…? Are you there?” Meiling’s voice grew worried.
Li stood for a moment longer, deliberately breathing into the phone to assure Meilin that he was still there. She sound’s like she’s about to cry. What am I supposed to do? If I tell her my dream, she’ll just become more afraid. I’ve gotta come up with something. “Meiling, everything will be alright. I’ll make sure of it. Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?”
“Li, I need to know, how’s Sakura doing? I’ve been having weird dreams about her. She called me one day, telling me that she’d been having nightmares. She said she was in a dark room with water. I think that’s where my dream just took place. Li, is something wrong with Sakura right now? This dream, it felt so real. It wasn’t like the other ones. Li?”
What am I supposed to do? I don’t want to drag her into this as well. If I told her what happened she’d fly over here now to help me and Sakura. But I don’t want to lie to her. I guess I don’t have a choice. “Meiling, something is wrong. I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you to get scared. I just woke up from the same dream. I came downstairs to get a drink when you called. Yes, something is wrong. Just today, Sakura disappeared. I… I tried to save her…” Tears came to Li’s eyes. I’ve got to be strong. I can’t cry now. I have to support Meiling. “But she… she got sucked into this weird dark portal. She’s gone Meiling. Eriol said he might know how to save her. He’s working on a spell to get to where she is. Don’t worry about it. I’ll save her.” Li wasn’t sure he could save Sakura, but he didn’t want Meiling involved. I have to sound confident. Even if I’m as scared as she is.
“Li, you know I want to help. Even if you do have ‘everything under control’ like you always say. Sakura’s my friend. I have to help her.”
“Meiling, I don’t want you to be a part of this. I can handle it. Besides, I have Tomoyo’s help.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he shouldn’t have said them. Great. Now that she knows Tomoyo is helping out, I’ll never be able to keep her away. No turning back now.
“Tomoyo’s helping? Then why can’t I? If Tomoyo gets to help, then I’m coming too. I’ll fly over there tomorrow morning.” Meiling’s voice brightened up. There was a hint of accomplishment in her voice, as if she had just beaten Li at a game.
Li knew he lost. “Fine, come over tomorrow. I’ll meet you at my house. See you then.” Great. Now she’s involved. That’s the last thing I needed. Oh well, it’s too late now. He hung up with a sense of regret. Feeling a little defeated and very tired, Li walked back upstairs and flopped back down on his bed. I’ll clean up the broken glass tomorrow. Or, knowing Meilin, she’ll clean it up for me. Yawning, Li fell asleep.
Tomoyo sat up in her bed with a start, sweat matting down her hair. What a weird dream. I sure hope Sakura’s alright. She contemplated calling Eriol, and decided against it. He’ll be busy. He cares about Sakura too. Maybe I should call Li. She walked over to the phone and picked it up. No. I don’t want to disturb his sleep. I hope Sakura’s ok. Tomoyo walked over to her bathroom. She washed her face and recollected her thoughts. Eriol is right. Sakura will be fine. I’m just worrying too much about her. That’s all. I should go back to bed. It’s eleven already. I’ll get something to eat first. She walked towards the door just as it opened. She gave a start and then looked at who entered. It was one of her maids, coming to check if she was ok. “I’m fine. I just had a dream. Will you go get me some warm milk please?” The maid nodded, and walked out.
A few minutes later, the same maid walked in and handed her a warm cup of milk. “Is there anything else I can get you, miss?”
“No, that’s all, thank you.” Tomoyo said calmly. She wasn’t really paying attention to anything. She was still thinking of Sakura. Eriol will be done tomorrow. We can look for her then. She finished her milk, gave the empty cup back to her maid, and went back to bed. I’ll tell them about it tomorrow. Or, at least I’ll tell Eriol. He always seems to know what to do.
