She walked down the hall with all her natural grace and charm.

<Haiahduious youahaioe asiaoamneosoua>

She heard chanting from the end of the hall she was walking. It became more and more audible as she approached the source.

<Yauaochiopalto daedoicesa maodcocoanoaua>

She paused a moment to check herself in a mirror. Imperfection was not an option. He hair was ebony black and done in buns that had long pigtails trailing from the back. The teal eyeshadow and long black eyelashes pronounced her honey-colored eyes. And her dress...she marveled at the deep crimson with white embroidery looked like a second skin on her. Perfection.

<Tomswan callete tu moron tonto... Usa el Compaq...>

She entered the large chamber. It never lost any of its glamour. Chinese decorations and red silk garnished the room. It was fit for an emperor. She walked to the center of the room and knelt before the figure chanting on the throne.

"Sir, please forgive me for disturbing you," she said.

The old man looked up. She could not see his face; the shadows obscured it. Come to think of it, she had never seen his face, but what did that matter? All she knew was that he was quite powerful and had taught her some interesting spells as payment for her service. As long as he kept feeding her the knowledge of the ancients, she had no inclination to learn his identity.

"Ah, it is you, lovely child," he began. "Do not apologize. It is not necessary."

"Did you wish to speak to me, sir?"

"Yes," he said in a low voice. "Do you know about the recently scattered Cards?"

"You mean," she said in awe, "the elemental was successful?"

He nodded. "Yes, quite successful, but..."

She already predicted what the old man was to say.

The Card Captor.

Originally the old man's plan was to have someone in her family to be the Card Captor. But, the one they sent failed miserably and ended up following the Japanese Card Captor like some sort of loyal dog. How pathetic. If it had been her that was sent, the Clow would be theirs seven years ago...

"The Card Captor continues to chase the Cards," he said.

"This Card Captor must want the power very much, sir," she commented.

The old man shook his head. "She does this to prevent disaster," he chuckled.

"Disaster? What do you mean by that, sir?" she questioned.

"Cerberus tells the Card Captor that Disaster can be avoided by capturing the Cards."

"Disaster for Cerberus, right, sir?"

He laughed. "Heh. Cerberus, as well as Yue, values his hide very well."

"So you need me to slow her?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. First see what strength she possesses, then strike."

She got up and bowed. "I'll make it so, sir."

"Good luck, Mei Ling."

Mei Ling Li smiled. She would not fail the old man like her cousin before her...

Saturday evening. Usually a time to unwind, to have fun, rarely to sleep. (AMEN!) Well, for a certain group, this evening is not a time to unwind. There is too much to do.

"Masaki-kun! I need you to set Mika's hair! Harou-kun! Where's that red quilt-print scarf?"

"Daidouji-san, five minutes till start."

"Thank you," said Tomoyo slowly.

"Are you okay, Daidouji-san?"

Tomoyo sighed and then gave one of her signature smiles. "Don't worry; I just get tense before a show." That's an understatement, she thought. Despite Tomoyo's usual happy-go-lucky disposition, fashion shows seemed to bring out that panicky part of her that she probably inherited from her mother. Fortunately the rewards outweighed the trials. "By the way," said Tomoyo as she looked around, "where is Sakura-chan?"

"Kinomoto-san is over there," said the hairdresser as she pointed to a screen.

Tomoyo approached the screen. She could see the outline of a young woman. Tomoyo could also hear two people talking:

"Whaddaya talking 'bout, Sakura? You look fine!"

"I don't know. The outfits are gorgeous, but..."

Typical Sakura, thought Tomoyo. Always fretting.

An audible growl was heard. "Sakura! It looks fine. Not like you haven't done this before!"

Tomoyo rounded the screen. Kero-chan was poking his head out from a duffle bag, and Sakura... (cue the colorful bubble screen) Sakura looked absolutely beautiful!! Time seemed to slow for Tomoyo as Sakura turned. Ruffles, swishes, and ribbons floated through the air. Tomoyo could help but blush. She could go on forever watching Sakura, but suddenly that panicky part of her came back. The show must go on.

"Sakura-chan! Three minutes!" she said.

Sakura noticed Tomoyo and said, "Oh, Tomoyo-chan!" she said a bit startled. "Do you think this looks okay?"

"I've been tellin' her for the past hour she looks fine," grumbled Kero-chan.

Tomoyo smiled and said, "Sakura-chan looks absolutely beautiful, and of course Sakura-chan wants to look good, what with Li-kun watching in the audience."

Sakura blinked, "L-Li-kun?"

"Yes," giggled Tomoyo. "Li-kun agreed to come tonight, and I saw him in the audience. Looked a bit bored, but I'm sure Sakura-chan will wake him up."

Sakura turned pink, red, crimson, scarlet; whatever you want to call it, she was blushing fiercely. Just the reaction Tomoyo wanted.

Tomoyo looked at her watch. "Alright!" she yelled. "Time, people!"

Gods, I am bored.

