Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The Enemy Revealed ❯ Moving Out ( Chapter 4 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Thanks to SR for really helping me out with proofreading this part.

The Enemy Revealed
Chapter 4: Moving Out

"Hmmmmmmm..." Suppi-chan said as the tape stopped playing, holding his head up with his paw. "I must say that you managed to handle yourself in battle, Sakura."

"She was magnificent," Tomoyo gushed as she clapped, causing Sakura to blush. "And she was so brave."

"Tomoyo-chan..." Sakura groaned.

"Touya-kun was also great!" Nakuru declared. "He was so wonderful when he battled those Cybers."

Suppi-chan hovered above Nakuru's lap. "There's a parallel to our situation in here. Namely, like us, your Guardians were defeated easily."

"Hey!" Kero-chan flew into Suppi-chan's face and raised his fist. "If that clown hadn't changed forms, me and Yue would've beaten him!"

"The one who attacked us beat us without changing shape," Nakuru recalled.

"Hoe?" Sakura looked at Nakuru. "You were attacked by another Cyber?"

Nakuru nodded. "He looked like a hunchback, and he had this strange giggle."

"Looks like Psycho isn't the only Master out there," Tomoyo concluded.

"'Master'?" Sakura asked.

"From what I know, I believe the Masters are the highest ranking Cybers, not to mention the most powerful," Tomoyo informed everyone.

"Great. Now we have two Psychos out there," Kero-chan grumbled.

"A good thing we came," Suppi-chan said confidently. "I'm sure we four Guardians can defeat these two Masters if they show up in Tomoeda."

"Yeah!" Kero-chan pumped his fist. "This time we'll be ready for those tin cans!"

"That's correct." Tomoyo pulled out a battle costume. "Sakura-chan, I made this for you yesterday! I'll look so good on you when you fight those evil Cybers again!" she declared excitedly as she thrust the costume into her friend's hands.

Sakura sweatdropped. "Tomoyo-chan..."

Tomoyo clasped her hands together. "Please try it on, Sakura-chan. I know you'll look so kawaii in it."

"Remember, the right clothing will assist you in the psychological battle against your enemy," Kero-chan said merrily. "Go change in the laundry room."

"Hoe..." Sakura sighed and carried the costume to the laundry room.

"Is what he said true?" Nakuru whispered to Suppi-chan.

Suppi-chan sweatdropped. "I guess so, but would you take advice from a video game addict?"

"I heard that!" Kero-chan shouted.

* * * * *

In England, Ready and her friends were on the floor of the restored parlor looking over books that Kaho gave to them as study material. They insisted to her that they would begin their studies at once under Umbriel's supervision while she rested in her room. Ready was dressed in overalls and a yellow shirt with a rainbow-colored pillbox hat sittting on her head. Brandon wore his Shadowwalker cap and black clothes, as usual. Maya wore a yellow shirt and blue jeans. Umbriel stood over them, and their Guardians sat on the coffee table.

"Okay, let me get this straight." Brandon looked into Ready's blue eyes and made sure to keep his voice low. "Umbriel's going to take us to Hong Kong to get this Li guy, then we're going to Japan to help the Cardmistress?"

"That's it," Ready answered.

"That is correct," Umbriel acknowledged.

Brandon scratched his head. "Uh, wouldn't it be easier to just go to Japan without any stops on the way?"

Maya adjusted her glasses. "Considering that we'll need all the help we can get, I hypothesize that Li Syaoran will be willing to come with us."

"And how did you come up with that?" O.G. asked from the middle of the coffee table.

"Obviously you haven't been paying attention to Eriol's stories about the Cardmistress and Li Syaoran," Lupe said with a superior tone. "That's what you get for snacking loudly."

"Stop picking on me!" O.G. cried.

"Ssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Pegasus Uni warned, putting one hoof to her mouth. "Do you want to disturb Miss Mizuki?"

"Sorry," O.G. whispered.

