Storyline Name: Magician’s Favour
Creator(s): Addelyn and Sailor Mercury
Forum: Gates to the Multiverse
Universe: Card Captor Sakura
Advanced or Relaxed: Advanced
Moderator: Addelyn 


Plot Summary: Stronger now than she ever has been, Sakura is finally able to separate Yukito and Yue, giving them their own independent bodies, unknowingly sending huge magical shock waves through the magical community making many take notice of her; a young and powerful magician they have never sensed before, and they want that power for themselves. No longer do Yue and Yukito have to share a form. Summer drawing to an end, Sakura takes the next step in her life; college. Moving away to go to the college of her dreams was one of the hardest things she's ever done, but is not so bad when she shares an apartment bigger than her house with Tomoyo, Kero and Yue.
 
However, things are not as peaceful for long. A rival magician of Clow Reed's has caught wind of Sakura's powers and seeks to take cards from her. She faces many perils, designed to test her and her guardian’s strength before they are transported to another word where they need to fight for their very survival.
 
While these tests of strengths are happening, Sakura is trying to get Yue to loosen up, to see her as a friend and not just his Mistress. She's also getting marriage proposals from other magicians, seeking to get her power by political marriage rather than by force. Tomoyo being the ever-loving friend, tries to be as supportive as she can, silently pining away on the sidelines. Can Sakura and Yue come to an understanding and will the marriage proposals ever stop?
 
Details on any necessary information: Sakura and Tomoyo are older than in the cannon, being about 18 in this RP. Yukito and Yue now have separate bodies, with that event having happened just prior to the RP, or it’ll be the first thing we do, that is currently undecided.

False Form: Yue is Yukito's true form. Yukito was originally intended to be a fake form for Yue to exist in in order to save magical energy while he waited for a new Master of the Cards. 

Info as per skype convo :

 
Restrictions:
Any characters other than the ones listed will be NPCed as required for the plot.

Source: n/a

OOC Thread: OOC

Member to Character List:
Sakura Kinomoto- Sailor Mercury
Tomoyo Daidouji - Aurae
Yue- Addelyn
Kero- Eternal Knight 
Villain- Addelyn

In her dream, she was facing someone whose face she could not see.

She didn’t know what they were doing; only that she sensed malicious intent from him. He beckoned to her—no, to something that she had with her. The Sakura Cards. They started flying away from her, and she frantically tried to catch them, calling to them to not leave her.

Sakura awoke with a jolt when her alarm rang loudly in the room. She grappled her way toward it, silenced it, and finally heaved a sigh of relief. Her heart was still beating really fast, so she plopped back onto the pillow and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

What was that dream? She hadn’t had one of those for a while. From past experience, dreams involving her cards were usually prophetic, but she didn’t quite know what it meant. Was someone trying to take the cards away from her? Who was that mysterious person?

She wondered if she should talk to the others about it. She didn’t want to worry them, though—not after everyone was finally happy and living normal lives. She hadn’t had to use the cards for ages, except for recreational purposes and because she felt bad about keeping them locked up in the book all the time.

Sakura sighed and started getting ready for school. Maybe if it became a recurring dream, she’d worry, but for now she was going to try and forget about it.

Once she was dressed, she entered the kitchen, expecting to see Tomoyo there at least. Kero liked to sleep in, so he probably wouldn’t wake up until he smelled food, and Yue was… well, he was unpredictable really.

“Good morning everyone!” she shouted happily to the room in general, as she was used to doing every day now.

Ever since he had gotten his own body, Yue found himself up during the night when it was quiet. He would sometimes spend the early morning hours with his Mistress and Tomoyo while Kero slept away, until both needed to leave for classes. Then, he himself would sleep for several hours.
 
He was intimately connected to the moon, to the point where it affected his very nature. He felt much more comfortable to stay up during the night and sleep during the day than any time in recent memory. Even Clow had on many occasions tried to make him sleep at night and be active during the day. Curiously enough, she simply accepted this as normal for Yue, never demanding that he stay up in the day with her, although he was usually awake by early evening. It was….refreshing. She didn’t know how much he appreciated that part of her, and it made accepting her as his new Mistress that much easier.
 
“Good morning Mistress,” he said from the kitchen table where he was reading that mornings newspaper. He liked to scan them, keeping up with the politics of the modern world and the news as well as searching for any potential signs of danger for Sakura.

Tomoyo turned towards Sakura with her usual serene smile.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan."

