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 talked to Shadow and released Li, Tomoyo, and Meiling, inviting them to dinner as his sincere apology for holding them captive. Sakura heard Sigma’s conversation with Shadow and decided she would escape tonight.
by Shadowpheonix
I guess it’s time for lunch, Li thought as he heard the knock at his door. I hope this works out. Li walked out of his room and found one of Sigma’s servants standing at the door.
“Lunch is ready, my lord.”
“Uhh… I’ll be right down,” Li said, unsure how to address the servant.
“Yes, my lord,” the servant said, bowing to Li as he left.
How am I going to put up with this? I don’t have any clue how to act… Li walked over to Tomoyo’s room and knocked on the door.
“In a minute!” came Tomoyo’s voice from the other side. “We’ll be right down!”
“It’s just me. I wanted to go together in case he tries anything.”
“Oh, ok. Just give me a little bit.”
“You’re so slow, Tomoyo!” Meiling said from behind the door. “I’m going with Li. He can help me walk just as well as you can.
“Wait! Just a few more seconds!”
A minute later, Meiling opened the door and limped out. “She’ll be a little while.”
“What is she doing in there?”
“I’ve been forbidden from telling you. She wants to ‘surprise you.’”
“Great,” Li said, exasperated. “How much longer?”
“I’m coming. Just give me a second!” Tomoyo said, as her footsteps grew louder. She opened the door and walked out.
Li stared at her, almost unable to suppress a laugh. “You… look… nice,” Li said, biting himself to keep from laughing. She looks ridiculous! Li thought staring at the extravagant dress Tomoyo was wearing.
“You really think so?” Tomoyo asked.
“You… look… fine…” Li said. That thing looks like something you would expect a 16th century English queen to wear. Where did she get it?
“You shouldn’t lie to me. Just for that, I’m going to go change into something else and keep you waiting!”
“Ok, fine. I think it looks terrible. Now can we please go? I don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“It’ll be ok. I’ll just change quickly.”
What is taking them so long? I sent for them five minutes ago! Sigma thought, growing impatient. They need to learn some manners. If you’re invited to a meal, you show up at the time given!
“Sorry we’re late, Lord Sigma,” Tomoyo said with a quick curtsy. “I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.”
“It’s ok. Please, sit down. Here’s your herbal tea, Meiling. It should help with the pain in your leg.”
“Thank you, umm… Lord Sigma.”
“No need to be so formal. Just call me Sigma. I’m sorry for treating all of you so roughly. I just had to be sure. Please, take this meal as my sincerest apology. Ask for whatever you’d like.”
“Umm… Thank you… uhh… I think I’ll have the salmon that we had before. It was really good,” Meiling said awkwardly.
Li turned and stared at Meiling. “I’ll have it too,” he said, still staring at her.
“I guess I’ll have it as well,” Tomoyo said, smiling.
“Ok. Cook, can you make us four salmon dishes?”
“Right away, my lord.”
“So, let’s talk for a little while. How do you plan on rescuing your friend Sakura?”
“We thought we’d just go get her. You said you found her in the Dark Realm, right?” Li asked.
“But Li, if it’s the Dark Realm, how are we going to find her? Won’t it be almost pitch black?”
“Don’t be silly Tomoyo. How can whoever took her see if it’s pitch black?” Meiling said.
“It’s not pitch black there, but it is really dark and there are some… creatures native to that Realm that could harm you. I might be able to convince the ruler of that Realm to give you safe passage, but chances are, he’s the one that abducted your friend.”
“Do you know any other way to get through the Realm?” Li asked.
“Well, maybe you’d be able to make it, but I don’t think all three of you can. I only sense magical energies from you, so I think you could manage fine by yourself in that Realm. However, if you took them with you…”
“We’re not staying behind, Li, so don’t get any ideas!” Meiling warned.
“It’s odd though. The last time I saw the ruler of the Dark Realm, it was someone else. This time it’s a kid, not much older than you lot.”
“When was the last time you spoke with the other ruler?” Tomoyo asked.
“Well, I think the last time was about eleven years ago. We haven’t had to talk much over the years. The Realms have been at peace since the War of the Eighth Sphere. That was about twelve years ago, and it took all of the rulers at that time to keep the Realms in existence. After that, we lost communication with each other. I suppose in the time that it’s been, a new ruler could have taken the throne.”
