Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The Enemy Revealed ❯ Nightfall ( Epilogue )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Enemy Revealed
Epilogue: Nightfall

As Sakura and Syaoran continued to hold each other, their friends began to stir. Shaking off the Kaizer's previous use of Syaoran as a wrecking ball, Eriol used his Sun Staff to lift himself off the ground. Upon seeing Sakura and Syaoran together, Eriol broke into a small smile despite the aches he was feeling all over his body. Blinking, Meiling got off Tomoyo and Maya after regaining her senses. Seeing their eyes flutter open, Meiling knelt besides them. Maya was the first to rise, and Tomoyo fully regained consciousness when she felt the hard surface of her camcorder next to her.

"Well, that...hurt," Maya remarked as she rubbed her head.

Tomoyo looked at Meiling. "Did Sakura-chan...win?"

Meiling looked at Sakura, who was still hugging Syaoran. "She did," she said, smiling at the sight.

Eriol shifted his gaze from the young couple to the others. Feeling sore, Ready was lifting herself off the ground with her Starlighter Staff. Seeing Brandon, she made her way towards him just as he was coming back to his senses.

"Need a hand?" the young Starlighter asked, offering hers to her ex-enemy.

Blinking, Brandon soon shifted to blushing. Nevertheless, his own hand shot out to Ready's, and he was pulled up. Eriol smiled as Brandon was back on his feet, his face almost as red as Ready's hair. He kept his gaze in the opposite direction, hoping his face would regain its normal color.

"Still alive there?" Ready asked half-jokingly.

"Er, yeah," Brandon said, still looking away.

The Guardians also recovered gradually. The now human Yukito and Nakuru winced a little from being trounced by the Kaizer. Nursing his arm, Umbriel sat right up and examined his surroundings. He said nothing as he watched Ready help Brandon up. Grumbling, Kero-chan got up and checked each of his wings by flapping it. "Lousy evil kid," he said. "Guy needs a good..." He stopped when he saw Sakura and Syaoran together, and steam started shooting out of his ears. "Why that kid..." he began, his little paws balling into fists as he willed himself to change. "I'm gonna really..."

"Kerberos!"

Before he could try to transform into his true form, Kero-chan felt something leapt at him from behind. Two gray arms wrapped themselves around his chest, and Lupe's head appeared on his shoulder. "Nani?" the Sun Guardian exclaimed.

"I'm so glad you're all right!" Lupe said, beaming and blushing brightly. Her hold on Kero-chan tightened, and all the Sun Guardian could do was gasp in response.

Conscious, Suppi-chan smiled as Kero-chan tried to fly out of Lupe's grip. He managed a small chuckle as his counterpart's eyes bugged out under the pressure. "Poor Kerberos," he said with amusement. His enjoyment of Kero-chan's little plight ended when he found himself being lifted from the ground and being hugged tightly by someone.

"You're all right, Suppi-chan!" Nakuru said excitedly as she hugged him to her chest. He tried to say "Let me go!", but it came out muffled.

"Oy," O.G. remarked upon seeing Lupe glomp Kero-chan, his eyes rolling skyward behind his shades. Besides him, Pegasus Uni shook her head.

"Oh my," Yukito remarked, rubbing his head as he surveyed the destruction around him. Seeing Sakura and Syaoran together, he smiled.

Hearing everyone, Sakura looked at her friends while still holding on to Syaoran. "Minna, you're all right!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

All eyes were on Tomoyo. "What's wrong, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked her friend.

"My camera!" Tomoyo held the broken camcorder in her hands. "All that beautiful footage of you is ruined, Sakura-chan."

Sakura sweatdropped, and everyone else tried their best not to face fault. Maya looked at the damaged camcorder over Tomoyo's shoulder. "Hmmmmm...I think the footage is salvagable. With my tools, I could probably recover it and even fix your camera."

"You can?" Tomoyo said happily.

"Or you can use some magic," Brandon remarked loudly. "We are magicians, you know."

