| Reliving the Nightmare Sakura shrieked like she was being murdered, fighting instantly as the hands tried to get a better grip on her. She took one whiff of the acrid scent of the cloth and immediately held her breath, throwing her arms in the air. "Oof!" Her fist caught her attacker in the nose and he released her, springing back. She turned immediately, breathing hard and she paused when she encountered Syaoran holding his suddenly red nose, band-aid crossed over it. "Syaoran?" "That's never happened before." He murmured, and his voice was lower than Syaoran's usual. It sounded colder too. "Syaoran?" "I would suggest you RUN." Akane called from the bed, hand playing with her short red hair. "He's going to come after you now." "RUN WHERE?!" Sakura demanded. "I'm locked in this room!" Akane paused thoughtfully. "Maybe if you run a few laps around the room you'll tire him out?" Sakura dodged Syaoran as he lunged at her, reaching out with fingers shaped into talons. And with a frustrated growl she backed up, scanning the room. "Do you have anything that might perhaps HELP ME?" she asked the ghost, feigning sweetness. Akane thought again, eyes rolling toward the ceiling. "Oh, well, yeah. There's a rope in the closet." She motioned. "You can use it on him before he uses it on you." Sakura stared at her as if she had burped and sneezed at the same time. "That's SYAORAN!" she reminded her, pointing and squeaking as Syaoran caught her by her finger and yanked. "OW!" His arms wrapped around her neck as she fell into him and she immediately tried to pry his fingers off, grimacing. "Syao...ran-" His face was cold, eyes blank. And his breath reeked suddenly of alcohol, blowing across her face. Sakura groaned and then threw herself backward, releasing his wrists to grab hold of his collar. His expression shifted to one of surprise and by then she was monkey-tossing him, back hitting the ground, legs throwing him up and over. He hit the floor and slid, head bent along the ground as he came to a stop before the closet door. "Oh, yeah, great idea. Get him closer to his weapon." Akane remarked. Sakura threw her a death glare. "No WONDER you DIED!" she shrieked. "All you do is complain! COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!" And she rolled over, rising a bit. "RELEASE!" Akane's eyebrows lifted into her hairline. "Hey, you can do that, too?" she asked suddenly interested. "TOO?!" Syaoran rose, eyes narrowed at the wand that appeared in Sakura's hand. He threw up his own hand, squeezing it into a fist. "Release!" "Too." Akane repeated with a nod. Sakura stared in utter and complete disbelief as a black staff sprang from Syaoran's grip. "Juuuuuuuust great..." she whispered and she threw out a card before looking to see what it was. "Come forth!" Bubbles lifted from the card as it flared with power and then the bubbles overtook her form, covering her in soap. Akane hung her head in defeat. "This is just too humiliating." She mumbled sadly. "I had a better chance without the use of the Clow Cards." "THEY'RE SAKURA CARDS NOW!" Sakura screeched at her furiously. And she flung off the offending bubbles, taking out another card. "SHOT CARD!" "Ooh." Akane nodded, impressed. "That's a good one." Shot rose from its card, a single orb of light. And a moment later it sprang, shooting forth almost angrily. Syaoran dodged it before reaching into his robes and pulling out his own card, tossing it up. Eriol's very familiar design lit up underneath his feet, throwing him in shadow as he glared. "Shield!" Sakura clenched her jaw, watching as Shot struck the sudden field erected around Syaoran. "Those ARE the Clow Cards." She murmured, calling back on Shot. It returned to Card form, floating down into her hand and she surveyed the situation for a moment, unsure what to do next. The door suddenly opened and Yue peeked in, looking green. "Oh, this isn't a bathroom?" he asked, let down. And he pulled back out, slamming the door shut behind himself. Sakura stared, world spinning in utter disbelief. "That good-for-nothing-" "Sand!" Sakura whirled back around. "Sand?" And she squeaked as the floor suddenly began to shift, becoming the grainy substance and funneling into a cone under her. She was nearly dragged into its core as she hesitated. "Fly!" Wings burst from her back and she wailed as her costume was ripped further. "I don't BELIEVE this!" she cried as she was lifted off the sand. "My COSTUME!" Syaoran lifted an arm, gesturing, and an arm of sand suddenly rose, swiping at her. She dodged the blow, shouting angrily. "Damn it, FORGET it! Where's the ROPE!" The closet door burst open then, admitting Eriol, Tomoyo, Nakuru and Spinel Sun. "MINNA!" Nakuru was instantly dragged into the sand and in she went, spinning around toward the core. