Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The Funhouse ❯ Nightmare Illusion ( Chapter 8 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Funhouse
Chapter 8: Nightmare Illusion

"Sakura!" Yue cried out as Sakura was enveloped by the dark cloud. To his relief, it vanished after a few seconds.

Psycho laughed. "Now I'm gonna have some fun." He looked at the screen. "Okay, now!"

Sakura blinked, noticed the darkness was gone, then picked herself up. "W-w-what was that?" Then she heard a noise from behind her. She turned around and saw something come out of the mirror. Her eyes widened. It was her. More accurately, it was the reflection of her from the mirror, the teen-age version of herself.

"W-what's going on?" Sakura asked, trembling.

She watched as more images stepped out of the mirrors. She saw copies of herself, herself as the crone, the wavy Sakura, the fat Sakura, and the thin Sakura. They surrounded her.

"What are you?" she asked the images.

All of them smiled, then started to change shape. They transformed into ghosts with black eyes and sharptoothed mouths.

"G-g-ghosts!" Sakura gasped, her eyes open with fear. She looked for a way out, but she was surrounded. She was trapped.

"You can't escape from us," a ghost said in an eerie voice.

"No, you can't," another said.

"You'll keep us company..." one started.

"For eternity!" another finished.

"That is, if we don't eat you first!" another said gleefully.

Sakura was petrified as the ghosts moved in closer. "Get away from me!" she yelled.

"Mistress, help me!" someone shouted.

Sakura watched as someone appeared before her. She stared at the figure, who was bound with glowing ropes. He looked haggard. "Yue-san?"

"Please help me," Yue begged.

"I'm coming, Yue-san!" Sakura shouted.

"But you'll have to go through us," the ghosts said in unison as they circled Sakura. "And you can't hurt ghosts, remember?"

"Mistress!" Yue shouted.

"Yue-san!" Sakura shouted.

Yue sighed. "Just like before. You couldn't save me before."

"W-what?" Sakura said.

"I was fading away because your power wasn't strong enough to support my existence," Yue reminded her. "Your brother had to give up his ability to see ghosts to save me and Yukito. As a result, he became weak. Just like you."

"Yue-san, what are you being so mean?" Sakura asked with tears forming in her eyes.

"Because it's true, girl," a ghost said. "You couldn't save him, so your brother risked his life to do so. It's your fault your brother was weak afterwards."

"Your fault! Your fault!" the other ghosts repeated.

Sakura bowed her head and reflected on that moment. "It's true," she sniffed, her tears starting to fall. "If I were stronger, oniichan wouldn't have had to risk his life for Yue-san and Yukito-san."

"You're totally useless!" someone cried out.

Sakura raised her head and saw a boy dressed in green Chinese traditional clothing. "S-S-Syaoran-kun?"

Syaoran marched up to Sakura. "You were lucky, Sakura. I'm more skilled at magic than you, yet Clow Read chose you as his heir. I guess he was drunk at the time because if he knew what a weak little girl you really were, he wouldn't have chosen you."

"Syaoran-kun, please stop..."

"I was the one who saved you on so many occasions," Syaoran said. "You wouldn't have all the Cards if I hadn't shown up. You're worthless."

Tears overflowed from Sakura's eyes. "Syaoran-kun, please. What's happened to you? Don't you care about me?"

Syaoran laughed cruelly. "Why should I care about a weak little girl like you? You're not worthy of being the Cardmistress!"

Sakura sniffed. *Why, Syaoran-kun?* She cried, unable to hold back her tears.

"There's only one way to solve everything," Syaoran said.

"Wh-what?" Sakura said, wiping away her tears.

Syaoran stretched out his hand. "Give me the Sakura Cards and the Star Key," he demanded.

* * * * *

Kerberos struggled with Altron and Shifter, but their grip were too tight. Touya tried to break out of Cap's strong grip, but could not. Tomoyo watched everything, not sure what to do.

Insert gazed upon the fallen Kerberos. "Well, let's end this." He turned to Controller. "What do you think, Programmer?"

"Finish them off," Controller said.

"With pleasure," Cap said, still holding Touya.

"Time for the grand finale," Insert said. He bowed and aimed his back missile launcher at Kerberos. "One kitty cat blown to pieces coming up!"

Kerberos growled and struggled harder. Altron and Shifter responded by tightening their grip. Cap looked thoughtfully at his captive. "You know, I'd like to see you blown to pieces," he told Touya. He tossed him hard onto Kerberos, knocking the wind out of him.

Altron and Shifter released their hold on Kerberos. Insert got ready to fire at Kerberos and Touya. "Okay, ready..." he said.

Tomoyo watched all this with uneasiness. *I have to do something.*

"Aim..."

A good-sounding idea came to Tomoyo. *I hope it works.*

"Fi..."

"Matte!"

Insert stopped and looked at Tomoyo, who was running towards them. "What do you want? We'll kill you after we're through with these guys."

"Yeah, wait your turn," Shifter said.

Tomoyo examined the scene. "But you're all out of place."