The young heir to the Daidouji Toy Company looked more and more like Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko, every day. This morning, clad in an apron, with long waves of hair pulled back under a lace-edged kerchief, she seemed like a young wife from some salaryman's fantasy. She was trying to make it her habit to make breakfast for the group in the morning, knowing that the smell of cooking food woke Kero-chan easily and with less fuss. Besides, she liked taking care of Sakura. Of course, she wasn't as good at cooking as Sakura was; Tomoyo hadn't actually needed to put effort into the kitchen until she moved into this apartment and declined her mother's offer of a part-time chef.

The toast popped up from the toaster and she hurried to place it on plates. It was slightly burnt on one edge. She did her best to butter it while it was still hot.

"Will you be dining with us, Yue-san?" she asked politely. Tomoyo found it difficult to be casual with the imposing white-clad figure; his mannerisms were so different from the carefree and familiar Keroberos.

She slid the toast and small salads onto the table, just enough for everyone who elected to have breakfast. There were already jars of jam, specialties from one of the high-end department stores, waiting on the table. They had been a gift to Tomoyo's mother from a business partner. She turned back to the stove to prepare eggs and lightly crisp a few slices of expensive Berkshire ham, humming to herself as she did so. Tomoyo had choir rehearsal today after classes.

"Did you sleep well, Sakura-chan?"

He had expected to be able to go back to sleep after the very damaging ferocity of Sakura's alarm, but not matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't. With an exaggerated yawn, he pulled himself from his small bed and went down the stairs slowly. He didn't know why he didn't sleep that well lately, but it was starting to get on his nerves.

Half-way through the stairs, he perked up when the wonderful smell of food reached him. Tomoyo did have some talent, even if Sakura's food was better. Enough anyway for the guardian to drop himself on the table, where he would expect to sit without being in anyone's plate. He engulfed a random toast, looking at Tomoyo.

"He can't. That's what makes it funny, no sharing obliged."

He answered for Yue, throwing himself in the middle of the conversation. One his first toast over with, he moved on to the next, his brutal wake now totally forgotten.

"If she slept? She was snoring. Loudly. A disaster really."

He added with an aggravated expression as if he had just announced Sakura to be ill with a major disease.

"But my sleep was otherwise agreeable, thank you."

Sakura pouted at Yue’s greeting. “Come on, it has been years already. Stop calling me that. My name is Sakura. Sa-ku-ra!” she emphasized as if teaching a stubborn toddler how to spell. “And what are you doing up anyway? I hope you’re getting enough sleep.”

It was weird to have guardians sometimes. Back in the day, Kero was always in his plush toy form—not that she would say that out loud given his tendency to bite people who did—and Yue only appeared when she needed him. But that was before he had to hide in someone else’s body. Nowadays she was used to seeing him around all the time even with his weird sleeping schedule. But it was still weird to have bodyguards.

“Morning, Tomoyo-chan!” she bounced happily toward her best friend in the world, excited to see what she had made for breakfast. She suppressed a giggle when she saw the burnt toast but did not complain. Tomoyo was trying really hard to be self-sufficient and not depend on her mother’s wealth anymore. She sat on her usual place on the table and picked up a toast.

Then she froze when Tomoyo asked about how well she’d slept. Sakura was generally a terrible liar, and Tomoyo was always so perceptive… but she opened her mouth to try anyway, at least until Kero appeared in the kitchen and answered for her. Sakura closed her mouth and growled.

“Excuse me? I do not snore. You snore!”

Especially if he had eaten way too much. Which was just about every day, really.

Her soft eyes carefully noted the change in Sakura's expression. Tomoyo was the expert on all things Sakura Kinomoto. She had been filming the girl and rewatching the recordings since nearly the beginning of their friendship. This many years in, there wasn't anything Sakura could have expressed in her face or body language that Tomoyo would not pick up on. Sakura was the most important person to Tomoyo, and she was basically obsessed with her dearest and closest friend. There must have been something about the brown-haired girl's dreams that was somewhat upsetting. Maybe after breakfast there would be a more private moment for her to ask again, perhaps as they headed off to school.

She smiled at the ruckus caused by Kero and Sakura, happy to have so many of these wonderful people in her life. When Sakura's adventures as Cardcaptor died down in middle and high school, she wasn't sure if that meant there would come a time when she could no longer enjoy the company of her friends. Now that they were all living together, she was able to bask in it every day. She felt incredibly thankful that she and Sakura had been accepted to the same university. Of course, she was also thankful for her mother and the company that made it possible to call this luxurious apartment their home. So lucky in so many ways.