“What’s the War of the Eighth Sphere?”
“Well, about fifteen years ago, each Realm had a Spirit come forth from its power source, so the Spirit was of the same type as the Realm, and thus unable to be beaten by the Realms own ruler.” Sigma looked at the three confused faces staring at him. “Oh, I guess I should tell you a bit about the Realms first. I forget that you’re not from any of the Realms. Sorry. I’ll start from the beginning.
“The Realms each have a source of power. Each of these powers is interconnected, thus causing the Realms to interconnect. The type of the power that the Realm is connected to determines the Realms type. The creatures from the Realm all connect to this source of power as their… life energy, I suppose would be a good way to put it. So, this is the Earth Realm, which means it’s connected to the Earth Power Sphere.
“Now, since all of the Power Spheres are connected to each other, so are the Realms. Back to the war, there were Spirits, like I said earlier, that came from each of these Power Spheres. Because they somehow came directly from the Spheres, they were made of pure energy of the Sphere from which they came. So, the one here was made of pure Earth energy. Therefore, anything here in the Earth Realm couldn’t hurt it because they were all connected to the Earth Power Sphere.
“At that time, we, the rulers, contacted each other as our Realm’s energy was being sucked away by these Spirits. The rulers came together and we had a meeting. Meanwhile, the Spirits continued destroying large portions of the Realms, but they didn’t dare leave the Realm in which they were born. We decided to change the rulers of the Realms to fight these Spirits, but that didn’t work out too well.
“So, we had another meeting, and we decided it was time to look through the old books for information about the Golden Power Sphere. It was thought to be only legend, but we didn’t have a choice but to use it. The seven of us worked together to make seven half-gold, half-silver Rings, each infused with all seven Powers.
“We then put the seven Rings, each of them about a meter in diameter and three centimeters thick, in a magical circle. We each took the Ring with the most of our Power Sphere in it and focused our magic together to bring forth the Golden Power Sphere. We used the energy from this Sphere to seal away the Spirits, each into its own Ring.
“Then, we shrunk the Rings and made a set of Anti-rings to keep the Spirits sealed. The Anti-rings look like the actual Rings, but you can tell the difference by the designs on them. Each Ring has a design imprinted onto it that marks its type. The Anti-rings, however, have different symbols on them. They can also tap into the Power Sphere that they have the most power in. Did I lose any of you?”
“Wow, that’s a very interesting story… Where are these Anti-rings kept?” Meiling asked.
“The rulers usually hold onto them. The Rings, however, are scattered through the various Realms. We made sure that the Rings weren’t in their own Realm. So the Fire Ring would be in any Realm other than Fire. That way, if the Spirits do escape, they shouldn’t be able to tap into their Power Sphere as easily.”
“So, you can tap into the Power Sphere of this Realm? And so can your Anti-ring, right?” Li asked.
“Yes. And I can use the energy from the Sphere to do a lot of things. Normally I use it to grow my herbs faster. I’m not exactly a patient person.”
“So, where is the Golden Power Sphere now? Did it just go away?”
“No, Tomoyo, it actually is still out there. It’s always been there. We just had to conjure it to a place where it was easy for us to access. It’s still in that place, so we don’t have to go through as much trouble to get back to it. But, it can still only be accessed with all seven of the actual Rings together.”
“But I thought the Rings had the Spirits in them. Do they still work now?”
“They can still work. But the Spirits would have to be released from the Rings. There is one other way to access the power. We could make new Rings.”
“How did you seal these Spirits exactly? You must have done something other than just unleashing this Golden Power against them, right?”
“Well, we just bound them in the Power. The seven of use worked together to direct the energies at these Spirits one at a time. Each time we got one wrapped in it, we forced them into a Ring and created an Anti-ring. The only way to release them now, is to destroy the Anti-ring that corresponds to its type.”
“Can these Rings do anything on their own?” Tomoyo said.
“Yes, actually, they can. They’re still able to use energy from their Sphere. They can only use a little of the energy, however. For example, if you found the Fire Spirit’s Ring, it would be able to burn you. If, however, it returned to its full size, it would be more powerful and perhaps start a fire or shoot fireballs. But in order for it to expand itself again, it would require some outside help.”
