"Kero-chan, Where are You?" A Cardcaptor Sakura Halloween Fanfic Story Written by Freedom Fighter Rating: PG ********** Chapter Two - Trapped in a House Locked by Magic (10.09.02) [Tuesday, October 29th - King Penguin Park] Cheerleading and choir practice had both ended at the same time, so Tomoyo, to Sakura's relief, accompanies the girls to the library. Not only to start on their book reports, but to also investigate the haunted house for themselves. They were all walking along one of the paths through King Penguin Park. Except for Sakura, who was wearing her rollerblades. But Sakura wasn't pleased with the prospect of seeing this haunted house. And that's why she was clinging to Tomoyo every step of the way there. Once they spot the library, they also spot the haunted house nearby. It was an old dilapidated house, with the windows boarded up. They could all sense the spiritual energy coming from it. Especially Sakura... "Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura yelped, tightening her grip on her friend's blouse. "It's okay," Tomoyo reassured Sakura, patting her on the head. "Wow!" Naoko chimed happily. "It's just as how you described it!" "You think it's for real?" Chiharu asked Naoko. "It's gotta be! It's right in front of us!" Chiharu smiles. "Why don't we check it out?" "Do we have to?" Sakura asked, still frightened that she might see a ghost. Not hearing their friend's query, Chiharu and Naoko start walking towards the house. Tomoyo follows right after them, with Sakura reluctantly coming along for the ride. The four of them walk up the path to the front door and step onto the porch. Chiharu reaches the door first, so she decides to knock on it. Naoko stands right behind Chiharu, with her hands perched on Chiharu's shoulders. Sakura was still grasping onto Tomoyo's blouse, shaking in fear more than ever. "I guess it really is a haunted house," Chiharu concluded. "No one answered the door." Tomoyo then steps forward, as Sakura releases her grip on her in the process. She gets by Naoko and Chiharu and reaches for the doorknob. She attempts to turn it to open the door, but finds that the knob won't budge. "It's locked. Maybe it's not a haunted house after all." "Don't be silly, Chiharu-chan! The lock's probably rusted, that's all." "Are you sure, Naoko-chan?" "Yes!" "Can we just get out of here?" Sakura asked again. Naoko places her hands over Tomoyo's as the two try to get the doorknob to budge. After a few tries, Chiharu joins them, sticking her right arm in between the two of them and onto the doorknob. The three of them together now attempt to turn the knob with all of their might. But it's still not enough. There was still a chance they could get it open though, and for that, they all turned to Sakura... who quickly started to flail her arms in the air in a panic. "No! I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna!" ====== After a little convincing, Sakura and the others had all eight of their hands around the doorknob. Tomoyo and Naoko were to turn the top half, while Chiharu and Sakura were to turn the bottom half. "Sakura-chan, you're shaking!" "Hoe! I don't wanna do this, Chiharu-chan!" "It wouldn't hurt to try," Tomoyo said with a smile. "Besides, if we can't get it open, we'll just leave. Right?" She turns to Naoko and Chiharu, who nod their heads in agreement. That's enough to perk Sakura's confidence up. "Okay, I'll do it!" Making sure that their grip on the knob is tight, Tomoyo begins a count. "One, two, three, turn!" Using all of their strength, Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Naoko desperately try to turn the old doorknob just enough to get the door open. But they quickly learn that having eight hands on the knob leaves practically no room to move. So when Sakura's right hand slips, she instinctively reaches for Naoko's left hand to catch herself. But Naoko isn't strong enough to support her, so the two of them go down, knocking Sakura into Chiharu, and Chiharu into Tomoyo. They all lose their grip, releasing their hands from the doorknob as they all fall into one giant heap. Sakura, the first to fall, finds herself at the bottom of the pile, followed by Naoko, Chiharu, and Tomoyo, on top. "Sorry," Sakura apologized. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked her best friend. The girls slowly get to their feet, with Sakura being the last one up. "I think so," Sakura replied, checking the visible parts of her body for any bumps or bruises. "That door must be real old," Naoko deduced, "because we couldn't move it an inch!" Chiharu sighs. "I guess we'd better forget about going in. We might as well go start on those book reports of ours." The four girls nod before they start walking away from the haunted house and towards the library. Chiharu leads the way, followed by Naoko, Tomoyo, and Sakura. But just as Sakura reaches the end of the house's walkway, something goes off in her mind. But she wasn't the only who noticed it. "There's magic afoot," Kero noted, popping out of Sakura's backpack. "Kero-chan!" Sakura shouted. Sakura quickly realizes that she shouldn't have shouted Kero's name out, but it was too late. Her friends were already looking back at her. "Kero-chan?" Chiharu asked. "You mean your stuffed toy?" "Yeah!" Sakura laughed nervously as she pulled Kero out and start stretching his face as if he was a puppet. "I guess I accidentally brought him from home. Heh heh..." "Oh." Chiharu and Naoko then turn around and continue walking towards the library. Sakura turns the other way and releases Kero just as he starts to move again. "Kero-chan, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked the guardian beast. "I have to keep an eye on you," Kero replied. "I'm still not sure that you've fully recovered after you last changed some of the Clow Cards into Star Cards." "Why did you pop out?" Tomoyo