Eriol scoured his books. Where is it? I know I have the spell in one of these books! He decided to take a small break. This isn’t working. I’ll go get something to eat first. He went to his kitchen looking for some food. Suppi floated into the room. He stared sleepily at Eriol and grabbed a bowl of cereal. “You hungry too?” Eriol asked.
“Yes. What are you doing up so late? It’s nearly twelve.” Suppi said, shoving a spoon full of tasteless cereal into his mouth while doing so.
“I’m searching for a spell. I need to open up a portal. Sakura’s trapped in one of the Forbidden Realms. I’m not sure which one.”
“Well, good luck. Most knowledge on those Realms is gone now. I hope you find what you’re looking for,” Suppi said tiredly as he finished his cereal. “Goodnight.”
Eriol made himself some noodles. I hope I find it too. Sakura needs to be rescued from there. That much I know. And I promised Tomoyo I’d find it by tomorrow. He finished his noodles, and put the dish and pot in the dishwasher. He paused for a moment as he felt a strong magical force that disappeared just as soon as he felt it. What was that? He was too smart to just ignore it and he knew he wasn’t just imagining it. He went back to his study and turned on his computer. I could search the net for information. It won’t be there. The Internet is new technology. It won’t have any ancient magic. He knew he wouldn’t find anything online, but he tried anyway. While searching, an email message popped up. “I know what you’re looking for. I have your answers. Meet me tonight, one O’clock sharp. Find me at school.” The message wasn’t signed. Hmm… It doesn’t have a sender either. I wonder who it is. I’ll go to the school. He sounds like he knows me pretty well. We shall see.
Eriol grabbed his coat and called to Suppi. “Suppi, come here. I need you to follow me. Don’t interfere with what I’m doing no matter what. Understand? Good. Just follow me. Stay out of sight.” Suppi nodded and Eriol left the house with Suppi floating along following out of sight. Whoever this person is, he must be strong. He must be related to that magical force I felt just as I walked back to my study.
Eriol walked towards the school. I just need to find him. He looked down at his watch. It’s twelve thirty. He should be here any minute. Eriol sat down on the steps in front of the school. He felt another powerful magical force and looked in the direction he had felt it. Over there. I wonder who he is. He walked over to the spot, looking down at his watch. One o’clock. I don’t see anyone. He stood, looking around for a little while. He looked down at his watch again and something caught his eye. Lying on the floor, there was a book with a note attached to it. He picked it up and read the note. “We won’t meet just yet. This book has the spell which you are looking for. You didn’t need to bring your pet Suppi with you. I’m not that dangerous.” Eriol stared at the note. How… how did he know who I brought with me? I must know who he is! He hurried back to his house with Suppi close behind him.
“What was that all about? You did feel that magic pulse right?” Suppi asked inquisitively.
“I don’t know. I felt it.” That was all Eriol said. He had too much on his mind at the moment to care. He went into his room and looked at his newly acquired knowledge. Whoever he was, he gave me this. He opened the leather bound book and began searching it for information. He found the spell that he was looking for and began the incantation.
“Powers of Fire,
Powers of Earth,
Open the Path,
Create the Portal.
Powers of Wind,
Powers of Water,
Powers of Thunder,
Release the Portal.
Powers of Light,
Powers of Dark,
Intertwine yourselves,
Open the Portal.”
Just as he finished the incantation, a portal opened in front of him. He knew better than to walk through it. He needed more information. Opening the book again, he looked through it, searching for the commands needed to direct the Portal to where he wanted it to go. He found all the proper incantations. After writing down everything he thought important, he put the book on one of his bookshelves. How did he come by such a book? This information was lost 500 years ago. Unless… No, that can’t be. Eriol glanced at his wall clock. Two thirty. Time for bed. At least I got something done. He walked up to his room, took a shower, and went to bed, reciting the incantation in his head over and over again.
Did you like it? Questions? Comments? Email me and I'll be happy to answer any and all questions about the story, but I won't give away what happens next. You're welcome to guess. I'll tell you if you’re right.