“Your lunch, my Lords,” said a bowing servant as he came in with four trays of food.
“Very good. Our meal is ready. Do you have any other questions about the war?”
“Yes. I’ve got one,” Li said. “How were the Spirits created?”
“That’s the question we debated for a whole year. The war lasted for three years: from when the first Spirit appeared to when it was sealed. Then, we, the Council Members, talked together to find out whom summoned the Spirits. Only a really powerful magician could have summoned them. And the only way to do so is with the Golden Power Sphere. We searched for all magical traces for an entire year. Soon, the Council lost interest and we haven’t spoken since then. We never did find who actually summoned these Spirits.”
“So, this guy is still out there,” Li said, deep in thought.
“What’s this Council you’re talking about?” Tomoyo asked.
“Oh, the Council is just the seven rulers. We first called ourselves the Council during the war. I suppose we’re not much of a council now. We haven’t spoken in about eleven years. Any other questions?” Sigma asked, looking around. “Ok, then let’s eat.”
They ate in near complete silence. When they finished, Tomoyo, Meiling, and Li thanked Sigma and walked up to their rooms.
I wonder why they’re so interested. Well, I suppose it is an interesting subject. I wonder who did summon those Spirits. The Council should meet again sometime. I’d like to meet this Shadow kid and teach him some respect!
“Sakura, it’s time for your second test,” Shadow said as he handed her a small square of paper. “Follow these instructions.”
“Ok. Ummm… What are you going to test this time?” Sakura asked hesitantly.
“You’ll find out in a few minutes, won’t you? Go!”
Sakura put on some more comfortable clothes, preparing herself for another battle. That Sphienent was powerful. But something didn’t feel right about it. It didn’t seem… real somehow. Its attack sure felt real though… She found her way through the winding hallways to a small, lighted room. I wish there would be some light around here. I should have brought my candle. Suddenly, the wall-candles in the room were snuffed out, leaving only the kerosene lamp on the table. A few seconds later, it, too, went out Sakura felt a pang of magic as the already dark world became darker.
This feels like the Dark Card! Sakura thought as she stumbled over a barrel next to the table. Ow!
“Sakura, watch where you’re going,” came a voice through the darkness.
“Shadow? What are you doing?” Sakura asked, reaching out to grab the air in front of her.
“Find me. If you can, then you pass your test.”
“THAT’S IT? I thought you were going to make me fight that thing again!” Sakura said, suddenly relieved.
“It’s not as easy as you think. I’m not going to be just standing here. I’ll also be completely silent. You have five minutes. One last thing, if you stumble over anything, you automatically fail and I’ll make you fight the Sphienent again. Good luck,” Shadow said.
How am I supposed to find him? I don’t want to fight that thing! Sakura took out her Fiery Card and tried it. “Fiery!” The card hung in the air for a while, before drifting back down to her hand. Hey! Why can I see the Cards? And myself? This is just like when I caught the Dark Card! “Light!” she yelled, hoping that she could light the room. The Light Card hung in the air for a few seconds as well and returned to her hand. There must be someway to find Shadow! I need more time! “Time!” she yelled, trying another Card. None of my Cards work!
“Four minutes,” came a voice from behind her.
“Shadow, how am I supposed to do this?” Sakura asked desperately. Shadow didn’t answer. There must be some way. He wouldn’t give me an impossible task! Sakura closed her eyes to think. She suddenly realized that she still felt a stream of magic coming from somewhere to her right. That feels like… like a Clow Card… Sakura thought as she slowly walked to her right with her eyes closed.
“Shadow? Is that you?” Sakura asked, receiving no reply, as she continued towards the source of magic. Sakura stopped as the magical source relocated itself again. She turned around and walked forward. Whatever it is, it’s close. It’s… right there! She thought as she grabbed the space ninety degrees to her right.
“Good. You found me,” Shadow said as the darkness suddenly disappeared and the candles lit again.
“I felt… your magic. It felt like… like Clow Cards. Shadow, are you sure you don’t have Clow Cards?”
“I don’t have Clow Cards,” Shadow said as his hand moved towards his coat pocket with a small rectangular card.
“What’s that?” Sakura asked as she saw the gray and black card. “It looks like your Clow Card from my dream. You do have them, don’t you?”
“Nope. No Clow Cards,” Shadow replied. “So, what would you like for a job well done?”
