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.
Sigma captured Li, Tomoyo and Meiling as they ventured through the Earth Realm. Meanwhile, Sakura encountered a creature known as a Sphienent in the Dark Realm. Later that day, she went to bed and had a startling dream.
by Shadowpheonix
Sakura sat up in bed. What time is it? Twelve thirty? She got out of bed and changed out of her pajamas. I hope I don’t wake Shadow. He might be mad at me if I did so…
“I won’t be. And you won’t wake me,” Shadow said from the dark on the opposite side of the room.
Sakura leapt into the air and let out a loud scream. “Shadow! Don’t do that!”
“Last time you said that to me, I believe something bad happened to you. What was it again?”
“Sorry. You just startled me. H-How long were you standing there?” Sakura asked a little embarrassed.
“Standing? Since I started talking, but I’ve been here since you woke up screaming earlier. You want my help now?”
“Can we talk about it over dinner? I’m… I’m a little hungry,” she said as her stomach growled.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Should I ask him? That was such a weird dream. I bet he already knows what it was about. Maybe he can tell me what it means… Sakura thought as she walked along behind Shadow. Why would he have Clow Cards? Suddenly, she remembered the ring that Shadow had tossed her before she went to bed. She took it out of her pocket and let out a gasp. Th-This ring! In my dream, it… it… Sakura stopped inches away from running into Shadow. “Wh-Why did you stop?” she asked, fearful of his answer.
Hesitantly, Shadow replied. “It’s nothing. Let’s go,” he said as he walked towards the dining room.
Sakura walked in behind him and sat herself down at the table. “Can you just get me a bowl of cereal? I don’t really feel like a meal right now.”
“Sure,” Shadow said and walked into the kitchen. A few seconds later, he walked out with the cereal and a carton of milk. “So, what are you going to tell me? You don’t have to.”
“Thank you,” Sakura said as she poured herself some milk. “I had a dream about you and that ring you gave me before I went to bed. What is that ring?”
“I can’t tell you. Not yet at least. You’ll have to figure that out as you go. Are you going to tell me more about this dream of yours?”
“It was… weird. Ummm… do you have… Clow Cards?” Sakura asked, staring intently at Shadow.
“Why do you ask?” Shadow asked, staring back at her coldly.
“In my dream, I fell down a canyon or something and you used the Float card to bring me back up. So, do you have any?”
“No, I don’t have any Clow Cards. Was there anything else in your dream?”
“Well, the ring that you gave me was in it. It seemed to call out to me and at the end, when I woke up, the ring bound my arms and zapped me with something. You really can’t tell me what the ring you gave me is?”
“No, I can’t. I think it’s a good idea to get you back to bed now. You haven’t looked at that schedule I gave you, have you? Take a good look at it. It starts tomorrow. You better not be late to anything.”
Sakura finished her cereal. “Ok, good night,” she said and went back to her room for bed. I wonder if he lied to me… She walked into her room and decided to take a quick look at the schedule before taking a shower and going to bed. She took out the crumpled schedule and read over it quickly.
Any and all extra time may be used for whatever activities you choose.
6:30 : Wake up, breakfast 8:00 : Test (I'll tell you where to meet me) 11:00 : Lunch 3:00 : Test 6:00 : Dinner
Six thirty? I won’t get any sleep tonight! She thought as she walked off to take a shower before bed.
What did he mean by test? What could he possibly have to test me on? I guess I’ll find out tomorrow…She set the alarm for six fifteen to make sure she wouldn’t be late and went back to bed.
The alarm woke Sakura at six fifteen. Good, I’m not going to be late. She quickly got up, changed into some comfortable clothes for the day, and found her way through the dark to the breakfast table. “Shadow? Are you here?”
“Yes. I’m glad you’re not late,” he said as Sakura sat down. “Pancakes?”
“Sure. I’ll have a few,” Sakura said smiling at Shadow.
“Here. If you can’t eat it all, you don’t have to.” Shadow had given her a large stack of about eight pancakes.
“Ummm… ok…” Sakura said, staring at the stack in front of her. She grabbed the first four off the stack and put it on her plate. She poured herself some honey and started eating.
“Any other odd dreams last night?”
“No, but I still don’t understand the one I had. Why can’t you tell me about it?”