asked, letting both Sakura and Kero know that she had been standing there the whole time. "I sensed something," Kero stated as his face grew serious. "Me too," Sakura confirmed. The three look at the house in front of them. Sakura and Kero already begin to sense something coming from it. "There's a great deal of magic surrounding that house." Kero then flies towards the house, much to Sakura's chagrin. She chases after him, with Tomoyo in hot pursuit. Kero stops right in front of the door, deciding to land on the doorknob. The instant he does, the knob begins to turn, knocking Kero off of it and opening the door into the house. "What the..." Sakura began to get scared again. "Why did the door open? What did you do, Kero-chan?" "I just landed on it and it began to turn." Tomoyo put a finger up to her chin as she begins to think. "But why would it open just like that even after the four of us tried and failed?" "Who cares, Tomoyo-chan? I'm not going in!" Suddenly, a mysterious voice began to come from inside the house. "Sakura-chan!" It only took that for Sakura to realize who the voice belonged to. "Li-kun!" "The kid's inside?" "He must be! He might be in trouble!" Sakura takes a step forward as if she was going to enter the house. But then she takes a step back and begins to shiver in fear again. "It's too scary!" "He might be in trouble," Tomoyo said, trying to convince Sakura that they needed to go in. "Besides, I'll always be by your side, Sakura-chan!" With Tomoyo's reassurance, Sakura gathered herself and slowly stepped inside the house. Tomoyo and Kero are right behind her. Once they are several feet inside, Li's voice rings out again... but in a different tone. "Sakura-chan! Get out now!" Sakura wondered if Syaoran knew something bad was about to happen. But before she could react, the door slams behind Kero, leaving the room in completely darkness except for the small cracks of sunlight that could sneak in through the planks that boarded up the windows. "The door closed!" Tomoyo shouted. "Do you think it was the wind?" Kero asked. Sakura didn't even take another second to react. She rushes past Kero and Tomoyo and tries desperately to get the door open again. It seems as if all of her confidence had been snuffed out the instant the door slammed shut. And it was obvious that she was already losing it. "Door, please open up! I don't want to be in here!" Sakura pulls on the doorknob as hard as she can, but it would not turn. "Get a hold of yourself!" Kero shouted. "You're the Cardcaptor!" "But I hate ghosts!" Sakura wailed as she fell to her knees. Tomoyo squats down in front of Sakura, who instantly leans over and begins to cry tears into Tomoyo's blouse. "There there," Tomoyo said as she rubbed her hand up and down Sakura's back. "We'll be alright." ====== Outside, Chiharu and Naoko had reached the library entrance, unaware that Sakura and Tomoyo weren't behind them. But that lasts only until Naoko holds the door for them and finds no one there to catch it. "Chiharu-chan, where did Sakura-chan and Tomoyo-chan go?" Chiharu turns around and looks behind Naoko. But she doesn't see them. She walks past her friend and glances into the courtyard, hoping to see Sakura and Tomoyo walking from the haunted house. But she didn't see Sakura or Tomoyo at all. She also didn't see the haunted house. "The house is gone!" "What?" Naoko asked, peering around Chiharu's shoulder to see that the house indeed was no longer where it was a minute ago. ====== Sakura was still sniffling as Tomoyo wrapped her arms around her friend and gave her a reassuring hug. "We'll be alright, Sakura-chan. Maybe there's another way out." Tomoyo gets to her feet, then helps Sakura stand up. Sakura then feels something land on her shoulder. "Kero-chan," Sakura began, "your feet are so cold." "But Sakura-chan, Kero's over there." Tomoyo pointed a few feet ahead of them, where Kero was flying off towards something, although the girls weren't sure what. "If Kero-chan's over there... then who's hand is on my shoulder?" Tomoyo looks behind Sakura... before her face turns white with fear. "What's wrong, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura turns around to see what Tomoyo is looking at. And she'll wish she hadn't, for behind her was a ghost, floating in the air! "Eeeeeekkkkkk! A ghost!" Sakura and Tomoyo take off down the hallway, with Sakura grabbing Kero by the paw as they reach and pass him. They're both screaming their heads off in fear. Sakura didn't dare look back to see if the ghost was following. She was even too scared to open her eyes to see where she was going. That's probably why she didn't see herself run straight into Syaoran, sending them both to the ground. And into a precarious position, as Sakura opens her eyes and finds herself just inches apart from Syaoran's, just hovering above him. "This is so cute!" Sakura and Syaoran turn to see Tomoyo a few feet away with her camcorder in hand, recording the scene with glee. Without hesitation, Sakura and Syaoran jump up and turn away from each other. Both were trying to hide the blushes on their face. Before either of them could say a word, another figure steps out from behind the corner. And Tomoyo recognizes him easily. "Eriol-kun!" "Tomoyo-chan, you shouldn't have come! It's dangerous in here." "I guess it is. We just saw a ghost." Sakura begins to get teary-eyed again as she clutches her fists in fear and begins to shake again. "T-t-t-t-there's a ghost in here!" Before Tomoyo could try to cheer Sakura up again, the ghost that had been chasing them finally catches up to them. At the same time, a second ghost appears in the hallway behind Eriol. It starts moving towards them fast. "Another one?" Tomoyo asked in fright. "They're all over the place!" Syaoran yelled. "That's why I was yelling for you to get out!" "Hoe! What do we do now?" To be continued...