Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Curse Cards ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Flash entered the cabin with a clipboard in her arms, studying it. She traced the words on the paper attached with a pencil. Her eyes looked directly at Sakura and Li, but moved away pretending that she had no interest in them. "We will be heading off soon," she mumbled and watched the door.

"Shaolan, I know something is bothering you," Sakura whispered so no one else could hear. Her eyes were glued to Flash, watching every movement.

Li looked at Sakura. "I just have a bad feeling about this. Before, I did not worry, but now I do."

"Why worry?"

He shook his head and looked away. "Just, never mind. Forget what I said."

"Shaolan…" Sakura trailed off but was interrupted by Flash who was going to make an announcement.

"Okay, it looks as if every one is here," she said quietly, counting the group with her eyes. She opened a closet after recounting. Inside was some gear for climbing. "Okay, let's have the first group come up and get their equipment ready. Then we will head off."

They did as instructed and got ready. Sakura, Tomoyo, Li, and Yamazaki were in group four. They followed Flash out of the cabin and onto a small path in the woods, but the trees were spaced and the bushes were thin, so the hike was much easier.

They stopped at a large clearing, sounded by taller trees. There was a rocky side to the right that was curved in, making the clearing seem much bigger. Sakura watched the first group climb. It looked easy enough to do. She sat down on a log and waited her turn.

Tomoyo approached her and sat down next to her. "Look Sakura. It is not that hard!"

"I know," Sakura sighed and made a tick-tack-toe board in the dirt with her finger.

"Don't worry, it will be fun!"

She watched the second group make it to the top and down again. Sakura smiled and nodded in agreement. She swiped the game away, satisfied that x won over o.

As the third group was done, they were called over to get ready. Sakura felt better now. It started out fine, it was a lot easier then it looked. Li was just above her to help her out.

Everything seemed fine until Sakura started to sense something strong! She looked around her but saw nothing unusual. She looked up at Li who looked a little edgy too.

"Li, do you sense it?"

Li nodded. "But it is hard to tell where it is coming from."

Sakura saw something shiny in front of her and all of a sudden the rope ripped, slicing it in half! Sakura started to fall but caught the edge of a rock! Li darted down and grabbed her hand. "Sakura, don't let go!"

She nodded. She tried hard not to look down but failed. Everything seemed much farther then before. "It is coming much stronger!" Something shined a deep blood red. She looked down but felt as if being choked! She could not breathe! Her hand slipped away from Shaolan's and she started to fall fast. He pulled out an element card and caught her with a huge gust of wind. She held onto a branch, still not able to take in any air. The class were under the thick layer of leaves and were not able to see what was going on.

Li reached for her again and grabbed her hand just as the red light dimmed and she was able to breathe again, coughing for air.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Li tighten his grip.

"I couldn't breathe. I also sensed something strong. I think this is all under the power of a card!"

"Same here," he tossed her some extra rope. "Put this back on."

Sakura took the rope and tied it tightly. Instead of going back up they headed down to the ground. Sakura was glad it was over but felt bad for ruining it for Li. Still, this experience did not make her dislike climbing because she knew it was a card's magic. But what card?

When they reached the camp Sakura picked up her phone to call Kero to ask him some questions.

"Sakura, aren't you supposed to be roughing it?" Yamazaki asked snatching it from her hands.

"I know but this is important!" Sakura explained, trying to avoid making him interested.

"Yamazaki, just give her the phone back!" Li said.

"Fine, but you don't know what happens to people who break the camp rules!" Yamazaki warned.

"And we don't want to," Tomoyo said sitting on a log near the empty fire place. "Let's get this thing started."

"I'll go look for some wood," Yamazaki volunteered.

"I'll help," Tomoyo offered getting back up.

"Did you know that there are bears in the forest around here? They eat people whole so watch out for them!" Yamazaki said walking off.

"Give it up!" Li called down to him. He started to search for dry wood around their camp.

Sakura called up Kero and waited for an answer, but no one came. She tossed the phone back into her and Tomoyo's tent. "Nobody is home."

"That is too bad," Li shrugged then darted up. "I sense it again!"

Sakura did too. It came instantly in a flash! She saw the same light and the silver shine. She couldn't breathe again!

"Sakura! Your necklace! It is glowing!" Li ran over to her dropping his found wood.

That was right! Also there were knife-like spikes coming from the sides that were bent at the end! She tried to take it off but it wouldn't move at all!

