“The Deepest Friendship” - A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfic Story Written by Freedom Fighter Rating: PG There's got to be a way to help Tomoyo. Have Sakura and Syaoran found a solution yet? Read on and see... Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or any of the characters from the TV series. ***** Chapter Seven (08.26.02) Downtown, the sound of Tomoyo screaming and the resulting flash from the merging of two Clow Cards inside of her brought the street to an unexpected early rise, as curious families and apartment residents glance outside their windows to see what's going on. But the light is so bright that not many people can see much. That is, until the light finally dies down a minute later. Tomoyo is on the ground, out once again as all of the power coursing through her body had been very exhausting. On street level, Meilin continues to ache all over as she fights the urge to run to Tomoyo's side to try and draw the cards out. Miss Mitsuki is with her, monitoring her condition, as well as Tomoyo's. But she knew that this wasn't over. Not by a long shot. "Owwww! It hurts!" Miss Mitsuki places her hands on Meilin's shoulders, attempting to get her to calm down and relax. "The pain will go away if you lay down and rest." "But... but..." She then stands up, lifting up Meilin so that she's cradled in her arms. "I'll take you to my place. You can rest there." "But..." "Don't worry. I'm sure your friends can handle things." ====== As Miss Mutsuki and Meilin disappear into the night, Sakura, Syaoran, and Kero land nearby, already noticing the lights in the street. "I'm sure of it," Syaoran confirmed. "I don't sense it anymore, but the signal is definitely coming from over there." "But look at all of the lights," Sakura said, with a hint of worry in her voice. "There might be people there who've already seen Tomoyo. They might think she's an evil spirit or something!" "Get a hold of yourself," Kero told her. "This isn't the time to worry about what anyone's already seen. Or what they might see, now that I think about it." "This is no time to be discrete. We've got only one shot... to charge in there and get Tomoyo out." "But if we just fly in there, everyone will see us. And what if... Tomoyo tries to attack us?" "You call yourself a cardcaptor?" "What?" "If you were truly a cardcaptor, you'd charge in there and do whatever it takes to get those Clow Cards. You've been after them for months now. Just because two of them have control of Tomoyo doesn't mean that it's any different! A Clow Card's a Clow Card, and you have to seal them away!" Sakura thought about it, but she knew that Syaoran was right. No matter what happened, this wouldn't be over until she had sealed the cards. But there was still one problem Syaoran had forgotten about. "Li-kun, we still don't know how to seal them." "Let's worry about getting Tomoyo to safety before a bystander gets hurt trying to help her." "The kid's right. You have to be brave. Tomoyo's fighting it as best as she can. But she can't do it alone." Sakura clenches her fist as a serious look appears on her face. "I'm coming, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura gets back on her wand and flies towards the scene. Kero flies after her, leaving Syaoran to run there on foot. "Sakura!" But she wasn't hearing Syaoran's calls for a lift as she sped away. Syaoran began running as fast as he could, giving chase. "Tomoyo-chan, everything will be back to normal soon. I promise." ====== Tomoyo was still unconscious, lying face first on the ground. A few men were already on the street, intending to help the girl and get her to the hospital as soon as possible. Others looked on, praying for the girl's safety. Just as the men reach Tomoyo, she wakes up. "Miss, are you okay?" one of them asks. Tomoyo smirks evilly before floating up into the air. Obviously spooked, the men run towards a nearby building, seeking cover. "How dare you try and touch me!" she boasted loudly. "No one is allowed to touch me! I am your queen, and I order you to bow before me!" "Tomoyo-chan!" Tomoyo turns and sees Sakura flying towards her. Sakura's shocked, to say the least, to see her best friend floating in mid-air. The onlookers, on the other hand, were spooked to see a second girl in the air, this one flying on a wand. "Tomoyo-chan, you're floating!" "Yes, Clow Mistress! The girl you know as Tomoyo-chan will soon be no more!" "What have you done with her?" "I am controlling her, harnessing her life energy in order to attract all of the Forbidden Clow Cards' powers together! Two of them are inside of her right now, and the third is not far away. I can sense it coming near." Sakura thought to herself. "If the psychic card's already in her, and she's floating... that means she has the ghost card inside of her now as well!" "That's how you're able to float now! You've got the g-g-g-ghost card!" "That's right, Clow Mistress! And Tomoyo's conscious tells me that you're afraid of ghosts." "So... w-w-w-w-what are you going to d-d-d-d-do?" "Well, I could turn this girl into a ghost." "You wouldn't..." "But then, the third card would never arrive because we don't have a host." Tomoyo glances down and notices for the first time that Meilin is gone. "I was thinking about using that other girl to complete the merge, since she's so much stronger." "You leave Meilin-chan out of this!" "But since she's gone... well, there's always you." "Me?" "Wouldn't it be ironic? The girl destined to save the world from evil by capturing the Clow Cards may actually use her powers to bring about the world's end." "That's not going to happen! Not while I'm here!" "Well, it can't