I can't believe I'm here.

How'd I get dragged into this?

Oh, yeah. Tomoyo.

These were just some of the thoughts going through Xiao Lang's head. He was having trouble staying conscious. Already the person in front of him had complained about his head bobbing. Apparently, Xiao Lang had head-butted him. Who knew fashion shows took so long to set up? C'mon! All it is a bunch of people parading in silly costumes. How the hell did Tomoyo talk him into this? Yeah, it was for Sakura, but this certainly wasn't worth it...

At that moment the house lights dimmed and bright spotlights flooded the walkway. The obligatory catwalk music played. Models began to strut down the walk, reach the end, spin around in a holier-than-thou fashion, and strut back to the curtains. Lather, rinse, repeat.

A thousand flashes went off around Xiao Lang. This has got to be the most inane thing I've ever seen, thought Xiao Lang. Sure, there was stuff like this in Hong Kong, but he had never been to one before he moved to Japan. Suddenly, Xiao Lang's attention was directed toward the walk. A redheaded girl dressed in an antebellum-style dress with a purple flower print and matching parasol walked on.

Sakura.

It all made sense. This is why he came.

Sakura walked down the walk with such grace; she seemed to be floating. When she reached the end, she paused, then turned in sway of ribbons and silk. She walked back to the curtains, but she glance his way as she walked by and smiled.

So beautiful...

(An interesting note is that if Xiao Lang had been more aware of his surroundings, he might have noticed Tomoyo and Cerberus peeking from backstage. Tomoyo was beaming. Cerberus seemed to be peeved by Xiao Lang's reaction...)

Sakura immediately started to panic as soon as she got backstage. Must get changed, must get changed... Although she had plently of time till she went on again, Sakura is the type that thrives on adrenaline. And how does one know this? Let's see: Gets up late, chases Clow Cards, and daily races against Shaolan to get to Yukito first.

Sakura changed into a bright yellow dress with a short hem, poofy sleeves, and matching beret and boots. The kicker is that there were pencils hung from the hem, sleeves, and belt. She swept her braid into a bun and stuck two long pencils into it. Sakura looked into the mirror. She gave a sigh of disbelief. This has got to be the most bizarre dress Tomoyo has designed to date, she thought.

"Kinomoto-san! Get ready to go on!"

"Alright!" she yelled as she walk out to the line...

She stood there nervously waiting. The models were let out one by one. Eventually, Sakura was let out into the light. Flashes, loud music, and many faces staring at her attacked her sense. Fortunately, this is Sakura Kinomoto we're talking about here; this kind of stuff doesn't scare our Card Captor.

Everything was going according to plan, when something out of the ordinary happened. The model ahead of Sakura let out a scream. Sakura watched as the girl began to unravel into ribbons which promptly faded as they touched the ground. At first, the audience thought it was part of the show, until a fellow audience member disappeared the same way. Immediately, all the flashes stopped, and the people began to panic. Sakura took this chance to run backstage. Kero-chan was already waiting for her.

"Sakura!! What's goin' on?!" he yelled over the screaming people.

"I don't know, but I'll bet you a stack of pancakes it's a Clow Card!" she said as she pulled out her key.

<Release!>

Sakura ran back out to the stage. Most of the people had evacuated. The only people left were some of the models, a few panicking photographers, and Shaolan. The latter jumped on the walk and pulled out a small knife. He chanted and it became a long Chinese-style sword. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Sakura smiled and said, "Always am."

Both looked around the room. Nothing suspicious so far... They scanned the room for five minutes; Shaolan began to get antsy. "Where the hell is it?" he growled. he kicked something on the ground. It hit the wall, flashed, and then a chair disappeared. Sakura and Shaolan looked at each other. They walked over to the object. A camera?

"I get it," said Shaolan. "Our Clow Card is in here."

Sakura grinned, "This is too easy, but then again ERASE is easy to catch when you find it."

Sakura brought down her staff and began to seal the Card when all of a sudden ERASE erupted from the camera. It hovered above them and looked quite angry.

<How dare you kick me around!> it fumed. <I may be just a Clow Card to you, but I certainly don't like being treated in such a manner!>

"And people don't like being erased," said an equally annoyed Shaolan. Sakura nodded in agreement.

ERASE turned towards Shaolan. <I remember you! You're the little brat that spoiled my fun last time. If it hadn't been for you, that stupid Card Captor wouldn't have ever caught me!>

Sakura glared at ERASE. Shaolan shrugged and said, "So, I helped her capture you, and I'll do it again."

<I ought to finish the job I started last time. So long, China boy...> ERASE lifted its hand and was about to erase Shaolan when...

"STOP!!"

Sakura and Shaolan turned around to see...Tomoyo?!

Tomoyo stood there defiantly against the Clow Card. Now, one might think this is out of character, but Tomoyo can get angry if push comes to shove. She had planned for weeks for this fashion show, and no Clow Card was going to ruin it.

