CCS-2: Episode 15

CCS-2: Card creators Sakura & Syaoran

Episode 15:

Just as he thought, it had all been a trap.  Yue’s words echoed through Syaoran’s mind.  “A magical barrier is surrounding the entire room.”  

Syaoran kipped up to his feet after having been thrown back by the force that blocked their escape.

Kero sent a ball of fire aimed for the door, only for it to be absorbed into the barrier.  The only effect being that the barrier sparkled with a brilliant orange and red ripple pattern that spread throughout the entire length and width of the barrier, which was the outer perimeter of the room.

Syaoran released his sword and pointed its blade towards the ceiling.  He looked as if he had gone into a meditative trance while he leaned his forehead against the flat of the blade.  

“I am so sorry, Kinomoto-san, this is all my fault,” Meilin apologized to Sakura with her eyes averted to the floor in shame.

Sakura answered her friend with a hug of reassurance.  “You could not disobey your father, I understand.  We will figure a way out of here.”

“Kuen-Jie has been using cursed energy to attack us,” Yue spoke his thoughts out loud,  “and we have been able to defend against those curses up to now by using the element that either cures or destroys them.”  Yue stood with his arms folded over his chest as he pondered their circumstances.

“What Elemental Dragons does the kid have again, Sakura-san?” Kero asked.

Sakura recall the events that had occurred since everything began.  “Well, the first card that was created was the Metal Dragon,” Sakura began to explain.  “Followed by the Fire Dragon, then the Water Dragon and just now the Wood Dragon card was created,” she concluded.

“So, of the five elements, the only one left is EARTH,” Meilin chimed in.  Even if she didn’t know or couldn’t feel magic it didn’t mean that she didn’t know what the elements were.  Such was common knowledge.  

“Of course, that’s it!”  Syaoran exclaimed suddenly and pulled out the Wood Dragon Card.  Earth sha, cursed energy, was being used to keep them trapped in here.  The element of Wood could destroy Earth.  Syaoran pinned the card down with the tip of his sword.  “Wood Dragon, come to our aid!  Destroy that which contains us within these walls!”

A power began to surge and the magic circle formed beneath him.  A green light emitted from the circle and began to fill the room.  The light took on the form of a dragon.  As the dragon grew to enormous proportions the walls strained to contain the entity of light.  Though it was transparent, the massive being exploded with such a force that the walls of the room were blasted apart.

“SHIELD!”  Sakura called as she entered into Syaoran’s magic circle in time for her own magic to protect them both from the flying debris.  Kero shielded himself, and Meilin, with his wings.  Yue’s wings surrounded him in time to block several planks of broken wood after he flew quickly out of the way of a falling pillar.  

Once all of the debris had settled the greenish light began to disperse and turn yellow.  The now yellow, gold colored light began to constrict until it was contained solely within the magic circle formed under Sakura and Syaoran’s feet.  The light continued to constrict until it was nothing more then a beam of light between the couple that shined up through the roof of the warehouse.  Once the light faded, a card was left in its’ place.  The Earth dragon was a yellow, gold color with the symbol of a yellow, gold square showing beneath it.  

As soon as the magic dissipated, Kuen-Jie could be seen standing on the catwalk staring at them with a mixed expression of surprise, fear, and anger.

Syaoran looked ready to kill, it was an expression that neither Sakura nor Meilin remembered ever seeing.  He held his sword ready to attack.  The Warehouse contained several wooden crates and heavy equipment used to move those crates around.  A majority of the crates were stacked jaggedly beneath the catwalk.  

Rather then to take the stairs, which was the slower route to take, Syaoran leapt up the crates in order to reach Kuen-Jie more quickly.  “You!”  Syaoran growled at the man with a vengeance.  “Do NOT underestimate me!”  

Kuen-Jie smirked at the threat and raised his hand ominously, from which a red orb began to form.  “It is you who underestimate me!”  He replied and through the orb aimed for the crates beneath Syaoran’s feet.  

As Syaoran jumped towards the next stack of crates, which would have brought him just below the catwalk, the crates exploded into flames.   The force or the explosion caused Syaoran to be shoved away from his landing and he found himself falling to the warehouse floor.