“I can’t so don’t bother asking anymore. I’ll leave you for now. When you’re done, put your plate in the kitchen sink and you have free time until eight. We’ll meet here in the dining room. See you then,” Shadow said as he disappeared into the dark.
Sakura stared at the space where Shadow had been. I wonder what will happen at eight… she thought as she finished her four pancakes. She walked into the kitchen, leaving the remaining pancakes on the table, put her plate into the sink and started looking for the refrigerator. When she found it, she poured herself a glass of milk, drank it and went back to her room. What am I going to do for the next half hour?
Sakura sat down on her bed. I’m so tired. I wonder what Shadow’s going to do to me, she thought as she fell asleep on her bed. Half an hour later, she woke up and looked sleepily at the clock. It’s almost eight. At least I didn’t oversleep. I’d better get going, she thought relieved. Sakura got out of bed and walked to the dining room to find out what Shadow was going to test her on.
“You’re not late. That’s a little surprising,” Shadow said as she entered the room. “Come on.” Shadow walked away from the dining room with a lantern. He led Sakura down a series of hallways until he stopped in front of a metal door.
“What are you testing me on?”
“Did you bring your cards? I’m going to see how strong your magic is. Walk into the room and be ready. Let’s hope you don’t get too hurt.”
Sakura released her star wand and prepared herself nervously to walk into the room. “What’s in there?”
“You’ll find out in a minute. Good luck,” Shadow said as he pushed Sakura into the room.
Sakura walked into the room more than a little afraid of what might happen. What is he doing? Sakura prepared herself for the worst and got out her Fly card from her pouch. Suddenly, she felt a surge of magical energy from where the door should have been. What was that? It almost felt like a Clow Card! She thought as she turned around and saw two red eyes floating in the air.
Sakura gasped and shouted, “Fly!” Wings sprouted from her back and she flew away from the creature that she knew must be a Sphienent. He can’t be serious! He wants me to fight that thing? Sakura continued to fly away from the advancing red eyes when a familiar alien thought came to her. You can’t win by just running. You have to fight. She turned to face the Sphienent and called on her Arrow card. Arrow emerged from its card and shot a torrent of glowing arrows at the two red eyes. The eyes flashed and disappeared before the arrows struck. Seconds later, they rematerialized in front of her.
“You can’t win against me! Don’t even try!” the Sphienent hissed at Sakura as it shot out a tentacle to grab her wand.
“Sword!” Sakura shouted and her wand became a sharp, double-edged sword just as the creature wrapped its tentacle around it.
“Aaaaaaaahhh! You’ll pay for that!” it said as its eyes began to glow a deep red. Suddenly, the form of the Sphienent was visible as a red glow surrounded its silhouette. “You’ll be sorry!” it said and shot three of its tentacles towards Sakura.
Sakura flew through the glowing tentacles which she could see clearly now. She raised her sword and prepared to strike at one of the tentacles near her. The sword hit the red outline of the tentacle and stopped. The tentacle continued to propel itself towards Sakura. She had just enough time to fly away from it and evade its grasp. What am I supposed to do? I can’t hurt it! Sakura searched desperately for a solution. “Power!” she yelled as she stabbed the card with the tip of her sword. The Power Card took effect and filled Sakura with strength. She raised her sword again and slashed at a tentacle. The sword met some resistance as it hit the glowing red outline, but continued through it, cutting off the tentacle where she hit. It worked!
“Aaaaaaaahhh!” the Sphienent cried as the end of its tentacle fell to the ground. It unleashed the rest of its tentacles and sent them all to Sakura. “You won’t escape this!” it cried as its six remaining tentacles all converged on Sakura. (A/N: it has eight total! The one that wrapped her sword is not cut off, but also not counted as a "remaining" tentacle since it is too badly hurt!)
“Shield!” Sakura cried desperately. The tentacles hit the shield and bounced off the first time. They hit again and the shield began to weaken. I’ve gotta think of something to do! Sakura searched her Cards for something that might help her. “Windy! Fiery!” she yelled hoping that this last attempt would bring down the Sphienent. Windy and Fiery intertwined and drove straight for the Sphienent’s main body. They struck with tremendous force, causing the creature to back away for a few seconds before continuing its enraged attacks on Sakura’s shield.