She finished serving the meal, placing a carafe of coffee and a pot of tea on the table as well. Tomoyo paused for a moment to remove her apron and set it aside before sitting down to join the others. She felt so content to be among them.

"I am getting enough sleep," Yue responded to his mistress's query, declining to use her name or her title. Perhaps one day he would be able to call her Sakura, but he never felt comfortable with it as Kero obviously did. He saw the change on the young woman’s face when confronted with the question of how well she slept and filed the information away for later. Was it something to do with school or was the lack of sleep caused from something else?

When Clow Reed had been alive, Yue had often acted as a confidant to his Master, listening to his worries and fears, silently supporting him. Sometimes he would put the situation in a new light for his Master to see or would help him research the problem. Part of him ached now to resume that role with his new Mistress, but he held himself back. Kero seemed to have filled that need in the young woman’s life, leaving Yue unintentionally on the outside, scrambling to find a new role to play.

Sakura finished her meal in record time, still running close to late even after all these years, but at least she had had practice since elementary school. She longed to be able to roller blade her way to school just like in the old days, but it felt strange doing it in college.

“Tomoyo-chan, do you have classes today? I’ve got a morning class, so I have to leave now. Do you want to come, or will I see you later?” she asked, shouldering her bag and checking that she had everything she needed.

“Kero-chan, try not to eat all our food supplies again while I’m gone, okay? And Yue-san…” she turned to her more silent companion, smiling. “Have a good day.”

She never really knew what to say to him, but she was still going to do her best to be a good master-slash-friend.

While Sakura had been enjoying her rushed breakfast and conversing, Tomoyo was already tidying up the kitchen and preparing her things. It was though she could somehow operate on a different timeline than the others, one with more leisure. Perhaps it was just part of her upbringing. She was ready with her own bag and a smile by the time Sakura questioned her.

"Yes, I have class today; we can travel together," she replied. It was nearly impossible for Tomoyo to resist an opportunity to spend time with Sakura. She had scheduled most of her classes to neatly coincide with Sakura's for that exact reason.

She also turned her attention towards the two guardians, the habitual pleasant expression still on her face.

"Do have a pleasant day," she said. As always her language remained a bit too formal for the situation. But that was simply Tomoyo, always the refined lady.

"Shall we go?" She would follow Sakura anywhere.

“Yes! Have a good day everyone!” Sakura waved one last time to everyone in the house, before linking arms with Tomoyo and stepping outside.

She was just so glad that she still had Tomoyo by her side, even after all this time. College would seem so scary without her best friend in the world by her side, without knowing anyone. But she had that comfort, and it made the transition easier.

Now if only she could figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up, so she could pick a major…

Should she really be thinking about mundane things like this when there might be a magical threat?

Her heart whispered about her dream once more, warning her. Sakura frowned, determined that she wasn’t going to let it ruin her day. She’d talk about it with Kero later, maybe. Once it became recurring, just to be sure it wasn’t just a regular dream.

Whenever she made that pensive face, Tomoyo knew that Sakura was trying to conceal something. The green-eyed girl always did that when she thought she would be protecting someone else. She was usually so open, but she tried to take on responsibilities that were never meted out to her. She wanted to keep everyone safe. It was one of the many things that Tomoyo admired and adored about her friend.

She reached down and squeezed Sakura's hand, using the same arm that had been linked by the other girl.

"Sakura-chan?" she asked softly, her dusky violet eyes gentle and caring. "I feel like there's something on your mind."

He had found them. Finally, he had finally found them. The Clow cards, the magical cards that Clow Reed had once denied him, the cards that were rightfully HIS were in the possession of a child.
 
Pathetic.
 
She wasn’t worthy of the cards, not like he is. Sipping his tumblr of bourbon, he stared into the fire crackling away in the ornate fireplace in his office. He knew that he couldn’t just take the cards – they wouldn’t listen to him and would be utterly useless. He either needed to convince her to hand them over willingly, thus giving him ownership or kill her and then take the cards.  
 
While the first option would be pathetically easy, he was a master manipulator after all and she was naught be a child, he wasn’t in the mood to play those kind of games. There was no sense of fun when his target was so young, never mind that the child was female. She probably didn’t have a lick of sense in her head.
 