"I have heard about this card, but I never thought it was real!" Li said. "It is the choke! It glows dark red when it attacks. The spikes on it must have cut the rope! To get it off…," he hesitated, thinking hard. "You can't get it off if you struggle." He repeated slowly, and then he remembered. "Sakura don't panic! Only then will you be able to get it off!"

It was hard not to panic but Sakura calmed down, the necklace still shined blood red, but Shaolan removed it from her neck. "Capture it!"

She pulled out her staff under coughs and hit it down, ordering it to return. The card flew to her hand. It had the same back, black with an upside-down blood red star. On the front was the necklace with the spikes on one side and none on the other. The spike half's gem was blood red and the other half was light green.

Sakura fell to her knees still holding her staff and card in her hands. Li knelt next to her as the others came back, clueless about what had happened. Sakura changed her staff and shoved the card into her pocket. She quickly got up like nothing had happened so Yamazaki would not get suspicious, even though she felt very weak and tired.

They started a fire and sat around it on logs. Everything around them were just dark shadows, the stars above them shined a bright gold as they glittered in the dark night sky. Each had a thick, warm blanket over them as they stared into the crackling flames of the fire. The lake reflected the light of the stars near by.

"Want to tell scary stories?" Yamazaki cut in.

"Ya, but as long as they have nothing to do with ghosts," Sakura said.

"Okay. I'll tell one about this camp. Ever heard about the werewolves?"

Shaolan sighed.

"A long time ago at this very camp was a group of kids like us, but they were never told of the evil creatures that lurk in these woods. The worst of all was a human who was half dragoon! She had long wings coming from her back and weird markings on her face."

This reminded Sakura about the weird person in her dream. She was tall with dragoon-like wings.

"But she does not attack alone. She has a pale tiger with the same wings and markings!"

The second thing next to the person! Did Yamazaki know of her dreams or was her dreams a part of it? How did he know?

"Well the kids were telling stories around a camp fire, unaware that she was coming closer and closer by the second, waiting to attack!"

Sakura turned to the sound of a snapping stick down the path. There standing on the path were the same shadows of the winged person in her dream and in Yamazaki's story! Sakura stood up and looked closer. Yamazaki had stopped talking and they all turned to the path. Out of the shadows came Ellen, but she had no wings and she was half the height of what Sakura saw.

"Oh, did I frighten you?" she said. "The teacher told me to come here. My partner got hurt and was sent home."

"That is okay," Sakura sighed in relief. "Want to join us? We are telling stories!"

"No, but I'll come anyways," and crossed her arms and sat on the other side, opposite to where everyone else was sitting.

Yamazaki shrugged and continued on. "Well, since the group was so far from the other camp sites their screams were unheard and they were never seen again."

"Oh, you are telling that one?" Ellen asked. "That's not the ending!"

"Sorry, I forgot it!"

"You know this one too?" Tomoyo asked.

"Of course, I was the one who told Yamazaki! The screams were heard, just never responded to. All that was left behind was a pool of warm dripping blood, with a trail leading into the lake. Their bodies were never found, only the little things that they owned like a watch, a hair band, necklace, bones."

The word necklace echoed in Sakura's mind. She gripped the choke card in her pocket.

"No wonder you changed it," Li said, liking Yamazaki's ending better.

"Think that is bad?" she smiled. "Try living it!"

Li rolled his eyes.

"They say the dragoon had a staff," she continued. "It is long and black with a blood red upside-down star at the end of it. When she holds it she changes into the monster. Without it she is a normal human. They say it is hidden in the woods. No one is sure what one but it is out there."

The staff reminded Sakura of the patterns on the curse cards. Sakura could see that Li was thinking the same thing. Tomoyo and Yamazaki were just listening on like a cat stalking a mouse, intensely listening to each word she said.

"But if you spread the word about this dragoon, then the unexpected would happen," Ellen smiled.

Was that a hint? Were they not to tell anyone of the cards?

"Ellen, where did you get this story?" Li asked.

"I don't know. I just heard it around," she said smiling.

Shaolan and Sakura exchanged looks. She knew about the cards! Tomoyo knew this was not helping them and tried to change the topic. "Want to play truth or dare again?"

Li shook his head frantically at this.

"Same here, I don't want anything to do with you!" Ellen snapped and shot up. "I'm going to set up my tent. No one bother me!" She walked to an open but shady place and started to unpack.