"At least some of us are," Syaoran muttered to himself.

Brandon's ears picked up the insult. "What did you say, Greenbean?"

The young Shadowwalker tried to rush out and tackle Syaoran, but Ready kept him back. "Cool it!" she warned, getting him into a headlock.

"Lemme at him, lemme at him!" Brandon yelled.

Eriol sighed as Brandon struggled in vain to break free of his friend's grip. Meiling grinned at Tomoyo and Maya, who grinned back in return.

"It's over, Sakura," Syaoran told her. "You did it. You saved us all."

"I had help," Sakura said, holding up Hope and Light.

Still smothering Suppi-chan, Nakuru ran up to her master. "Eriol!" she called.

Breaking free, Suppi-chan flew up to Eriol and looked him over. "You look okay," he commented.

"Well, I will be when we get home," Eriol said.

"Kaho will be happy to see you," Nakuru said cheerfully.

Eriol bowed his head, and both of his Guardians swore his cheeks were reddening. "Yes, I suppose she will."

Despite being occupied with restraining her Shadowwalker friend, Ready managed a smile as she watched Eriol. "She will be, Eriol!" she shouted, making him blush even more.

Putting Hope and Light away, Sakura turned away from Syaoran and looked skyward. "It's too bad that we couldn't save Kaizer Cyberon."

Brandon stopped struggling. "What? You feel sorry for that...that...that maniac?" He got out of Ready's grip. "He nearly killed us!"

"He was just a kid like us," Sakura said. "I wish we could've found out who he was."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Syaoran said calmly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "No one could have survived that blast."

"Don't be too sure, Mr. Li."

The voice had come out of nowhere. Syaoran assumed a defensive position in front of Sakura, who was joined by Tomoyo and Meiling. To Kero-chan's relief, Lupe had let go of him and returned to the side of her mistress. Pegasus Uni and Umbriel joined Ready, and O.G. returned to Brandon's side. Kero-chan and Yukito quickly joined Sakura and Syaoran. Nakuru and Suppi-chan stayed very close to Eriol. Although they still felt too weak to transform, the Guardians stayed close to their charges. Everyone scanned the area for the speaker.

"Oh, come on!" Brandon said, brandishing his Shadowwalker Rod. "It can't be..."

"Syaoran-kun, it's..." Sakura began.

"Show yourself!" Syaoran yelled, keeping his sword out. Umbriel drew out his own weapon and guarded Ready closely. The other Guardians prepared themselves for trouble.

A slow chuckle grew louder and developed into laughter. As it got louder, the armor-clad figure of Kaizer Cyberon materialized above them. To the onlookers, it seemed that he did not have a scratch on him.

"Hhhhooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Sakura screamed.

"What is this?" Meiling said in disbelief. "You're supposed to be dead!"

His arms folded over his chest, the Kaizer grinned malevolently. "Did you think you bugs could kill me that easily? My power is far superior to yours!" he answered in a booming voice.

"Superior?" Kero-chan glared at the Kaizer. "Sakura destroyed your overgrown statue!"

"But she failed to kill me," Kaizer Cyberon said coldly. "That proves her weakness."

"My weakness?" Sakura said.

"It seems this has been a waste of time for me," the Kaizer commented. "I spent too much of my resources on such a weak little girl."

"Sakura's not weak!" Syaoran yelled, thinking of sending a few lightning bolts the Kaizer's way.

"Oh, but she is," Kaizer Cyberon said. "She couldn't save the people of Tokyo from my Cybers, she doesn't have the energy to fight me, and I doubt any of you has the power to challenge me. I could easily wipe you all out."

*The people?* Sakura glanced at her surroundings.

"Then why don't you?" Ready demanded.

The Kaizer smirked. "Because that would be a bigger waste of my time, and I have more important things to do."

"More important things to do?" Sakura wondered.

The blue egg design on his crown glowing brightly, Kaizer Cyberon raised his arm. "Nightfall!"