"Oh, yeah," Brandon recalled, snapping his fingers. "Eriol mentioned that Sa-KOOH-ra and Showron were in love with each other."

"You're pronouncing their names incorrectly," Maya told the young Shadowwalker.

"Huh?" Brandon blinked.

"The first syllable in Sakura is stressed more, and it's Syaoran, not Showron," Maya corrected.

"A rose by any other name smells just as sweet." Brandon shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"Only if you want to offend them," Ready said. "At least you can differentiate between Syaoran's first name and last name." She turned to Maya. "I can't believe Syaoran tried to take the Clow Cards from Sakura."

"They were initially rivals," Maya said matter-of-factly. "Gradually, they worked together in capturing the cards..."

"And Syaoran fell in love with Sakura." Ready's mind conjured romantic images of the Cardmistress and the Chinese magician. "Then Sakura fell in love with him. It's so romantic," she said, her eyes shining.

"It wasn't that simple," Maya interjected. "According to Eriol, it took Syaoran a while to admit his feelings to Sakura, and only after the capture of the final Clow Card did she confess hers."

"Didn't Eriol call her about the card?" Lupe asked.

"I believe so," Pegasus Uni said. "I think we arrived in England around that time, right, Ready?"

"That's right," Ready confirmed. "While we were out training, the final Clow Card was sealed and claimed by Sakura..."

"Avalon," Brandon said suddenly.

"No! Kinomoto. That's Sakura's last name. Kinomoto." Ready looked at her friend, who was skimming a large volume.

"Huh?" Brandon looked up from his book. Noticing how Ready was staring at him, he quickly explained himself. "Um, I was just reading a little on King Arthur. I saw the word 'Avalon,' and I said it because it sounded cool."

Maya shook her head. "Not exactly a Japanese name."

"I didn't say it was," Brandon said. "Only an idiot would think that."

Umbriel listened carefully. "I believe she is sleeping."

"Are you sure?" Ready asked.

Umbriel nodded. "We must go now."

"Finally." Brandon slammed his book, which earned him stares from everyone else.

"Ssssssssshhhhhh," everyone warned.

"Sor-ry," Brandon whispered.

Ready took out a note she wrote for Kaho and placed it on the pile of books. Everyone got up from the floor and picked up their Guardians. Umbriel walked up to them and changed into his true form. "You are all ready?"

Ready nodded. "We are."

"Hong Kong, here we come," Brandon remarked.

"And then Japan," Maya added.

Umbriel concentrated. The young magicians with their Guardians and the Darkling started to glow a blue light. Soon a blue flash engulfed the room. When it faded, everyone was gone.

Upstairs, Kaho rose from her bed. Sensing something, she rushed down the steps and found the parlor empty. "Oh no," she said, realizing what happened. Walking to the pile of books, she found the note and read the following:

Dear Miss Mizuki,

I'm sorry to leave without your permission, but the Cardmistress and Eriol need our help. Please don't be mad at Umbriel. Everything was my idea. We're going to Hong Kong to get Li Syaoran, and then we're going to Japan. Don't worry. We'll bring back Eriol, and you'll be happy again.

Love,
Ready

Looking around the empty space, Kaho smiled and shook her head. "Your parents were right about you, Ready-chan. Good luck."

* * * * *

The people in Tokyo Tower did their best to keep calm as they watched the surrounding Windows depict the slaughter and destruction below. Those with little children tried to assure them that everything would be all right.

Hacker watched the humans from a distance. After the four Masters launched their attack on the city, they made the tower their base of operations and took all the visitors hostage. They were being guarded by Altrons armed by laser rifles.

"You know, we should've killed them," Techno told the swordsman with an evil giggle. "They're dead weight. We don't need them."

"Yeah. Why are we keeping them around, anyway?" Cracker asked, eyeing the people as if they were livestock about to be slaughtered.

Hacker faced his fellow Masters. "Because the Self-Defense Force will figure out this tower is the nexus of our attack and head towards here. If we have prisoners, they will not attack."