"Ellen, you can share a tent with Tomoyo and me," Sakura offered, understanding that she was new, but she could be a little more polite. She tried to always make the best of things; even if she did sense weird powers coming from her. It was best to learn to trust her.

She glared at Sakura. "Why would I want to share with you?"

"It is okay if you don't, I was just asking," Sakura backed off.

"Want any help with your tent?" Yamazaki offered.

"I said don't bother me!"

Time seemed to move slowly; even the soft breeze seemed to die down to nothing at all. All that could be heard was the crackling of the fire in front of them.

Ellen's story… it was like her dream. Even if she did not give much description of the winged tiger, it was as if she knew the human. But how?

"Sakura, I'm going to the tent now," Tomoyo brought her from her train of thought. "Want to come along?"

She nodded and got up. The heavy blanket pushed her down, but she soon realized it was just herself that was tired and needed rest.

"Yamazaki and I are going to stay up a little longer and put out the fire when we are done," Li said pulling his blanket closer around him to keep warm.

"Okay, goodnight!"

There they were again, in her dream. Shaolan and Kero were there too, face to face with the two silhouettes. They had the same characteristics as Ellen's story. In the girls hand was the staff! It shined a dark red and some of the cards in Shaolan's hands flew out. But they were different from the curse. They were…

Sakura awoke to a twig snapping outside her tent. Tomoyo lay peacefully sleeping. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She heard another quick sharp snap! She quietly unzipped her sleeping bag and got up and peeked out of their tent, but saw nothing. A long time must have passed because Yamazaki and Li were gone, and everything seemed darker than before. She heard a rustle coming from one of the other tents. Was it one of her friends who made the noise? Another crunch answered her; it came from the other direction. She stared into the darkness of the night as something hid in that area.

"Sakura-chan?" she heard a hush whisper call her.

She swiftly darted her eyes toward the voice. She saw Li who had been watching the same area as her. She got out of her tent and went over to him. "I'm not too sure what awoke me. I'm a heavy sleeper. A snapping twig is too quiet."

"You heard it too?" he asked. "I awoke for the same reason. I sense something. It must be the power of whatever is out there that awoke us."

Sakura nodded trying harder to listen. Something shined, muffled by leaves. Sakura's eyes flashed to that spot. The thing knew well that it was caught and swiftly dashed out and away. Sakura ran after it with Li behind her. She stopped and pulled out a card, so did the creature, the same shine flickered gold again. It was as if it had been waiting, wanting them to follow. Sakura threw out the dash card and gave them its power to run. The creature made a low growling sound, and then sped on. Sakura dashed after it with great speed, almost out running it. It swiftly stopped and jumped up into a tree and hid in the leaves. Even though it was too dark to see, it stood still. Sakura held still and returned the dash, seeing that it was not going anywhere. She pulled out her staff. She knew it was a card, just by the magic she was sensing from it. Li had his sword out and stood just behind her, not moving his eyes off the wild creature.

"Curse card, return to your power confined!" she hit down her staff and watched a wispy figure dart towards the creature, the same golden shine glittered again and the wisp stopped and disappeared.

"It can't be captured that easily. This is going to be tough! We need to weaken it first!" Li pulled out an element card and hit it onto the flat of his sword. "Element, lighting!"

A powerful stream of thunder crashed towards the card, but yet again the golden shine froze the attack, it was as if the thunder had paused in mid air! The thunder cracked as it shot back at Li! It hit him hard, making him crash back into a tree. He fell to the ground but looked up.

"Li-kun, are you okay!?"

"I'm fine." he said getting up. "If thunder won't work then water will!" He hit the card with his sword. Water rushed out like a jet towards the creature. The golden flash shined again sending the powerful waves back at him. He dodged it as he jumped up into a tree and held tightly to a branch. "Don't use any attack cards!"

"How are we going to capture it then?" Sakura asked as the creature started to growl again as long feather wings stretched out from its back. "And what is it?"

"Use the light card! It can't attack us back with that!" Li gripped his sword tighter.

She nodded and pulled out the card and hit it with her staff. Light flooded the area, blinding them as well for their eyes were adjusted to the darkness. The plan worked; in the tree was a silver wolf with slick greasy black wings. Its paws, snout and tail darkened to black at the tips. It had black eyes that matched its coat; the golden shine came from a gem on its forehead.

