Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The Funhouse ❯ A Guardian Falls ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Funhouse
Chapter 1: A Guardian Falls

Lying on her bed, Sakura sighed. "Is it really over?" she asked, looking through her deck of Sakura Cards. She smiled as she looked at Windy, her first card, and Fly, her first capture.

"Huh?" Kero-chan paused his game and flew over to Sakura. "What's really over?"

Sakura looked at the Osaka dialect-speaking, small winged lion who was her Sun Guardian. "The cardcaptoring, Kero-chan."

"Well, you caught all the Clow Cards and converted them to Sakura Cards," Kero-chan pointed out.

"Are you sure we got them all?" Sakura asked. "We did miss that last one Clow-san left behind, and it caused a lot of trouble before we captured it."

"I'm sure we caught them all," Kero-chan said confidently. He saw the downcast look on his mistress and friend. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

Sakura sighed. "It's just that after all we've been through, I can't believe it's all over. Nothing weird has happened around here recently."

"And that's a bad thing?" Kero-chan wondered. "After all, at the beginning, you felt you were tricked into becoming a Cardcaptor."

"True, but it was quite an adventure," Sakura admitted. "If I hadn't become a Cardcaptor, I would've have been able to meet Syaoran-kun."

"Oh, so this is about the gaki," Kero-chan said. He still nursed a little grudge against Syaoran despite his closeness with Sakura. Being called a "stuffed animal" did not sit well with the Guardian Beast.

"It's not just that," Sakura said. "I mean, I have all the Clow Cards and transformed them into Sakura Cards with my Star Magic. What else is there for me to do?"

Kero-chan flew up to Sakura's face. "Maybe you can be a superhero like on TV!" he told her excitedly.

Sakura sweatdropped. "Kero-chan..."

"Yeah!" Kero-chan shouted, caught up in the moment. "I mean, you can thwart bad guys with the Sakura Cards! Plus, you can do all kinds of cool poses." Hovering in the air, he proceeded to perform a number of poses he remembered from TV.

"Uh, I think I'll stick to being normal," Sakura said, trying not to laugh at Kero-chan as he stretched his arms and bent his body in various positions.

Kero-chan stopped. "Aw, too bad, Sakura. You would've been great."

"Sorry, Kero-chan, but my magic-using days are over." Sakura took the Star Key and the Sakura Cards and walked towards her desk. Opening a drawer, she placed them inside, then closed it and a part of her life. *Now I can live a normal life. No more magic.*

"Sakura-san! Dinner!" Kinomoto Fujitaka called from downstairs.

"Coming!" she called back. "You know, Kero-chan, you can join us since oniichan knows about you."

"No can do. I'm not sure if your dad can accept a tiny talking lion at the dinner table. Besides, I have to finish my game," Kero-chan commented. "Just bring me dessert, okay?"

Sakura nodded, then went downstairs and found Fujitaka at the table with Touya and Yukito. She was not surprised at the sudden appearance of the bespectacled young man. Yukito spent more time at the Kinomoto residence than at his own home.

"Hello, Sakura-chan," Yukito greeted. "I hope you don't mind me staying for dinner."

"Not at all," Sakura responded cheerfully.

"Hello, kaiiju," Touya teased.

Sakura gave him a dirty look and stomped on his foot, but she knew her older brother cared about her. She took her place at the table.

"I hope you like tonight's meal, Yukito-san," Fujitaka said.

"Yuki likes all food," Touya remarked. "He's a bottomless pit."

Sakura laughed a little. *It's true. Yukito-san loves food a lot,* she thought.

As they ate, Sakura looked at her brother and his best friend. She remembered how she was attracted to Yukito. Now she saw him as another big brother. She had admitted her feelings to Yukito, but he said her feelings for him were the same as her love for her father. He admitted Touya was his special one. As she watched them eat and talk, Sakura agreed with that sentiment.

Touya noticed "What are you staring at, kaiiju?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," Sakura said, smiling as she returned to her dinner.

After dinner was done and everyone digested, Yukito got up to leave. "I'd better head home. It's getting late."

"Would you like me to walk with you home, Yuki?" Touya asked.

Yukito smiled. "No, don't trouble yourself, Toya. I'll be fine. We're in a safe neighborhood."

"You're right," Touya said in agreement. "After all, what can happen?"

* * * * *

Yukito arrived at his home. He was about to put his books away when he heard someone speak. "Yukito Tsukishiro, I presume?"

Yukito looked up and saw a dark shape hovering above him. An officer's cap sat on its head. Yukito noted it resembled a ghost, and a mechanical one at that. "Nani? Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded.

The creature looked at the bespectacled teen-ager. "We want you, Moon Guardian."