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!" Spinel Sun took one look and started laughing, pounding his paw on the ground as he howled. "Hey! Someone HELP!" Sakura shouted, dragging their attention back. Eriol took a step forth, staring at Syaoran and the staff. "Isn't that my staff?" he asked quizzically. A whip suddenly unfurled, wrapping around Spinel Sun's pounding paw and he blinked at it, wide-eyed, cut off in mid laugh. A moment later he was also dragged in with a roar, right behind Nakuru who did not look happy in the least from where she managed to stay afloat close to the center. "HEY-" "BAKA!" "Fly." Eriol uttered and black wings sprang from his back, lifting him. A moment later he narrowed his eyes and dove, swiping at Syaoran with his own staff. Syaoran grimaced as Eriol's staff clashed with Shield, power bouncing furiously. From her angle Sakura also dove, stabbing downward with her wand and striking the Shield. Syaoran cried out as his force of protection was shattered, and he ducked, covering himself from the light. The Sand Card instantly came to a stop, Nakuru and Spinel Sun choking from the core. "Oi, Suppi-chan, get your paw out of my face!" "Control your WHIP!" "Who are you?" Eriol demanded, coming to alight on the ground before his descendant. "Show your true form." Sakura also touched down, looking from Eriol to Syaoran helplessly. From the bed Akane sighed, rising from the comfortable position she had taken, laid out. "Oh, all right already." She growled, sitting up. She waved a hand at Syaoran, the corner of her mouth curling up and looking like she was a child who had just had her fun ruined. "Your magic always was too strong anyway..." Eriol looked at her and glanced at Syaoran as mist rose from his form. With a sigh he went limp, frame falling to the floor with a thud. Sakura grimaced before remembering she cared for him and she swooped down, cradling him. "Oh, Syaoran, are you ok?" Akane slowly floated off the bed, straightening, and her appearance shifted into that of a woman with dark hair and angry eyes, red make-up accentuating the lines of her eyes. "Hey! You're that girl I gave the hairpiece to!" Eriol said, smiling brilliantly. "I thought I took care of you." Sakura said with a frown. "Remember? We got sucked into the book and you kept trying to drown me..." she looked around. "You changed your routine." She said with a nod, eyes focusing on the sand under her. "You don't even remember my NAME!" the woman cried. Eriol looked apologetic. The woman sighed. "Forget it." She growled. With a snap of her fingers the objects of the room dissolved, leaving her floating in the air. The room also vanished, replaced by the night sky and no floor underneath their feet. With shrieks, the group fell to the roof of Tomoyo's house, landing in a pile of limbs. Nakuru burst out, looking triumphant as she stood on top of the mountain of people. "With my handy whip, I am RULER!" She glanced down at the sudden growling sound to see Spinel Sun gnawing on her ankle, kicking at her at the same time. "Oi, Suppi-chan." Sakura slowly floated down along with Eriol, touching down on the roof. "So, wait. The whole legend of the girl spurned by her lover didn't really happen?" The woman motioned at Eriol and Eriol lifted a hand to his hair, smiling sweetly. "Well..." "Oh, yeah." They only then became aware of the sound of chanting close by and looking further down the roof they saw several women, lifting their hands to the skies and dancing nude around the splayed out body of a very unconscious Yue. "Wow." "For once, can you just stop this?" Eriol said finally, looking at the woman. "We BOTH died a long time ago. I think we should just put it to rest already." The woman slowly came to rest on the roof, arms crossing over her chest. "I don't think I can ever forgive you." She said haughtily. Eriol nodded as if he understood. "Well, that works for me then. Just as long as you stop bothering my friends. They did nothing to you." Sakura smiled sweetly, interrupting. "Sumimasen..." "Well, except for HER." "Mou..." The woman paused thoughtfully before nodding finally. "All right, I accept. I will stop bothering your friends but I'll still be haunting you." She said, glaring at him. Eriol shrugged. "Sounds good. We'll have Poker Night." The woman pursed her lips and then nodded once more. Looking at the group of them she smiled. "No hard feelings, eh?" And before anyone could say anything she vanished into thin air. "No hard feelings?" |
| All images and works done/altered by ShiNoFuriko and TasogareBan. Please do not steal and always give credit to where it is due. |