Actually this outburst was to give Sakura and Shaolan a chance to gain the upper hand, but her plan backfired. Both were too stunned to do anything. Tomoyo mentally slapped herself. Well, so much for that...

ERASE, on the other hand, wasn't so surprised and jumped over Sakura and Shaolan's head. Shaolan snapped out of it at the last minute and lunged at ERASE, barely missing it. ERASE immediately landed on the stage and touched Tomoyo's forehead.

Tomoyo screamed as she saw herself fading. The last thing she saw was Sakura screaming. She couldn't even hear it...

Sakura watched as Tomoyo disappeared by ERASE's hand. The anger surged inside of her and she screamed, "You bastard!!" She approached the Card and yelled, "How dare you take Tomoyo-chan?!"

ERASE sniffed, <All things have an end, Card Captor. I'm just accelerating it.> Clearly, the Clow Card didn't card that Sakura looked like she could kill.

Sakura's self-control broke and she lunged at ERASE. ERASE barely dodged and made a break for it. Sakura continued to persue and attack as she left the building. She was quickly beginning to enter a berserker-mode...

Fast. So very fast.

Cerberus was struggling to catch up with Sakura and ERASE. Both had left the auditorium at blinding speeds. he never believed Sakura could ever get that angry. Sakura! The girl who seemed to find good in everyone, including that damn Yue. This was indeed a surprise to see her actually taking the offensive.

Cerberus turned to see the Chinese boy following a short distance behind him. Obviously not as fast as me, he thought. That boy always was following them around. And why? He had supposively finished his "task," so what was left? And that look he gave Sakura earlier... Cerberus started to growl. He was getting as protective of Sakura as Touya...

Finally, Cerberus saw Sakura and ERASE. They were dueling it out in the park. Sakura seemed to be dealing the most blows. Cerberus could've sworn Sakura's eyes were glowing...

He heard Shaolan mutter, "Oh, gods..."

ERASE was quickly tiring, if that's possible, thought Cerberus. Sakura finally decided to end the fight and brought down her staff.

<Return to the shape you were meant to be in!>

<CLOW CARD!!>

ERASE instantly began to reshape itself into a card.

<Oh well> it said, <at least it was a challenge this time...>

The Clow Card ERASE floated to the ground. The glow surrounding it concentrated into a ball of energy which exploded into sparks. The individual sparks became the people (and chairs) that had been captured. All the people were unconscious. Sakura ran to Tomoyo's side and began to cry, "Yokatta...yokatta..."

Cerberus was also happy that Tomoyo was safe, but he didn't dare approach them because of the people slowly waking up. Such is the life of a Guardian of the Clow...

Mei Ling watched the touching scene below her. Her view of the battle was excellent from the tree. Who knew that such a girl possessed that much power? A Card Captor, indeed, but not without her weaknesses such as the dark-haired girl. Mei Ling smiled. Definitely something to note...

Suddenly her eye was caught by an auburn-haired boy. Sharp dresser, but that wasn't it... He's familiar looking, she thought.

"It can't be..." she muttered.

The boy walked over towards the Card Captor and the dark-haired girl. He knelt before them. The way the boy looked at the Card Captor with concern and caring infuriated Mei Ling.

"Xiao Lang..."

So this was where her cousin had been hiding for all those years. Wouldn't blame him though, she thought. After all, he failed miserably.

Mei Ling stood up and turned to leave. She rotated her head to look at her cousin Xiao Lang and the Card Captor once more. She couldn't help but fell a little hurt he never returned, even if she knew he couldn't.

She leapt from tree to tree until she reached the street. She jumped down to the pavement.

"Oh my!"

Mei Ling turned her head to see two startled men. One was tall, brunette with the most gorgeous sapphire eyes. The other was half a head shorter with platnum blonde hair and amber eyes. It seemed the blonde was the one that had exclaimed.

She straightened herself up and then promptly bowed. "Good evening, sirs."

When she looked up, the brunette seemed confused, and the blonde smiled and said, "Good evening to you as well. You must be a gymnast, judging from your clothes." The brunette responded to that statement by giving his partner with the most quizizcal look.

Mei Ling giggled, but she was cut short as she sensed something strange from the pair. Both of these men were eminating very strong auras. The blonde was quite powerful with a soft white aura which sort of resembled moonlight. The brunette, however, was much stronger with a midnight blue aura. These two were definitely not to be trifled with, but fortunately for her, they seemed oblivious to their power...

She smiled at them and said, "So sorry for interupting your walk, I'll leave you now. Perhaps, though, we'll meet again..."

The brunette finally spoke up. "Uh, sure. Come on, Yuki," he said as he tugged at the blonde's arm.

Mei Ling walked away from the pair thinking of how enlightening this night had been. The old man would be pleased...

Yukito looked back as he watched the "gymnast" walk away. Somewhere deep inside of him told him to take note of this encounter. His eyes flashed golden light.

"Yuki? You coming?" asked Touya.

Yukito turned around and sweetly said, "Coming, To-ya!"