"What?" Cap said.

"What are talking about?" Altron said.

"This scene just doesn't look right," Tomoyo said. She started pointing at places. "I think Cap should stand there because he has a big presence."

"Really?" Cap said, pointing to himself. "Me?"

"That's right," Tomoyo said. "Stand over there behind Kerberos and Touya. Come to think of it, you guys don't look too menacing enough. Too bad I didn't bring any more costumes. They could've helped. Can you do scary noises?"

"Scary noises?" Insert asked. "What are you talking about?"

*What is she doing?* Touya wondered.

Commander Shade had the same thought. "What is that girl doing?"

"You know, like 'Grrrrrrrrrr'?" Tomoyo answered.

"Yeah, but we're not Ghosts or Shades," Altron said. "What about if we just say something cool when we blow them up?"

"Hmmmmm...good idea," Tomoyo agreed. "Got any good ones?"

"How about 'Die, heroes'?" Cap said.

"No, no, no!" Insert disagreed. "I like 'Kaboom!' or 'Kablam!'"

"That's so lame!" Altron shouted. "I like 'Buh-bye!' better."

"That's stupid!" Shifter shouted. "I like 'Sayonara, suckers' a lot better. After all, we're in Japan. It's apropos."

The four robots got together and started arguing over what would be said when they killed the Sun Guardian. The argument got louder, much to Tomoyo's enjoyment. Controller was disgusted. "Shouldn't have given them individual personalities," he said regrettably.

At his post, Commander Shade was furious. "Will you just kill them already?!!" he shouted at his troops.

The robots stopped arguing. "Um, right," Insert said. When they looked at where Kerberos and Touya were lying, they were gone. Snarling, they looked for Tomoyo, but she was gone as well. "Where'd they go?" Cap asked.

"Up here, metalheads!" the Sun Guardian shouted from above.

The robots looked up and were greeted with a spread of fireballs. With Tomoyo and Touya on his back, Kerberos flew in the sky, raining fire on his enemies. "Sugoi!" Tomoyo exclaimed, capturing everything on tape. The robots were knocked down, but were not out.

"You idiots!" Controller shouted. "The girl was distracting you while the Sun Guardian got his strength back!"

Insert got up. "I'm gonna blow him out of the sky!" He targeted Kerberos, then fired his back missile.

"Incoming!" Tomoyo shouted.

Kerberos dove to avoid the missile. Just as he did, it passed over him. Touya reached out and grabbed it. As he held it, he was surprised at its lightness despite its size. He scratched his head at this physical impossibility.

Tomoyo was amazed that Touya caught the huge projectile. "What are you going to do with that?" she asked him.

Touya eyed Cap on the ground. "Payback," he answered. He flung the missile at the large robot, still wondering why it was so light. It sped towards its target. Before Cap could react, the missile hit him in the chest. Touya watched the explosion and saw Cap's chest crack. Cap fell to pieces and as they fell, they disintegrated.

"Yes!" Touya shouted with a grin.

Shifter threw his shoulder discs at Kerberos. "Not this time, pal." He swatted them aside. One hit something in the air. It flickered, then decloaked.

"What's that?" Tomoyo wondered, aiming her camera at the revealed object. It was a floating orb with a camera lens.

Insert launched more missiles at the Sun Guardian. Kerberos flew out of the way and the missiles flew skyward. One hit the orb, destroying it.

Commander Shade watched as his screen went blank. "Oh no!" He turned to Psycho, who was enjoying the events in the Mirror Maze. "Master, I lost visual contact with the outside. My Window's gone blank. I can't direct the guards properly without the Camera."

Psycho looked away from his screen. "For this you interrupt my soap opera?" he snarled.

Commander Shade gulped. "I'm sorry, Master, but..."

Psycho returned his focus to his screen. "You said Programmer Controller is an effective leader and a powerful fighter, correct?"

"He is, but..."

"He'll rid me of the Sun Guardian," Psycho remarked. "If he doesn't, he'll at least keep them busy long enough for me to get what I want." He grinned as he watched Sakura in the Mirror Maze.

* * * * *

"Hoe?" Sakura exclaimed, staring at Syaoran.

"Give me the Cards and the Key," he demanded, still holding out his hand. "You're not worthy of possessing them."

"Syaoran-kun..."

"Please, mistress!" Yue pleaded. "End my suffering!"

"Give him the Cards and Key! Give him the Cards and Key!" the ghosts chanted, dancing around Sakura.

Sakura took out the Cards and looked at them. She looked at each Card and remembered the adventures she went through to get them.

"Give me the Cards and the Key now!" Syaoran shouted impatiently.

She remembered how Syaoran arrived as a rival, but gradually became her friend. He did get some of the Cards, but she received all of them after the Judgment. Despite her being the Cardmistress, Syaoran stayed in Tomoeda. She was not so sure why he did, but after Eriol made his final move, she found out why. He confessed his love to her, but she did not give him an answer. Her lack of that tormented her until he came back for a visit. At that time, the final Clow Card, a powerful negative one, made its appearance and caused trouble in Tomoeda. Only after everything was fixed did she tell Syaoran she loved him. After he returned to Hong Kong, they kept in touch through written correspondence. They felt e-mail was not appropriate for them. Sakura kept all of Syaoran's letters and reread them occasionally.