"'We?'"

Suddenly, more creatures appeared. Some looked like the first one, with black bodies and yellow eyes. The others had a white color and faces with two circular eyes and a mouth.

"Surrender!" the leader declared. "You are no match for us!" The creatures surrounded Yukito, ready to attack.

Yukito eyed these strange beings, then quickly transformed into a winged figure in Eastern clothing with long white hair. He glared at the enemy, who stared at the new form. Yukito was no longer present. In his place stood Yue, Sakura's Moon Guardian. "So you think you're a match for me?" he said, amused at the leader's bravado.

"Blast it! He transformed!" the leader shouted. Overcoming his surprise, he pointed at his intended captive. "Ghosts, Shades, fire!"

The creatures raised their arms and fired energy blasts. Yue jumped over the fire and allowed some of his enemies to be hit by the crossfire. As they disintegrated, he landed behind them and fired arrows, destroying more of them.

The Ghosts and Shades fled to their leader, who was furious. His yellow eyes glowed with anger. A Ghost wearing a helmet approached the leader. "Um, Commander, he's destroying us! What should we do?"

"You call yourself a Supervisor?" the leader snarled to his subordinate. "Get him!"

The Supervisor took aim at Yue and fired. The shot missed and Yue responded by vaporizing the Supervisor with a barrage of crystals. The other Ghosts and Shades fired on him and managed to hit their mark.

"Keep firing!" Commander Shade ordered. "Keep him pinned down so he can't fly!"

Some Ghosts floated behind Yue and fired at his wings. Yue was thrown forward, then backward. "Enough of this!" he yelled before spinning around at superspeed. The resulting vortex knocked his attackers down.

"I need more room to fight," Yue told himself as the Ghosts and Shades struggled to get up from the floor. He spread his wings and flew upward through the roof. Once there, he looked for more enemies. Seeing nothing, he rested. He still felt the stings of the first attack.

That proved to be a strategic error, for he was suddenly hit from behind. Yue turned around and saw a Ghost appear behind him. As he kept his focus on this enemy, he was shot again from the front. He turned and saw a Shade. Soon, more of the creatures appeared in the sky.

Yue heard a laugh. He saw Commander Shade and his troops from the house appear with their comrades. "Thank you for flying into our trap, Moon Guardian," Commander Shade said before his troops fired on Yue again.

Yue dodged this new attack and fired crystals from his hands, destroying some of his enemies. Unfortunately, more of them appeared and kept firing on him. Yue crossed his wings in front of him for added protection. It was a futile move since he was being hit from behind as well.

"Give up! You can't win!" Commander Shade shouted.

Frustrated, Yue began firing arrows randomly at the Ghosts and Shades. His shots proved to be accurate; his targets disintegrated quickly, and their number was dramatically reduced.

"Care to rethink that statement?" Yue said with a cold grin before firing crystals on the Commander.

Commander Shade dodged Yue's crystals, which hit two Ghosts. He snarled and aimed his arm at Yue. "Shadow Spike!" he shouted, launching a spike-shaped projectile. It hit him, releasing a dark fog.

Yue tried to look past the darkness enveloping him. He continued to fire at the enemy and managed to take out more of them. They returned fire, their shots occasionally hitting him. While returning fire, Yue failed to notice something appear behind him. He heard a hissing sound. Before he could react, it leapt on him and wrapped itself tightly around him.

"Aaaaaaaaaa!" Yue felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. His captor had bitten him. A cobra head appeared in front of his eyes. Like the Ghosts and Shades, it looked mechanical. It hissed loudly, as if daring the Moon Guardian to break free of its grasp. Yue felt the snake's body tighten around his body. He struggled, but the serpent's grip was too strong. *How?* he thought, feeling dizzy. He realized the bite was venomous. He felt a burning sensation in his body. He thought, *I am a creation of Clow Read. How can this...?*

Yue could not complete his thought. The venom took its effect, and the Moon Guardian collapsed to the floor, unconscious. The snake hissed its victory, tightening its grip. Its mouth opened, revealing the fangs that brought down its victim.

As the darkness faded away, the remaining Ghosts and Shades surrounded the fallen Guardian. "Worm, don't kill the Guardian yet," Commander Shade ordered just as the snake was about to bite Yue again. "After all, the Master prefers live bait."

The Worm hissed and closed its mouth. It tightened its hold around Yue.

"Let's go!" Commander Shade shouted to his troops, satisfied his Master's order was carried out. The Moon Guardian was his now.

A portal opened below Yue and his captor. Both descended into it followed by the remaining Ghosts and Shades. It vanished, leaving a quiet, empty house.