As Windy and Fiery headed for the creature’s body again, its glowing tentacles broke through Sakura’s shield and wrapped themselves around her body, sending a surge of electricity through her. “Aaaaaaaahhh!” she screamed as the immense pain hit her. All of a sudden, the creature disappeared and dropped her exhausted body on the ground. She struggled to sit up when she saw Shadow standing in front of her with an outstretched arm for Sakura.
“Good job. You put up a pretty good fight. You might want some rest before tonight though,” Shadow said as he knelt down beside Sakura to help her up.
“Shadow?” Sakura asked before fainting in his arms.
“I’ll take you to your room. I didn’t think you’d even last as long as you did against it. You may still have a chance…”
“Li, pacing isn’t going to help any! Just sit still for a while!” Meiling said staring at Li walking back and forth across the cell they were in.
“We have to find a way out! Maybe Sigma can’t do anything to us. I could use my elementals against him and he’d be completely helpless!” Li thought aloud to himself.
“Li, I don’t think he’s as helpless as you think. Face it. We’re locked in here and we won’t get out until he lets us. Sit down, Sakura will be fine. You said so yourself,” Tomoyo said as she walked over to Li. “Come on.”
“Fine,” Li said and sat down on the bench in the room just as a knock came on the door.
“Tomoyo, come here,” came Sigma’s voice after the knock.
Tomoyo stood up and walked towards the door, fear showing in her eyes. “Don’t worry, Li,” she said as she walked through the open door.
“Come on,” Sigma said, grabbing Tomoyo’s wrist and pulling her along behind him.
“Did you find her?” Tomoyo asked.
“No, and you know what that means. We’re going to try this again,” Sigma said as he strapped Tomoyo to the chair again. “Why are you here?” Sigma asked in a relatively calm voice.
“I told you! We’re looking for Sakura! Why don’t you believe me?”
“Then where is she? No one has come through any of the portals in this Realm except for the three of you. Sakura is not here and that leads me to believe that you’re lying to me,” Sigma said as he walked over to a bowl of opaque liquid on the table. “You have thirty seconds to come up with a better story!”
“But it’s true! We’re here chasing after Sakura! Something abducted her from us and we just want to get her back! We don’t know where she is!”
“So why did you come here? You’re not a very good liar and the only reason why someone would hold onto a lie like this after it’s been discovered is if the truth is even worse. Tell me why you’re here!” Sigma demanded as he walked with the bowl towards Tomoyo.
“It’s true! I’m not lying to you! Our friend, Eriol, told us that Sakura was sent to one of these Realms, but he didn’t know which one so he gave us the incantations to all of them! We just happened to have chosen this one!” Tomoyo said, fearful of what might be in the bowl. Tears came to Tomoyo’s eyes as Sigma’s expression failed to change. Sigma continued to advance towards Tomoyo, holding the bowl of liquid before him.
“You have one last chance. Tell me the truth!” Sigma said, now only inches away from Tomoyo.
“I am telling you the truth! Please, just search the other Realms and let us know where she is. We’ll leave as soon as you let us! We never meant to –” Tomoyo was cut off by Sigma.
“Fine. I’ll try the other Realms. You’ve bought yourself some time. You better not be lying!” Sigma shouted as he put the bowl down and untied Tomoyo. Sigma walked Tomoyo back to her cell and shoved her into it violently. “I’m not a very patient person. If I don’t find her this time, all three of you will suffer!” he said as he slammed the metal door behind him.
“Tomoyo! Are you ok?” Meiling asked as she limped over to her. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing. He let me go this time. I hope he’s not the one that took Sakura. If he is…” Tomoyo trailed off. They know what I mean. I don’t have to say it. Tomoyo walked over to Li and sat down on the bench next to him. “I’m sure we’ll find her soon. I asked Sigma to look in all the other Realms. If he finds her, we’ll all be ok.”
“WHAT? You asked him to look for her? Are you crazy?” Li said as he stood up. “What if he finds her and… and…” Li stopped in mid-sentence. “Why did you tell him to do that?”
“He asked me questions. He kept saying that I was lying… so I… I… told him to look in the other Realms for her. I didn’t think he would… He wouldn’t, would he?”
“I’m sure Sakura will be fine, Li. Tomoyo, it’s not your fault. We’ll find her,” Meiling said and walked over to the two of them.
Another knock came to the door and startled all three of them. “This is your breakfast. Eat it if you want!” a voice said as three plates of a gray substance came through the door.