"Well?" Syaoran said.

Sakura looked up. "No."

Syaoran growled. "What?"

"You're not really Syaoran-kun," Sakura said. "Syaoran-kun loves me, and I love him." She glared at him. "You're not my number one!"

Syaoran narrowed his eyes and clinched his teeth. "Well, then. Looks like I'll have to take them by force!" He summoned his sword and charged at Sakura.

Enraged at the fake Syaoran, Sakura forgot about the ghosts surrounding her. She grasped the Star Wand, ready to strike. When Syaoran was within her range, she swung hard. She hit him in the face hard, sending him flying towards some ghosts. She watched as he bowled them over.

"Hoe? Ghosts can't be hit," Sakura said, puzzled. "I thought he'd go through them." She scanned the area for Yue, but he was gone. *What's going on here?*

Syaoran and the ghosts got up. They seemed to be dazed.

"You're not real ghosts!" Sakura said, realizing the truth.

The fake Syaoran smiled. "Smart girl." Then he changed into a Ghost. The "ghosts" followed suit and became Ghosts and Shades.

Sakura looked around her. "Robots?"

"Fire!" the Ghost shouted.

The Ghosts and Shades aimed at Sakura. She ducked in time to avoid their blasts. The Ghosts and Shades ended up vaporizing each other.

"Not very smart robots," Sakura said as she got up.

More Ghosts and Shades flew out of the mirrors. "Get her!" one shouted.

Sakura's eyes bugged out. "But there's a lot of them," she said as they rushed at her.

* * * * *

Kerberos flew in for a landing, knocking down Altron in the process. He would have gotten Shifter as well, but he disappeared. "Get off, kids. I have a score to settle with these guys."

"Stuffed animal," Touya muttered as he and Tomoyo did as they were told.

Kerberos faced Altron. "You first, Stretch," he growled.

Altron shot out his arms at Kerberos. He surrounded himself with fire and flew at the robot. He plowed into Altron, knocking him down. He hit the ground, then disintegrated.

Shifter reappeared behind Kerberos as he landed. He got ready to fire its electric tentacle when Touya tackled him to the ground. Shifter slashed at his attacker, but Touya grabbed his arms and pulled him up, amazed that he weighted so little. Meanwhile, Insert hit Kerberos before he could attack. "I'm gonna blow you away, pussycat," he declared, readying to fire another missile.

Touya flung Shifter into Insert's firing line. He launched the missile, but it hit Shifter instead, vaporizing him. While Insert was stunned, Kerberos let him have it with full power fire breath. Engulfed in flames, he exploded, then was gone.

"Yatta!" Tomoyo cheered. "And I got it on tape."

"Thanks," Kerberos said to Touya hesitantly.

"Hey, the kaiiju needs us," Touya said with a smile. "The faster we get rid of these guys, the faster we can help her."

Kerberos glared at Controller. "You're next."

Controller vanished. "Hey, where'd he go?" Touya shouted.

Controller reappeared in front of the entrance. "If you want to get in here, you'll have to get past me."

"Fine by me," Kerberos growled. He ignited and charged the remaining robot.

Controller held out his hands. "Vertigo Wave!" he shouted. The orb on his head glowed and sent out a faint energy wave accompanied by a weird sound.

Kerberos found himself caught in it and fell to the ground. "Oooooo, feeling dizzy..." he groaned, his surrounding flame fading away. He thought the ground and everything else was moving. Left became right, and right became left.

The Vertigo Wave hit Touya and Tomoyo as well. With their senses scrambled, they fell to the ground. Touya fought the urge to throw up. Tomoyo tried to keep her camera focused.

"Prepare to die!" Controller declared, forming an energy ball between his hands.

* * * * *

The Ghosts and Shades advanced on Sakura. "Get her! She's nothing without her Cards!" one shouted.

Sakura checked the ceiling for a line of green circles. Finding it, she thought, *Hang in there, Yue-san!* She faced the charging enemy. "Yaaaaaaaah!" she shouted, swinging her Star Wand in front of her. Each swing yielded a result; Ghosts and Shades were sent flying.

"Hey!" Psycho shouted. "She can't do that!"

"You said she couldn't use the Sakura Cards," Yue pointed out. "You didn't say she couldn't use the Star Wand."

Psycho snarled, then calmed down and watched as Sakura knocked down Ghost after Ghost and Shade after Shade. "Well, well. Looks like you'll get to see your mistress after all." He grinned at Yue. "At least you'll get to see her one last time!"

Yue bowed his head as Psycho broke out into a fit of insane laughter.

Sakura ran faster, following the paths with green circles on their ceilings. As she hit Ghosts and Shades along the way, she thought, *I'm coming, Yue-san! I'm coming!*