happen. Until I dump this body first, that is." "I won't let you!" "And you're going to stop me?" "I'll do whatever it takes!" Sakura reaches for her card deck to search for a card to use against Tomoyo. But before she can decide, Tomoyo flies away, heading for the park. "Tomoyo-chan, wait!" Sakura flies after Tomoyo just as Kero shows up on the scene. "Sakura! Hold on a minute!" Kero, unaware of what has just happened, chases after Sakura. ====== Tomoyo runs across the street and up the stairs leading to the park entrance. Sakura and Kero follow her from a safe distance. "Sakura, what are you doing?" "Kero-chan, I have to follow Tomoyo-chan! I don't want her hurting anybody. Or herself." "Herself?" "The cards might try to kill her so that they can find a more suitable host." "Someone with more magical power, perhaps? Like you?" "Hoe! Don't remind me, Kero-chan! It scares me just to think about it!" "Then you've got to keep her from moving! If she gets away, who knows what might happen to her while we're trying to find her again!" "You're right." Sakura whips out one of her cards and prepares to summon it. "WOOD! Form a forest around Tomoyo, trapping her inside!" Wood appears from her card and flies right in front of Tomoyo. With a light sprinkle of magical seeds, a forest sprouts up from the sidewalk on all sides, instantly trapping Tomoyo within its walls. "Good going, Sakura!" "Not so fast, Kero-chan. I want to make sure Tomoyo-chan can't get out of there." Sakura pulls out another card and summons it. "WINDY! Form a binding chain!" Windy appears and squeezes through Wood's walls, wrapping itself around Tomoyo, leaving her not only trapped, but immobilized as well. "That should hold her until I figure out a way to get the cards out of her." "Sakura..." Kero points out that both the Windy and Wood cards are slowly losing their power and returning to their card forms. "What's going on, Kero-chan?" "Psychic must be draining their powers, weakening them to the point where they can no longer hold Tomoyo in her place." "We've got to do something!" "Like what?" "There's gotta be another Clow Card I can use!" At that point, Windy and Wood return to their card forms completely, leaving Tomoyo standing in the center of the sidewalk, just a few feet in front of Sakura and Kero. "You're starting to become a nuisance." "Tomoyo-chan, listen to me! You have to fight those cards! It's the only way I can help you!" "You think she can hear you? Ha! She's so far in that you'll never reach her!" "But... there must be a way." "There's only one way to put an end to your meddling. And that's to get rid of you. Permanently." Tomoyo then charges at Sakura, preparing to attack her physically. "Sakura!" "JUMP!" The Jump card is summoned just in time, as Sakura leaps out of the way just as Tomoyo throws a punch where she once was. "POWER! Give me the strength to fight!" Sakura lands on the ground as a pink aura surrounds her. She feels herself getting stronger as Tomoyo runs at her once again. Tomoyo goes for a quick jab at Sakura's forehead, but the Cardcaptor stops her friend dead in her tracks, using both hands to catch the fist in time. "The Power Card?" "I won't hurt you, Tomoyo-chan! But I will stop you, whatever it takes!" "Then I'll do whatever it takes to hurt you." Tomoyo pulls her fist out of Sakura's grip. She then attacks forcefully again, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks. Sakura does her best to block them all, but she's getting exhausted really fast. "Pull out!" Kero shouts at her. "You'll get pummelled!" "I can't!" Sakura yelled back between punches. "I have to stop Tomoyo-chan from hurting anyone." Sakura dodges a high roundhouse kick before turning tail and making a run for it. Tomoyo smiles and then pursues after her adversary. "There must be some way!" Sakura wailed out loud. "There must be some way!" She dives into a nearby sandbox... the one that lies just in front of the penguin slide. Seeking shelter underneath the slide, Tomoyo stands there, waiting for Sakura to come out. "You can't stay under there all night!" "Oh yeah? Watch me!" Kero flies in to join Sakura. "What are you doing?" "Buying some time. Li-kun's gone, so I'm hoping he has a plan of some sort." ====== Back at the park entrance, Syaoran runs in with a notepad in hand. "This has just got to work." All of a sudden, Syaoran begins to sense something. He skids to a stop as he attempts to detect where it's coming from. "It's another Clow Card. It must be the last Forbidden Clow Card." Syaoran starts running again, trying to find Sakura. "I've got to find her! I just hope I'm not too late." ====== Under the penguin slide, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero have all sensed it. "The poison card is coming this way, Clow Mistress! If you don't want it to merge with us, you'd better get out here!" "Tomoyo-chan's right," Sakura thought to herself. "I have to go out there and keep that card from merging with the other two. But if I do, Tomoyo might finish me off before it gets here." "I guess you don't want to save your friend, do you?" "But if I don't, the three Forbiddens merge, and we're all doomed." Sakura starts crawling out from under the slide, but Kero blocks her path. "Sakura!" "I have to do this, Kero-chan! There's no other way!" Tomoyo smiles as Sakura stands up in the sandbox and releases her wand, making it fall into the sand. "It's over. I give up." Coming in Chapter 8: - Syaoran may have the solution... but will he get there in time? - Sakura throws in the towel as the three cards prepare to merge. Or does she? - One of our heroes makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the day.