“What is it?” Meiling asked.
“It won’t kill you,” the voice said.
“We may as well try it,” Tomoyo said as she grabbed the spoon that game with it and took a small bite. “It doesn’t really have a taste. I guess that’s a good thing, but it kinda fells weird in you mouth.”
“You’re very… brave, Tomoyo,” Li said as he watched Tomoyo eat. “Do you feel ok?”
“I’m fine. Try it, at least it’s food,” Tomoyo said as she took another bite.
Meiling and Li followed Tomoyo’s example and took a small bite of the tasteless substance. “I suppose it’s not too bad,” Meiling said as she tasted it. As they all finished their food, another knock came to the door.
“Done? I’ll take those plates. Shove them through the hole right there,” the voice commanded. “There won’t be much else happening today until Lord Sigma finishes searching the other Realms. For your sake, I hope that you weren’t lying. Well, enjoy the rest of your day,” the voice said as its footsteps faded away.
Sigma walked up to his room and decided he would contact the other council members and have them search. We haven’t had any reason to talk for over 10 years. I wonder what’s happened since then. Sigma went over to his spell books and looked for the spell he needed to activate the communication orb that sat on his desk. I haven’t used this thing in ages! The spell’s easy enough. I just need to shoot some magical energy at it.
Sigma embraced the Earth energy that flowed throughout the Realm and directed some of it towards the orb. The orb began to glow a deep blue as it sent out a signal to the other six orbs in the chambers of the other Realms.
Sigma sat down and waited for a response. We need a better communication system. This just doesn’t work very well. Sigma stared at the blue, glowing orb for a few more seconds before the face of a boy appeared followed by the rest of his figure as a hologram portrayed him life-size. “Who are you?” Sigma demanded of the kid.
“Hello Sigma. I’m the ruler of the Realm of Darkness. Can’t you tell by the lack of light?” the kid replied.
“You don’t look like him. What’s your name?”
“I’m Shadow, and I don’t care if I look like him or not. Now, why did you call?”
“Where’s the real ruler, kid? I don’t have time for games,” Sigma replied as he grew angry. Who is this kid? The last ruler was called… Hmmm… can’t remember his name.
“You’re talking to him. I don’t have much time either, so either you tell me what you want, or I’ll leave.”
“Fine. I have this group of kids here, a little younger than you look, that claim they’re looking for a Sakura that was mysteriously sucked into one of the Realms. I want you to –”
“Search my Realm and see if she’s here. What are you going to do if they’re lying to you?” Shadow said cutting off Sigma.
“You’re very rude. If I could get my hands on you, I’d teach you a lesson about respecting your elders! If they’re lying to me like I think they are, I’ll force the truth out of them! Have you seen her?” Sigma asked growing impatient.
“Am I the first person you’ve asked? Or are you going to wait for the rest of the Members to answer?”
“I’ll wait until I get all the answers. Let me know if you see her.” He obviously hasn’t since he hasn’t told me yet. I guess I can’t expect to get an answer on my first try. I’ll make those kids pay if they’re lying.
“What makes you think I haven’t already seen her?”
“You’ve been avoiding my questions. Have you seen her?”
“Yes. She’s in my custody at the moment. You can end your search and spare those poor innocent children that you’re going to brutally torture,” Shadow responded in a mocking tone.
“Do you have any sense of respect at all?”
“Yes I do. But you didn’t begin our friendly conversation with respect so I saw no reason to return it. Is there anything else?”
“Nothing. I hope we meet some day, Shadow!” Sigma said angrily as he cut off the flow of Earth energy to the orb. Such a rude kid! How did he ever become the ruler of a Realm?
Shadow walked away from the realm. “You can come out from your hiding spot now Sakura. That was a pretty clever trick you used, using the Silent Card to keep from being heard. I should teach you a lesson for sneaking around, but I’ll forgive you this time.”
Sakura walked out from behind a large stone pillar and stared at Shadow. “How did you know I was there?”
“You used magic. I can feel when that happens just like you can. Are you hungry yet? It’s almost noon, so I shouldn’t offer you food, but you were asleep and I’m feeling especially nice at the moment,” Shadow said, motioning for her to follow him out of the room.
“Yes, I’m a bit hungry.”
