"Kero-chan, Where are You?" A Cardcaptor Sakura Halloween Fanfic Story Written by Freedom Fighter Rating: PG ********** Chapter Four - More Than Six Feet Under (10.23.02) [Tuesday, October 29th - Inside the Haunted House] Sakura and Syaoran continue to wander through the underground passages, turning corner after corner, trying to find their way out. The Glow Card continues to light the way for them, but the longer it stayed out, the more of Sakura's energy that would be sapped from her body. It was imperative that they got out sooner than later. "I never knew there were so many old passages down here," Syaoran commented. "If ruins like these were buried so close to the library," Sakura began, "then my dad would know about them." "That's right. He's an archaeologist." Sakura nodded. "If these ruins are real, there must be some record of them. And I'm sure he would know about them." "Maybe no one knows these exist. It could be possible that this area has never been dug up." "If that's true Li-kun, then how did we get down here in the first place?" "Through that air vent. The one that opened up under us in the closet?" "Yeah. But the house we were in..." "Doesn't exist. At least for people who don't have magical powers." "But Tomoyo-chan..." "Yes. I think she only got in because you with her." "B-b-b-but Chiharu-chan and Naoko-chan. When we first got here, the four of us all tried to get in. But the door wouldn't budge." Syaoran began to think out aloud. "With your magical powers, you should have managed to get the door open. Not that it was the right decision, mind you." "You know how those two can be." "Maybe so. Right now, we should be worrying about getting out of here." Sakura nods in agreement. The two turn to start walking again when they spot a flight of steps, as well as three tunnels. "If we really are underground, then to get out we must go up." Sakura agreed with Syaoran's logic once again as the two head for the stairs and begin their ascent. "Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun have to be close by. How do we know if they're above us or below us? Or on the same floor?" "Pull yourself together! If you concentrate, you can sense him." "Li-kun's right," Sakura thought. "I should be able to sense Eriol-kun easily. Kero-chan too. I've got to pull myself together..." Sakura closes her eyes and starts searching for both Eriol and Kero's energy signals. After a minute or so, she is successful. "Li-kun! I know where they are!" "Good. Let's go find them." Sakura and Syaoran run up the stairs together, beginning their search for their friends. ====== Tomoyo and Eriol, still lost themselves, continue to follow the lighted corridors. But they seem to be getting nowhere fast. "There doesn't seem to be any way out of here," stated Tomoyo, her mind half focused on that and the other half wondering if Sakura was safe. "Those two should be around here somewhere," Eriol thought aloud, as if he had read the latter part of her mind. "They'll be fine." "Sigh... I bet Sakura-chan and Li-kun are having a great time together! And I'm not with them to tape it!" "You'll have plenty of time to do that once we get out of here. IF there's a way out of here, anyway." "Shouldn't you be able to sense where they are?" "Naturally. The problem seems to be that we can't get to them." The two stop walking as Eriol starts running his right hand along a nearby wall. "Every time I sense one of them, it's right through one of these walls. By the time we find a path that takes us over there, those two are off somewhere else." "I'm sure Sakura-chan will find us eventually." "She is the Clow Mistress, after all. I'm sure she's approaching us even as we speak." "Really?" Tomoyo's eyes brightened with hope. "Yes." Eriol then takes a seat on the ground and begins to meditate. "Eriol-kun?" "We might as well just sit still and wait for them to come to us." "Wait for them? Are you sure that's a good idea?" "Why should we strain ourselves? Besides, aren't you tired of walking around?" "Now that you mention it, we have been walking for awhile." "I knew you'd agree with me." "Don't I always?" Tomoyo takes a seat next to Eriol on the ground. She then reaches into her backpack and starts searching for her cell phone. Pulling it out, she uses the 'speed dial' function to call Sakura by punching the number '2.' "Trying to contact her?" "Maybe if I can reach Sakura-chan, it'll be easier for her and Li-kun to find us." ====== Just minutes earlier... Sakura and Syaoran had climbed three or four flights of steps by now. But since they were both very athletic by nature, neither of them had tired out as of yet. At least now though the paths were lighted with torches so that they could see. "Sakura!" The deep, gruff voice was easily identifiable by Sakura as she and Syaoran reached the top of the flight simultaneously. Keroberos was running right toward them. And in his original, more powerful form. "Kero-chan!" Sakura shouted gleefully. She ran up to Kero and gave him a big hug around the neck. "I'm glad you're safe." "Me too! Now, all we have to do is find Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun. Then, we can get out of here." "Not so fast. We still have one thing to take care of." "What in the world could that be?" "These ghosts. How did they get their house here? And why have they trapped us inside?" "Who cares? The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get as far away from those ghosts as possible!" "Maybe if we find out what they want," Syaoran began to suggest, "then maybe then they'll let us out." "You mean we actually have to..." "Yep. We're going to have to catch the ghosts." "Hoe! Say it isn't so!" "It shouldn't be that hard. In fact, I bet they'll come after us once we find our way back up." "Once we go back up?" "Will you stop worrying about your fear of ghosts?" "Li-kun, I can't ever stop worrying about g-g-g-ghosts." Syaoran sighs. "What am I going to do with you?" "I sense Eriol nearby," Keroberos interrupted. "We should go find them." Sakura nodded in agreement. She was honestly trying to gather up all of the courage she could muster. After all, she didn't want anything to happen to Eriol or Tomoyo. Or Keroberos, or Syaoran, or even herself. She just wanted everyone to be safe. And she wanted to get out of the haunted house as soon as possible. But then, Sakura feels a hand of reassurance on her shoulder. She turns towards Syaoran, who indeed had his hand perched there. "You can overcome this. I know you can." He then adds with a smile, "Sakura-chan." Sakura couldn't help but smile back. Just being called 'Sakura-chan' was enough for her. She could feel all of her courage soaring through her body. Clenching her fist in determination, Sakura showed Syaoran and Keroberos that she was ready. "Ghosts or no ghosts, we're going to get out of here!" "That's the Cardcaptor that I trained!" Keroberos exclaimed happily. Syaoran nodded before moving his hand from her shoulder to her hand. "Ready?" "Ready!" Releasing his grip on her hand, Syaoran begins to sprint down the hallway. Sakura and Keroberos are right behind them. To be continued...