Techno giggled. "If they could get past our forces. Our Cybers are doing a good job at keeping them away."

Above them, Psycho hovered and sang as he spun around. "Tokyo is blowing up, blowing up, blowing up! Tokyo is blowing up!" He stopped spinning and clinched his claws into fists. "Where's the Cardmistress?" he finished with a mix of anger, impatience, and frustration in his voice. His beady red eyes burned with rage.

"Getting impatient, Psycho?" Hacker asked, sounding almost snide.

Psycho waved his arms wildly in the air. "Here we are blowing up Tokyo, and Little Miss Pinky hasn't shown up yet!" He lowered himself to the floor. "What do I have to do? Send her an engraved invitation? You know, say 'Hi, we're blowing up Tokyo and we'd like for you to come or else'?"

"I told you we should have gone to Tomoeda instead of putting on this little theatrical number of yours." Hacker watched as Altrons mowed down Japanese soliders and civilians on a Window. He observed more scenes of violence throughout the city. "I'm surprised you didn't employ any of our more powerful weaponry."

Psycho shrugged. "Hey, I'm trying to get the kid's attention. If I used anything like Files and Buses, this city would be destroyed too quickly." He grinned malevolently. "I want her to have a little glimmer of hope before I snuff out all human life in this city and take her magical objects. That'll be a good laugh."

"I'm sure," Hacker said, eyeing Psycho coldly.

"Sooner or later, she'll have to show up, and when she does..." Cracker punched his open palm. "We'll be ready for her."

Techno giggled loudly. "Yes. When she comes..." A large hammer appeared in his hands. "I'll break her bones into powder!" Giggling even louder, he swung his hammer onto the floor, causing pieces of tile to break off.

Hacker watched as his fellow Masters laughed at the vision of the Cardmistress being defeated by them. His focus turned to the various Windows depicting the Cybers' attack. "For the city's sake, Cardmistress, you had better come," the swordsman commented in a low voice.

* * * * *

"Sakura-chan, you look so kawaii!" Tomoyo exclaimed upon seeing her best friend in the battle costume.

"Lookin' good," Kero-chan agreed.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, you do look so kawaii!" Nakuru chimed in, smiling.

Suppi-chan looked Sakura over. "Um, you look...visuallly interesting."

"Hoe." The Cardmistress sweatdropped. Tomoyo's latest battle costume was a blue dome dress with red shoulder pads. Red gloves and boots were padded for safety. A red bow kept the matching cape on her. A red futuristic helmet with side antennae completed the outfit. A yellow star was present on the front of the outfit and the helmet.

Tomoyo grabbed her camcorder and captured Sakura on tape as she flexed her fingers. "Sakura-chan, you're missing one more piece."

Sakura sighed and pulled out a red eye mask with a yellow star between the eyeholes. "Only for you, Tomoyo-chan," she said as she donned the mask.

Tomoyo smiled gently. "Much better. Now you look mysterious."

"All right!" Kero-chan exclaimed as he shot up into the air. "Now you look like a superheroine!"

"That's one person's opinion," Suppi-chan whispered to Nakuru.

"Oh, Suppi-chan! Sakura-chan looks terrific!" Nakuru disagreed.

"Who's Suppi-chan?" the dark cat asked, blinking.

Sakura walked over to her friends. Despite all the padding, she was able to move normally. "Um, can we take it off now?" she asked her best friend.

"Nonsense!" Kero-chan interjected. "You have to be prepared when the Cybers and the User show up."

"But maybe they won't come today," Sakura said meekly.

"You still have to be prepared," Kero-chan declared. "Now show us those poses we taught you." The Sun Guardian started performing various poses he saw on magical girl shows.

"Go, Sakura-chan, go!" Tomoyo said encouragingly, still filming.

"Hoe!" Sakura groaned.