The wolf howled as the light confused him, the gem shined a deep gold and the light wisped away to an energy ball in front of him. The ball flew away and out of sight as the dog gestured its head in its direction. It jumped from the tree and onto the ground in front of Sakura. Sakura froze. She felt herself trembling as the wolf's growling became deep and blood thirsty. It inched closer and closer to her, pushing her back. She felt her back hit a tree, showing her that there was no where to go. The wolf crouched down ready to attack! It lunged at her, showing sharp silver claws and crystal white teeth. She swiftly ducked but felt no hit! Li swung down from the tree and kicked the beast's side hard. The wolf wrenched as it glared at Li for doing so. Li pulled himself back into the tree as the wolf got up and spread out its wings to follow him. It broke through the branches and leaves but got tangled in them. It barked madly as it struggled to break free.

Li jumped down next to Sakura. "Try now!"

She raised her staff and hit it down again, but yet again the gem shined and the capture was repelled. Repel!

"Li, the repel! It has repelled every attack and capture!" Sakura smiled.

"I think you are right!" he grinned. "I have a plan! It can only repel one attack at a time. It will break free soon but I will distract it with an element card and you capture it!"

He ran off before she said anything in return. He used the thunder element again, and just as the gem glowed, she hit down her staff. The wolf fought the capture but failed as it was sucked into its card form. The card flew to Sakura's hand. She sighed in relief and smiled as another card was captured. This one had the wolf on it, its wings folded up and the gem glowing softly.

She put it into her pocket and walked over to Li. "Thank you. I want you to have this card."

"It is okay Sakura," Li said. "It chooses you as its owner."

"But you thought of how to capture it!"

"And you figured out what card it was. Without that I would have never figured out how."

"Shaolan…"

"Why don't we get back to camp before the others wake up and worry? I think it is morning soon."

"Now I know why it took us out here. Just like in Ellen's story; they were too far to hear the screams."

"I don't trust her!" Li said putting his sword away into the small green ball. "She knows a lot about the cards for a newbie. I've been having dreams about the same dragoon."

Sakura gasped. "Me too! I know she is up to something!"

Li nodded and they headed back to camp. Luckily they knew the way and everyone was still asleep, except Ellen who was grinning coldly at them as they returned. She sat alone on the log near the empty fire pit.

Now the sun was rising and the darkness faded into a bright, new day. They did not need to wait long for the others. Tomoyo came limping out of the tent, her ankle had been twisted.

"Hey Tomoyo, are you okay?" Sakura asked rushing to her side to help her walk.

"It was weird. I had a strange dream. It was as if I was not wanted, like I was being repelled from being near you. You needed help with something but I was held back. I twisted my ankle in the dream and I awoke with a hurting foot!"

Sakura gasped. It was a warning to keep her away from helping her and Li with the curse cards. But they needed as much help as possible! She recalled Ellen saying, "If you spread the word about this dragoon then the unexpected would happen." Sakura now feared Tomoyo might get hurt from the magic of the cards, if she was to learn more about them. The unexpected would happen.

"I don't think I will be able to go with you on the mapping activity today," Tomoyo said slowly. "But I'll be fine!"

Sakura sighed sadly. "I just want you to be okay!" She smiled warmly and stopped as she heard a bell ringing faintly in the distance.

"Breakfast is ready!" Yamazaki said as the ringing came closer.

They left their camp when everyone was ready. Sakura helped Tomoyo walk as Ellen walked far ahead of them at a quickened pace. Clouds began to form but rain did not follow.

They reached the main cabin, and the groups were picked. Sakura was with Li, and she was happy for two reasons: they are really good friends and get a long, and if anything weird happened from the card's magic then he could help her.

They ate first then were given directions. Each group got a map and a whistle. They must search in the woods for aqua ribbons, located on the map. Other teams had different colours. The first one was near their camp, so they headed off there as other teams headed to different places. At first it seemed so simple; it was only tied to a branch. All they had to do was climb the tree and get it. Li pulled out a card but Sakura stopped him. "Li, lets not use any magic unless we must, that is cheating!"

"Fine," he sighed and shoved the card in his pocket.

Sakura offered to get one ribbon that luckily for her was not up too high! She reached the ribbon and tied it around her wrist so it would not slip out of her hands. She then easily headed down, but the thin branch underneath her broke under her weight. Li pulled out an element card ready to catch her with wind if she fell. Sakura gripped the branch tighter and pulled herself onto it. "See, we don't need any magic!" she jumped down beside him and checked the map for the next area.