“I want to know what that was. Let me see it!” Sakura shouted as she lunged towards Shadow, unable to help her curiosity.
Shadow stepped out of the way, causing Sakura to lose her balance. He grabbed her wrist to keep her from stumbling forward and twisted it behind her back. “It’s not a Clow Card. That’s all you need to know. For now. I wouldn’t try that again, if I were you. Now, what would you like for a job well done?” Shadow repeated.
“Let go! Ow! It hurts!” Sakura said, as she struggled to wrench her hand free of Shadow’s grasp. She took out her Through Card with her remaining hand. “Through!” she cried and caused her hand to slip through Shadow’s.
“So, you don’t want anything?”
“You’ll give me anything?” Sakura asked.
“Of course not. Something small,” Shadow said, as he watched Sakura back away from him. “You’re about to run into the table again.”
“Huh?” Sakura asked as she stumbled into the table and knocked over the kerosene lamp. “Aaahh!” She screamed when the wooden floor erupted in flames from the kerosene.
“Good job. Am I going to have to clean this up, or will you kindly do it for me?” Shadow asked, sarcastically, as the fire crept over to the barrel Sakura tripped over. The barrel caught fire and more kerosene spilled out of it.
“Watery!” Watery emerged from its card and flooded the room, causing the fire to float above the water. “What’s going on? Why isn’t the fire out?”
“It’s kerosene…” Shadow said, staring blankly at Sakura. “You know, like oil: the stuff that floats on top of water.”
Sakura stared back angrily at Shadow for a few seconds before her shirt caught on fire. “Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!” She screamed as she jumped around wildly, trying to put the fire out.
“You’re hopeless,” Shadow said, as he continued to stare at Sakura.
Sakura dived into the water, putting out the fire on her dress. After she was sure the fire was out, she came back to the surface. “Help me! I don’t know what to do!”
“The fire isn’t my fault. Why should I help you?” Shadow said as the fire slowly died. “Besides, the fire will go out momentarily. So will your hair if you keep this up.”
Sakura looked at her reflection in the water and realized that the end of her hair had caught fire. She let out another scream and submerged herself in the water again. Before returning to the surface again, she made sure there wasn’t an oily patch above her.
“The kerosene will eventually burn itself out. Or you can get rid of it with your cards,” Shadow said as the fire engulfed him.
“Shadow!” Sakura yelled, wondering why Shadow didn’t move. Shadow stood, unmoving, in the chest-high water, surrounded by the flames.
“Calm down. Think of a way out.” Shadow said, as the flames around his body died out, leaving him without any burns.
“Fine!” There must be a way to do this. I bet this is a part of my test. He probably expected me to walk into that lamp! How am I going to get rid of this fire? Some kerosene floated towards Sakura, causing her to dive under water again. She resurfaced and cried, “Erase!” Erase immediately took effect and wiped out the kerosene along with the fire.
“Took you long enough,” Shadow said as he walked out of the room. “You may want to come with me. The castle’s hallways are changing again.”
“Wait!” Sakura yelled as she ran after Shadow. Sakura ran out of the room into complete darkness. “Shadow?” Sakura asked. Oh no! He didn’t leave me again, did he? Sakura thought as she walked through the dark hallway. “Fiery!” Fiery came out of its card in a blaze, bringing some light to the dark hallway. Sakura turned around and walked back into the room with the kerosene lamp. She picked up a candle and instructed Fiery to light it.
She walked out of the room and attempted to find her way back to her room. He said the place was changing again. I better move quickly! Sakura ran forward through the dark hallway. Suddenly, her candle went out. What?
“Hello, Sakura. We meet again!” Two red eyes abruptly materialized in front of her.
“No! Not you again!” Sakura said as she turned around to run. “Leave me alone!”
“I have my orders. This time Shadow won’t be around to help you!” the Sphienent said as he began to glow a bright red, creating a clear silhouette. It shot its eight glowing tentacles towards Sakura.
“Shield!” Sakura cried as the tentacles approached.
“That can’t hold forever!” the Sphienent hissed as its eight tentacles continued to bombard the shield around Sakura.
What am I going to do? I have to do something about this! Sakura reached into her pocket in hopes of finding an answer there. She felt the ring Shadow had given her and wondered what it might do. At that moment, the ring enveloped itself in a dark sphere. What’s going on?