Knowing that cards were powerful, he couldn’t risk an all-out assault. Testing her would be the best idea. It would give him a clue as her full capabilities of her magic and control of the cards. And would be far more entertaining in the meantime. He had waited this long for the cards, waiting a little longer wouldn’t hurt.
 
First thing first, time to test her ability to sense magic.
 

Waving his hand, a little doll appeared in a forest near Sakura’s apartment, its eyes glowing an eerie red.

Sakura blinked out of her reverie when she felt Tomoyo grasp her hand. She turned to her friend as Tomoyo spoke, and smiled sadly. “There’s no hiding anything from you, is there, Tomoyo-chan?”

She didn’t want to worry anyone, but Tomoyo was the most perceptive person she knew. She even knew Sakura better than Sakura knew herself sometimes.

“I just had a dream last night. I don’t know yet if it’s one of those foretelling ones. Maybe I should ask the cards when I get home. For all I know it’s just a regular dream. Let’s not worry until it repeats itself, alright?” she smiled reassuringly at Tomoyo.

Sakura never believed in herself and her powers as much as everyone around her did. If she had a dream that was concerning to her, Tomoyo suspected it could be very important. Of course, she didn't want to upset her friend unnecessarily. Tomoyo did not connect with magic, she only associated with people (and creatures) who did. The knowledge and experience that she had with these things was exclusively observational. Still, there was a value in that. She often shared her thoughts with Sakura, to try and help her dear friend navigate the strange new territories that this life contained.

Even in Sakura's reassuring smile, Tomoyo's keen eyes glanced a hint of worry. Even so, Tomoyo returned the smile with her own kindness.

"I'm sure you'll work through it, no matter what," she said. The wind fluttered her long dark hair.

She didn't want to press her friend on the issue right now, but she felt that Sakura's suggestion of consulting the cards sounded like the best one. Tomoyo made a mental note to delicately bring the issue up again today, at home, when the time was convenient.

“Of course. I’m sure everything will be alright,” Sakura replied cheerfully. Her mantra had yet to fail her after all this time, after all.

She continued walking toward school, when suddenly her instinct told her to look at the woods. Sakura paused and turned toward the forest, scanning it. What was in there? She couldn’t sense anything just yet—

Then her gaze fell on the doll sitting amongst the trees. Its eyes were glowing red. Sakura gasped and grabbed Tomoyo’s hand instinctively. “T-Tomoyo-chan… what is that…?”

Was that one of those cursed dolls she sometimes read in ghost stories? But this was broad daylight, why would there be ghosts?!

Tomoyo squeezed Sakura's hand in response, her dark eyes searching for the thing that frightened Sakura. Tomoyo lacked an affinity for magic, but she knew it was real. Ghosts, which Sakura feared so much, were also real—but Tomoyo knew from experience that real ghosts never seemed to scare the kind-hearted girl. In fact, ghosts seemed to be drawn to Sakura because she had the sympathy and empathy to respond to them. Scary ghosts, although her friend continued to be afraid of them, rarely appeared to torment her.

When Tomoyo spotted the strange doll, this knowledge only made her suspicious of the thing with glowing eyes.

"I don't know, Sakura-chan," she replied, truthfully, keeping her fingers intertwined with the other girl. "But I don't think it's a ghost. It's daytime. We're together. That seems unlikely to be ideal conditions for a ghost. Do you feel anything from it?"

Sakura had squeezed her eyes shut and just made a “Nnnnnn” sound that pretty much meant she was blocking everything until it went away, but then Tomoyo said it wasn’t a ghost. When her friend asked if she felt anything from it, Sakura opened her eyes slowly and peeked at the doll again. She shivered, but tried to focus her sixth sense on it. After all these years she could almost flex it like a well-trained muscle, and she was surprised by what she found.

“It’s… magic,” she said, scrunching her eyebrows. “And it’s a bit quite like Clow’s. Not exactly the same but there’s a similarity. I wonder why…?” She looked at the doll straight on now, her mind going to a thousand different directions. It couldn’t be a card, because the cards were all transformed and were hers now. The magic wouldn’t feel like that.

So was it another magician’s doing? But why would it feel like Clow’s?

“I… I think we should take a closer look…?”

She was afraid, but if she had Tomoyo with her, she could certainly do it. She gripped the smaller version of her wand hanging from her neck just in case she needed to summon it quickly.

Tomoyo wasn't generally a fearful person, and she was more than willing to be strong for Sakura. Calm and rational, the long-haired girl knew that there was a risk of danger as they approached... But she believed in Sakura. She knew that her friend had strength of both magic and heart. Most of the time, the latter was more important.