"It says that the next one is on that island across the lake. I wonder if there is a bridge or if we have to swim," Li said

"Let's go find out!" Sakura started down the rocky side that led down to it.

Li followed her only to find out that they must swim. "I'll get this one, wait here!"

Sakura did as told and sat on a log. The water looked dangerous. The wind was strong creating a lot of waves and the clouds hovered above them looking as if it was going to rain any second. She saw Li swimming fast across the icy water.

Li seemed to disappear under the water for a short time which made Sakura worry. She got up and ran closer to the river side for a better view. She saw him surface and climb onto the land. He was close enough to see and hear.

"Sakura, something is in the water!" Li said grabbing the ribbon and tying it around his wrist like she did.

Sakura looked down into the dark waves but saw nothing. Within seconds, a vine like whip shot out and grabbed Li's arm. Another followed and wrapped around his ankle. A few more shot from the water, grabbing hold of him and wrapping tightly around his neck and waist. The vines dragged him back into the water, and he was engulfed by the powerful waves.

Sakura could not just watch! She pulled out her Sakura cards and used the fly, giving her wings. She dashed to where the vines pulled him but the harsh winds pushed her away! She had to get rid of the wind and waves! If the cards can make things happen, then they can make things go away too. She pulled out the wave and windy cards and ordered them to get rid of the storm! They followed her order and the storm faded away.

She flew out as quickly as she could and stopped as she saw a shadow in the water. She had her staff transformed into her sword so she would be ready for any attack. She saw a splash of water surface as a vine shot up and whipped violently around her ankle. Sakura struggled against the power of the strong grip. She was pulled into the water with a tight tug. She swiped her sword at the vine, breaking free. More shot her way and she slashed at them, but she could not hold on much longer. There were too many and she was soon to run out of air. She had to act fast!

She threw up her staff, but the swift vines had seized her and wrapped tightly around her legs so she could not swim. She could see Li barely, he was tied up and not moving! She hit her staff down and the vines loosened its grip and disappeared as it changed into its card form- the wrap.

Sakura snatched the card and went towards Li and swam up towards the surface. That refreshing breath of air gave her more energy. She climbed onto the land and pulled Li up. He still was not moving. Was he gone? In answer to her thoughts he opened his eyes weakly and started to cough for air.

"Li, are you okay?" Sakura asked even though it was obvious that he was.

He nodded. "Did you catch the card?"

She pulled it out of her pocket. "I want you to have it."

"I can't take it," Li said. "You deserve it. You just saved me!" It sounded weird and he did not want to admit it but he knew well that it was true.

"I know you would do the same for me!"

"Na, I would let you die!" he sarcastically said sitting up.

"Well, we should continue on the search. People may worry if we are late."

"How much more do we need?"

"Well, we need 5 in all so only 3 more," Sakura said studying the map. "They are close, too."

They headed on, but the feeling of someone watching them haunted them along with a card Sakura sensed coming from Li. It never left from when she first sensed it in class. They were coming so quickly! It has only been 3 days and they already had 4 cards. Kero said that there were around 14 cards. But Sakura had a strange feeling that there was a bit more than that.

The other ribbons were found: one on the rock climbing course, one on the path and the other near the entrance. They returned to the cabin. They were not first, but not last! They packed their camping items and brought it back to the cabin where they spent some time playing games indoors because the clouds had never left and it looked like rain was on its way. And it came as predicted. All they could do was wait for their ride home which was a little late because of the gloomy weather.

The trip seemed fun but life threatening for both Li and Sakura! Sakura had her cards with her at all times; she had learned that the cures cards can attack whenever. It was dangerous to travel without them, especially when sensing something this strong.

She moved to an empty area where no one was looking. She was going to use her magic and find out what she was going to face. Kero had taught her to do this when the mirror card was taking action.

"Ancient cards of clow show me vision now," she whispered as she placed the cards in order into 5 piles. "Show me if you may, who is standing in my way."

She flipped over the top card, it was windy. That means the next curse card is a channeler and it knows that they are the captors. She flipped over the 3 middle cards. They were the illusion, change and Libra cards. Illusion makes things seem visible which are not. Change means change; a difference. And Libra means truth and lies. That must mean it is some sort of a trick?

She flipped over the last card to find out what the curse card was after. It was the sword card. She looked at the card confused, then remembered Li's strongest weapon: his sword! Whatever the card was, it was after tricking Li some how.