“Please, Give him wings!  FLY!”  Sakura cried out in a panic as Yue moved to shield her from the flames and flying debris.

A bright flash of white light appeared suddenly at Syaoran’s back that faded to reveal a pair of white feathery wings just in time for him to catch flight.  

“Syaoran!”  Sakura cried out his name and struggle to see around Yue as he guarded her from the flames.  Kero left Meilin a safe distance away and took flight towards Kuen-Jie, to attack.  

Syaoran flew up out of reach of the flames and caught sight of Sakura’s position.  She was encircled with flames and Yue was injured, unable to fly.  “Water Dragon, come forth!”  Syaoran called to extinguish the flames.  

“Hey, Kid! Hurry!”  Kero called to Syaoran as he flew towards Kuen-Jie.  Syaoran returned to action, taking advantage of the wings bestowed upon him by Sakura’s FLY card, and flew in towards Kuen-Jie to attack.  

Kero was the first to arrive at the catwalk where he lunged to attack.  Syaoran landed on the opposite side from Kero and prepare to raise his sword when suddenly Kero landed into him, landing him on his back with Kero’s fierce growl centimeters away from his face.  Kero had lunged directly through Kuen-Jie, whose form wasn’t solid.  

“Oi! Get off of me you big fur-ball!”  Syaoran yelled, attempting to push Kero’s weight off of him.

“That’s his Astral body!”  Yue yelled to them from below.  Kuen-Jie was using Astral Projection, meaning that his actual body was being protected most likely somewhere outside of the warehouse.  

“Jump!”  Sakura called, preparing to join in on the attack by jumping to the catwalk.  

“Sakura, NO!”  Syaoran yelled after Kero leapt off of him and allow him to see Kuen-Jie release, in her direction, a spear of red light that was Arrowed Sha and would kill her on contact.  Immediately Syaoran was up and leapt from the catwalk to soar towards her, but would he make it before the spear hit her?

“Sakura!”  Both Kero and Yue called hopelessly, knowing that neither could do anything to save their mistress.  

Kuen-Jie laughed evilly, confident that he would soon be rid of the card master and expectant that he could then defeat Syaoran and the guardians in short order.  

The spear of arrowed sha was cursed fire energy.  Though it felt as if they were moving in slow motion, there wasn’t enough time for any of them to react with any defense.

Syaoran would gladly take the shot if it meant that Sakura would live, but the spear flew about a yard ahead of him.  

Just before the spear hit it’s target a green sphere surrounded Sakura and ricocheted the arrowed sha at a right angle.   Seconds later Syaoran flew through the sphere and caught Sakura into a tight embrace.  “Thank the Gods, you’re safe!”  He exclaimed.  

The couple hovered a couple of yards from the floor surrounded by the green translucent sphere.  Syaoran held Sakura protectively around the waist with one arm.  In his other hand his sword was held ready to attack.  Syaoran spun around to glare at Kuen-Jie.  “This is your second offence against my Fiancée,” Syaoran yelled angrily.  “You surely have a death wish!”

Standing at Syaoran’s side with a hand resting against his chest, Sakura stared at him in disbelief.  She hadn’t ever seen him this angry.  Though she was happy over how protective he was being... she couldn’t control a wave of fear that surged through her as a result of his anger, even if it wasn’t directed at her.

“Xiao Lang, control yourself.  You cannot defeat him through physical force,” a voice echoed through the sphere around them.  Sakura recognized it as the voice of the Syaoran look-a-like who had saved her on a few occasions in the past.  He was the person whom she had run into at the college campus.  He was the person who was an ancestor spirit of the Li family.  Most specifically, he was the ancestor spirit who was asked by Yelan to protect her, Syaoran’s father.  

Sakura and Syaoran stared at one another in surprise.  Syaoran wasn’t sure whether to ask who or what.  As time suddenly stopped around them, the sphere separated from around them and began to take the shape of a man.  That man, though taller, more built, and dressed in traditional Chinese attire, looked exactly like Syaoran.  Though it would be more correct to say that Syaoran looked exactly like a younger version of his father.  

“Father…” Syaoran spoke quietly.  He hadn’t ever seen his father, who died a few months before Syaoran was born, though he had seen the pictures his mother kept.  