The Sphienent stopped its attacks and stared blankly at the dark ring. “He gave that to you? No! You win this time!” it said as it disappeared.
What is this? Sakura wondered as the dark sphere around the ring disappeared. She held out her hand for the ring and it floated down into her palm.
“Sakura, you’re safe. Don’t lose that ring. It’s very important for your safety,” Shadow said, as he stepped out of the darkness. “Come on.”
Sakura fell into step behind Shadow, keeping her questions quiet. I’m going to get to the bottom of this!
“You have free time until the end of the day. Come eat when you want, unless you want me to bring you your food.”
“Thank you. I’ll eat by myself in my room today.”
“Hungry yet? I’m sure using all of those cards took a lot out of you,” Shadow said. “What would you like?”
“I’ll have whatever you make,” Sakura said halfheartedly.
“Alright. We’re at your room. You should have a long rest before tomorrow. I suggest you go to bed early tonight.”
“Ok. I’ll try to remember,” Sakura said, looking at the clock. It’s only five. I’ll wait a little bit.
Five minutes later, Shadow walked in with Sakura’s meal. “I hope you enjoy it. It’s not one of my best recipes,” Shadow said as he laid down a plate of duck, fried rice, and a baked potato.
“Huh? I’m supposed to eat all of this?” Sakura asked, staring at the two plates and the abnormally large potato.
“I think you’ll need it. Enjoy,” Shadow said, with a small smile, as he left.
I wonder if he knows, Sakura thought and began to eat.
Li walked across the hall from his room. He knocked on Meiling and Tomoyo’s door. “Hello?” he asked when nobody answered.
“One second!” he heard Tomoyo’s voice from the other side along with the sound of wood hitting wood. Tomoyo opened the door and let Li in.
“What were you doing?” Li asked as he walked in.
“Nothing really. I was a little tired, so I ignored the first knock. I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok. You haven’t been yourself since lunch. What’s wrong?” Li asked.
“It’s nothing. I’m fine. I’m just a little worried about Sakura. That’s all,” Tomoyo replied, turning away from Li.
Li put a hand on Tomoyo’s shoulder and turned her around to see tears in her eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong. You’re not just a little worried. Come on, maybe I can help,” Li said looking straight into Tomoyo’s eyes.
“I had a dream with Sakura in it. I was going to tell Eriol, but I forgot to. You were in it, along with Meiling. I… I just don’t want what happened in the dream to… to actually happen.”
“Were there cages involved? With me and Meiling in two of them and Sakura in the third?”
“Yes. I know you had it too. I spoke to Meiling about it. But the reason I’ve been acting strange is because of the ring I saw at the beginning of my dream. It was half-gold and half-silver, just like the Rings Sigma described to us today. It was really big, about a meter or so in diameter, so I think it might be one of the Rings. I’m afraid that… that whoever took Sakura might… might…”
“It’s ok. Nothing will happen to her. She’ll be fine. I promise,” Li said. I sure hope she’s fine. The only problem is I have the same feeling. I’m sure Meiling does too. “Tomoyo, where’s Meiling?”
“She’s asleep. That tea that Sigma gave her made her drowsy. She almost fainted on the way up here. Why do you ask?”
“She told me about her dream and I just wanted to talk to her about it and make sure she’s ok.”
“Li, can you stay here with her tonight? I want to talk to Sigma. I need to know some more and he seems most willing to talk to me or Meiling. Can you look after her for me?”
“Sure. I’ll look after her if you promise to tell us everything that you learned when you come back.”
“I promise. I wouldn’t be that selfish!” Tomoyo said with her usual smile.
“No matter how bad it is, we want to hear it. Ok?”
“I promise.”
Questions? Comments? R&R please. I hope you liked this chapter. Email me if you want, or just post your reviews. One last thing: instead of “On the next installment of…” I’ll just give you stuff to look forward to:
Shadow gives Sakura a humongous meal and hints that he knows about her plan. Will she still try to escape?
What’s with Shadow’s card-like things? Does he really have Clow Cards or not?
Why did Shadow give Sakura that ring and what does it really do?
Tomoyo is going to talk to Sigma. What will she find out from him? What will he do to her? What’s with all the hypothetical questions? How's the potato?