“What would you like?” Shadow asked as he grabbed her hand and wrenched her away from the room.
“Ummm… you choose for me. I’m sure it will be good, whatever it is,” Sakura said, still focused on what she had heard.
“Fine. I’ll make you some Tilapia. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it,” Shadow said as he continued to pull Sakura along behind him. (A/N: for those of you who don’t know, Tilapia is a type of fish. You could probably find it at your local Wal-Mart if you want to know what it tastes like)
“Ok, I’ll have that.” Who was that Sigma guy? He has Tomoyo and Li. I knew they would come after me, but I don’t want them to get hurt. Sakura was still lost in thought when Shadow sat her down and went into the kitchen. It wasn’t until the breathtaking smell of Shadow’s cooking floated to her nostrils before she realized that Shadow had put a plate of fish in front of her.
“Thank you.” Sakura ate the fish in front of her and walked back to her room. I’m glad he didn’t get mad at me. I need to go save them. I’ve gotta go after them now! Sakura thought as she decided she would try to escape. Tonight, when Shadow thinks I’ll be asleep. I’ll go then.
“Tomoyo, Meiling, Li! Get up! I found your friend and I apologize for not believing you at first. Come on. I had to make sure you weren’t here for… other reasons.” Sigma shouted from the other side of the metal door.
“You found her? Where is she?” Li asked Sigma as the door opened.
“Learn some manners!” Sigma replied and pushed Li back into the cell. “You can stay here until you do so!”
Li grew angry at Sigma and barely managed to control his temper. “I’m sorry. I was just a little excited,” he said.
“Fine. Would you like some lunch? It won’t be poisoned this time.”
“Ummm… Lord Sigma? Can you let us know where Sakura is so we can go find her right now?” Tomoyo asked.
“You should have something to eat first. She’s apparently in the Dark Realm, from what that kid told me. You sure you won’t have something?” Sigma asked again.
At the mention of food, Meiling’s stomach grumbled. She flushed as she looked at the pairs of eyes staring at her. “I’ll have some,” she said, embarrassed at herself for having given away her hunger.
“I think we’re all hungry. We’d love to have a meal here,” Tomoyo said smiling at Li.
“Alright then. I’ll have the cooks get right to it. Again, I’m sorry I held you as prisoners. There are people in other Realms that would come here to… to dethrone me. I’ll offer you my best rooms in exchange for your forgiveness.”
“Li, Meiling’s leg still hasn’t healed yet. We should stay for a day or two. Besides, we could all use some rest. We’ll take your offer, Lord Sigma,” Tomoyo said as respectfully as she could manage.
“Good. I’ll show you to your rooms. I’ll have clean clothes up for you and water brought for a bath. I’ll let you know when lunch will be ready,” Sigma said as he herded them towards a staircase. “I’ll make a special herbal drink for you, Meiling. It will help ease the pain from your wound.”
“Thank you, Lord Sigma. A bath sounds very nice,” Meiling said as she limped up the stairs.
“These are your rooms,” Sigma said as he stopped between two doors. “I assume someone will be staying with her to help her get around.”
“Thank you. Where are the bathrooms, Lord Sigma?” Meiling asked, eager for her bath.
“They’re inside your rooms. I’m sure you’ll find them. I’ll call when the food is ready,” Sigma said as he left them to choose their rooms.
“You two can have that room. I’ll take this one,” Li said, choosing the smaller room for himself.
“Li, do you trust him?” Tomoyo asked as Li walked into his room.
“No, but we don’t really have a choice. We can’t go anywhere with Meiling’s leg in that condition and we can’t find food ourselves. Let’s just hope that he really does believe you and this isn’t a trap,” Li said worriedly. “Besides, he also has Eriol’s spell book and the notes he gave us. We need those back before we can leave. Hope.”
Tomoyo and Meiling nodded. “We’ll find her, Li. At least now we know where she is,” Tomoyo said looking back at Li as she helped Meiling into their room.
“I hope so.”
Questions? Comments? Please review. Email me with suggestions or predictions. I’ll let you know if you’re right in your predictions. Keep on reading!
On the next installment of The Seven Realms:
Sakura formulates a plan to escape Shadow's grasp. Will she make it and reunite herself with Li? What will happen to Li over dinner? Will Sigma forgive them for accidentally stepping into his Realm?
Council? What Council? There's a Council?