The Kaizer vanished, and a giant dark shape appeared above the city. It seemed to dominate the sky, and Tokyo Tower was dwarfed by it. A demonic mouth and eyes emitted red light through the darkness.

"Is it another Cyber?" Meiling wondered.

"Hhhhhooeeeeee..." Sakura said softly, staring at the dark shape. Syaoran stayed very close to her.

Slowly, more of the object's features became visible. The face was on a platform with four massive cylinders shooting out from an upside down dome located on its bottom. One spike shot out of each side of the dome. On top of the platform sat a castle with four turrets. Each tower had a skull with a cone on its top and a claw grasping onto the platform at its foot. A skull was located where the gate should have been. A dome designed like a human brain with a spearhead shooting out of it sat atop the structure located within the main wall. Each side of the castle had a gate and two flat, slanted triangles pointing out of it.

"What the hell is that?" Kero-chan said.

"Eriol, what is that thing?" Nakuru asked anxiously.

"My ex-prison," Eriol answered, his eyes never leaving the sight of the massive structure hovering above Tokyo.

Kaizer Cyberon reappeared in front of the central skull; he was half the size of one of the skull's eyes. Despite being a speck in the eyes of the onlookers below, his voice still reached their ears. "Cyber Fortress Nightfall," he said. "It has enough firepower to turn Japan into a block of scorched earth. A mere thought from me, and I can make that a reality."

Just as the last word left the Kaizer's lips, the gates opened, and two giant Worms shot out. Syaoran got even closer to Sakura, who was trembling at the sight of the monstrous Cybers. She honestly thought they would leap down to earth and begin attacking. Instead, they stayed on Nightfall and curled their bodies menacingly in the air while hissing and exposing their enormous fangs.

*That feeling,* the young Cardmistress thought. *It's stronger now...*

"However," the Kaizer continued. "I must move on. I need all of them to usher in the beautiful night, and I've wasted time here. Keep your precious Cards and Key for now, Cardmistress, but if you interfere with my plans, I'll make you and all you hold dear suffer."

*All of them?* Sakura thought. Then, the question she wanted to ask escaped her lips. "What is this beautiful night? What are you after?"

Kaizer Cyberon grinned. "You'll find out soon. Very soon."

Breaking into evil laughter, the Kaizer vanished, leaving Nightfall to be viewed by Sakura-tachi. Soon, the massive fortress began to fade away, and a minute later, it was gone.

Silence dominated the city until Ready addressed Eriol. "Shouldn't we be going after him? You know, stop him from whatever he's going to do?"

"Yeah. It's not like he'll be hard to miss in that thing," Brandon agreed.

"Let's bust 'em up!" O.G. yelled enthusiastically, waving his fist in the air.

"Let's go get them!" Meiling added.

Eriol bowed his head and closed his eyes. "It would be impossible to track down Nightfall."

"Impossible?" Kero-chan looked at Eriol in disbelief. "Did you look at the size of that thing? It sticks out so easily!" He looked at Sakura. "Hey, what do you think, Sakura?" Not getting any response from her, he asked again. "Sakura?"

Sakura was staring at the space which once held Nightfall. Although it was no longer in the sky, she still saw it with its skulls and giant Worms. She still heard the Kaizer's laughter echoing throughout the city. Then her thoughts shifted to the devastation around her. Her eyes went from the sky to the ground, and she found herself searching for the dead. During the battle with the Cybers, she had forgotten to check if there were any bodies lying around or buried in the rubble. She thought of the bodies she might have passed by without knowing and how many there were. Only the feeling of a hand on her shoulder snapped her out of it.

"Sakura?" Syaoran asked softly.

Sakura turned around and looked into Syaoran's brown eyes. For a second, neither of them moved. Finally, tears began falling from her green eyes, and she leaned against his shoulder. Syaoran felt the fabric there moisten with her tears, and her sobs increased in volume. All calls for a pursuit of Nightfall were thrown into the others' minds as they silently watched Syaoran hug Sakura tightly and heard her sobbing.