Suppi-chan and Nakuru sweatdropped. "I believe I'll check what's on TV," Nakuru said. She found the remote control and turned the TV on. The first sight that appeared on screen was a car exploding.

"Hmmmm...must be an action movie," Nakuru commented as she changed the channel. The sight of Deleters rushing after people greeted her. "Um, everyone..."

Sakura was next to see the TV. Soon everyone watched as footage of attacking Cybers and exploding cars and buildings played on the screen. "Those are..."

"It's the Cybers!" Kero-chan shouted. "They're back!"

A desk reporter, a middle-aged man in a tie and suit, appeared. "This footage was taken only about two hours ago. Apparently a horde of robots has appeared in Tokyo and are currently destroying everything in their path. The Self-Defense Force has been called in to help evacuate the citizenry and drive back the invaders. However, it seems that..."

Nakuru flipped the channel and found another reporter covering the same story. Channel afer channel was covering the Cyber attack in Tokyo. "Oh, dear..."

"...the death rate has risen rapidly as these strange mechanical beings continue their rampage throughout the city," another reporter stated over footage of bodies in the streets. "People are still fleeing their homes to escape the destruction, but..."

"No. Those poor people..." Sakura whispered. *It's my fault. They died because of me...*

Kero-chan stomped on the remote's power button, causing the TV to return to silent darkness. "It's time for Cardmistress Sakura!" the winged lion declared, pointing to the Cardmistress.

Nakuru and Suppi-chan got up. "We must stop the Cybers from destroying Tokyo," the winged cat said. Nakuru nodded in agreement.

The dead bodies were still in Sakura's mind. She recalled the images of men and women, children and adults; all were never to rise again. *All because of me* Her eyes narrowed with anger at the thought of the Cybers' evil and their victims. "Hai. We need to save the people," she said softly. *I won't let anyone else die because of me.*

"Yeah! Okay!" With that, Kero-chan transformed into his true form, the golden-eyed Kerberos. "Let's kick Cyber butt," he growled.

Nakuru and Suppi-chan returned to their true forms, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun. "We will help you, Sakura," Spinel Sun told the Cardmistress. "We will serve as your Guardians until we find Eriol."

"Arigato," Sakura said to them. She realized something. "Wait! Shouldn't we tell Yue-san?"

"I think he'll join us there," Kerberos assured her. "Now let's go save Tokyo!"

Tomoyo got ready to leave, but Sakura faced her. "No, Tomoyo-chan. You have to stay here."

"Sakura-chan..."

"Please stay here," Sakura pleaded. "I don't want you to die."

"But I want to film your bravery while you're fighting the Cybers..."

"Tomoyo-chan, please..."

"Sakura-chan, why are you being so reluctant to let me come with you? I'll be fine because you're Sakura-chan, the possesser of the invincible spell," Tomoyo said, beaming.

The Cardmistress knew that her friend was willing to go through any danger with her, but the dead people were still in her mind. Sakura took out her Star Key, and her magic circle appeared below her. "Release!" she cried, transforming the key into the Star Wand. She pulled out a Sakura Card.

"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo stared at the card and recognized it.

"I'm sorry, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said softly. "Sleep!"

Tomoyo felt her eyelids becoming heavy as the Sleep Card worked its magic on her. Her limbs slowly lost their feeling. "Sakura-chan, why...?" she muttered before she fell to the floor. Ruby Moon caught her in time and laid her on the couch.

"You did the right thing," Ruby Moon said to Sakura. "I'm sure she'll understand."

Sakura looked at her sleeping friend, then bent down next to her. She did not want to do it, but she wanted Tomoyo to be safe. "I'll make it up to you later," she whispered into Tomoyo's ear. Rising, she faced the Guardians. "Let's go."

Sakura and the Guardians left the sleeping Tomoyo, knowing she would awaken later. Once outside, Sakura mounted Kerberos and took off into the sky. Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun followed suit. As they flew towards Tokyo, Sakura thought, *I won't let anyone else die because of me.*