Sakura hid the cards swiftly as she heard someone approach. She turned around to see Tomoyo. She sighed in relief and moved the cards from behind her back and into her pocket.

"Come on Sakura-chan, the bus is here!"

Sakura followed her out of the cabin and got in line to get on. She was happy to be out of the cold rain and into the warm bus. She spent most of her time admiring the view out of the window. It was too bad that the cards ruined her trip, but they must be captured. It took a long time to get home, but it seemed much faster getting back then getting there.

When they got back to school, it was home time. It was a tough walk in the rain with heavy bags to carry. She was hoping for a ride but her brother had an after school job and her dad had a meeting.

Sakura heard her name being called. It was Li, running up to her. "Sakura, do you sense that?"

It seemed to Sakura that they were sensing things a little too often! She nodded feeling the same card near by. Then she felt something change. She turned to Li who looked as if he had seen a ghost. Sakura turned but saw nothing. "Li, what is it?"

He took a step back as if ready to fight. "You tricked me! Where is Sakura?"

Sakura looked confused. "What are you talking about? I'm right here!"

Li glared at her, backing away slowly. Sakura could feel something wrong. He feared her for some reason. She could see it in his eyes. The cards told her that the next card was to trick Li some how. Now she knew it was to trick him into fearing her!

"Li, it is okay. You may see me as something else but it is only me," Sakura said softly.

"I know who you are!" Li stood firmly. "You are from that dream and from Ellen's story!"

"No, it is me Sakura!" she felt the hope fade away. This would be harder than she thought. How was she to capture this card if she did not even know what it is? What was he seeing?

She thought of the illusion. He saw something that she did not. Then she thought of the Libra card and pulled it out. The moon was lowered as if there was a lie, not the truth. She remembered back to when she captured the change card. They are all a clue.

Then it came to her. She pulled out the change card. She would use it to see what he saw! She held out the key and changed it into her staff and hit the card with it. Her point of view totally changed. She was now in Shaolan's eyes and standing in her spot was a tall dragoon.

It was hard to see perfectly in the rain, but it was not the looks that scared her. It was the evil feeling that crept around her. This was all she needed to know. She switched back to herself and pulled out the illusion card. She would use it like she did with the wind and waves, to rid the illusion he was seeing instead of making an illusion.

She hit her staff onto the star card, and wiped away the spirit that confused them. A blank area hovered to where the illusion card pushed it. Li blinked blankly. He was confused. She did not blame him for thinking that she was someone else. That was it! The confuse card!

"Confuse card, return to your power confined!" Sakura hit down her staff. "Confuse!"

The blank area formed to a card and swooped to her hands. The picture was blank! Maybe it was a mistake, did she catch it? But it was even titled `the confuse'. Then she realized that the picture was blank, just to make it even more difficult.

"What just happened?" Li asked looking at the card then at her. "Another card attacked?"

"I guess. They are coming fast! Keep aware tonight," Sakura said putting the card away.

Li nodded. "I'll walk you home, and it is not that far from here."

Sakura smiled and thanked him.

For the first time in a while she did not sense anything! It was relieving to feel that again after capturing the cards.

When they reached Sakura's house she lent Li an umbrella to walk home with. The streets were empty for some strange reason. Li could feel someone watching him just like before. The eerie feeling followed him. It was if he was being hunted! He would like to believe that the cards were far but a tingle of an evil presence was around. Kero had said before that if a card is hard to sense then it is very strong, or perhaps they were to get a break. He tried to take his mind off of it but failed. His walking became a little quicker, wanting to avoid danger.

A crash caught his attention. Li swiftly turned to it, only seeing a figure hiding in the shadows in the rain. He glared and reached into his pocket, gripping onto his small green ball, ready to change it to his sword if he must. The figure moved slowly closer. It was only Ellen holding something in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Li felt frustrated, he could not use his magic around her if something was to come. He needed to get rid of her somehow.

"I have my reasons." she sounded cold as she always did but something was different about her.

Li turned away but something caught his arm. It stung like a bolt of thunder hit it. His arm felt numb and he dropped Sakura's umbrella. He turned around and saw that Ellen had a whip in her hand! She had it raised as if to use it again! He dogged her attack, holding onto his burning arm.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Li yelled jumping out of the way of another strike. He could just tell that it was not her. Something had her under its control. Where did she get the whip? Maybe that was where the power was coming from. Why had he not sensed it? Was this a card? It was so hard to tell…