“Because Kuen-Jie is using his astral body, no physical attacks will harm him.  Because his physical body could be hidden anywhere Kuen-Jie has an advantage,” Syaoran’s father explained as all other bodies in the room stood frozen in time.

“Then how can he be defeated?”  Syaoran asked,

Sakura turned in Syaoran’s arm to face his father.  “Perhaps we should take this advantage to make our escape.  If I use the TIME card again, then we should be able to escape and then we can figure out where Kuen-Jie’s body is hidden,” she suggested.

“That would be possible, however I have been searching and haven’t been able to locate his body,” Syaoran’s father explained.  “It is likely that he has wards and barriers set up to prevent us from finding him, and he could be hidden anywhere in the world.”

“So you are saying that it is hopeless!”  Syaoran said out of anger and frustration.  “That no matter what we do there will always be the threat that he will come after one of us again?”

“There may be one way.” Syaoran’s father interrupted, bringing their attention back to him.  “You must use the element known as Spirit to destroy Kuen-Jie’s astral body.”

Sakura and Syaoran exchanged looks and returned their gaze back to Syaoran’s father.  “How do we do that?”  They asked together.

“Syaoran now has the cards for all five Elemental Dragons.  You should be able to call for their aid together and focus the energies on me.”  Syaoran’s father explained.  It seemed simple enough.  Syaoran and his father stared at one another for a long moment in silence.  Sakura look back and forth between them awkwardly.  Then his father approached and stood only a couple of centimeters away from them.  “I am proud of you, my son.  You have brought this family much honor.”  He spoke to Syaoran and then embraced his son.  Because Syaoran still held an arm around Sakura, she was also pulled into the embrace and Syaoran’s father next turned his attention to her.  “I am honored that you will become a part of our family,” Syaoran’s father told her with a smile and caressed her cheek gently.  

“Thank you,” Sakura told him.  “For protecting me.”  She then slipped out of Syaoran’s arm to embrace his father.  Afterwards, he lowered her back into Syaoran’s embrace and nodded to his Son.  

“Let us begin.”

Syaoran lowered himself and Sakura to the floor so that he may release his hold on her and have both hands free.  Pulling out his cards of the Elemental Dragons he began to recite his incantation.  “Dragon of Metal, Dragon of Fire, Dragon of Water, aid us.  Dragon of Wood and Dragon of Earth, aid us.  All five Elemental dragons I now beseech.  Come forth and do my bidding!”  A swirl of white, red, dark blue, green, and yellow light encircled around Syaoran, waiting for his command.  Once again Syaoran and his father met one another’s gaze in silent communication with time still frozen around them.  When Syaoran’s father nodded Syaoran recited the end of his incantation.  “Elemental Dragons of Metal, Fire, Water, Wood, and Earth, combine with the spirit before you, the spirit of my father, to destroy the entity of the man who wishes to do harm against us!”

With that said, the Dragons of light flew towards Syaoran’s father, and into him, causing his form to become as a glowing black orb which then flew at the astral form of Kuen-Jie.  At the exact moment of impact time was restarted and Kuen-Jie let out a roar of pain and terror.  His Astral form then exploded into what appeared to be a shower of glittering confetti.  

Sakura let out a cry of joy and ran to Syaoran, who caught her up into a tight hug.  “We Did It!”  Sakura exclaimed in relief.

Kero, Yue, and Meilin watch the scene before them.  Neither was sure how it had ended this way.  Kero flew down from the catwalk and landed beside Yue to offer support to his injured comrade.  Meilin ran out from the hiding spot where she had been left and observed Sakura and Syaoran’s excitement with mixed feelings of confusion and awe.

Sakura’s arms were wrapped around Syaoran’s neck as they embraced on another with relief that everything was over.   They were surrounded by the green sphere and as they began to pull out of their hug their eyes caught.  Syaoran raised a hand up her back to her hair and pulled her head closer to take her lips in a deep kiss.  At that moment the magic circle formed at their feet and the green sphere surged with energy.  The energy blew around the couple, but they paid it little heed.  The Sphere began to construct until it hovered as an orb above them.  As they pulled out of their kiss the orb exploded into an array of green glitter to reveal the card of the Spirit Dragon.