Of course, she didn't want to needlessly jeopardize themselves, either. She kept her voice gentle and her hand firmly entwined with the brunette's.

"We may wish to move slowly and cautiously," she said. "If this is magic—unknown magic—we can't know what to expect."

She didn't want to judge the doll solely based on the creepy appearance, but she couldn't immediately dismiss it as something harmless. Ah, if only this was a card for Sakura to capture! Tomoyo dearly missed her younger days of designing costumes and dressing the cardcaptor. The videos she recorded at that time were still those she watched regularly. In her heart of hearts, as much as she wanted peace and normalcy for her dear friend, she wouldn't mind more excuses to watch Sakura in action. She always looked beautiful when she was trying her best!

The moment Tomoyo finished speaking, the eyes of the doll began to glow red once more. As if pulled by some invisible force, it slowly began to rise until it was floating in the air in front of the two girls.
 
“Do you want to play a game with me?” the doll said, her voice high-pitched like a young child. She tilted her head, as if she was regarding the two young girls in front of her.  
 
“Play with me.” She raised her left hand, index finger pointing straight at Sakura. “If you lose, your cards are mine to keep. Are you ready? Go!” Her eyes began to glow brighter just before beams shot out from her eyes, narrowly missing Sakura.
 

“Darn, I missed.”

Sakura nodded determinedly as Tomoyo warned her to be cautious. Her eyes widened when she saw the doll’s eyes glowed again, and then started floating in front of them. Sakura clung to Tomoyo in horror as it spoke to them. She wanted to answer ‘no’, but clearly that was a rhetorical question, seeing how the doll followed up the question with a demand. She trembled a little as the strange object pointed its little finger at her.

“W-wha…? Ahhh!” Sakura screamed when the doll suddenly shot beams of light at her. She instinctively pushed Tomoyo to the side so they were both out of its line of impact. “You didn’t even let me answer!” she grumbled as she quickly jumped back up. She had no intention of playing by those rules—there was no way she was ever giving up her cards to some creepy doll!—but if whoever this was wanted to harm her and Tomoyo anyway, Sakura was going to fight back.

“Key that hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. Release!”

The magic circle appeared beneath her feet and her wand elongated. She picked a card and threw it to the air in the next beat.

“Wind, become a binding chain! WINDY!” she called out, raising her wand to the sky beneath the card. The wings on the wand grew bigger and Windy was released, its form rushing toward the doll to do its master’s bidding.

This was magic. Malefic magic. Nothing like the magic that Sakura controlled, used to keep everyone safe. When the thing spoke, threatening Sakura and her cards, Tomoyo took a step back. A few moments later, she stumbled away as the beams from its eyes shot past the pair. She wished that Kero or Yue were here. Maybe they would know something about this strange magic.

As Sakura engaged the creature, Tomoyo did her best to stay out of the way. She didn't want to distract her friend or provide an easy target for the creepy doll.

Still, she couldn't quite repress a small sigh. This was the first time Sakura had used the cards in a while, and here she was without her recording equipment! What a disappointment! She wasn't wearing a costume either... Altogether, it was a situation that seemed lacking.

Tomoyo thought again of Yue and Kero, and whipped out her phone—a prototype Piffle Princess product, of course—and activated the camera to record. She could show it to the pair later, and ask if they noticed anything important. Plus, she could add this video to the Sakura archive. The quality wouldn't be ideal, but that just couldn't be helped.

Before Windy could even touch the doll, it disappeared, only to reappear several seconds later just out of the path of Windy.
 
“Did you really think that would work?” the doll asked, giggling, one hand raised to cover its mouth. “Weak, you don’t deserve to have the Clow Cards. You should give them up to my master. He is a strong magician, one worthy of wielding Clow’s legacy.” Extending her hand in front of her, a black ball appeared. It stayed perfectly still for several seconds, shimmering in the soft light.
 

If she could trap the fake girl magician, she would be able to force her to give up her cards…or maybe…grinning, her gaze turned towards Tomoyo. What would happen if she went after her friend? Trade the cards for her friends life?

He had continued his normal routine after his Mistress had left. Retreating to his room, he began his daily meditation. It didn’t take him long to realize that something was off. He could easily sense a new magic close by. Brows furrowed, Yue concentrated harder, trying to detect where the magic was coming from and possibly who it was from.
 
“Clow!” he gasped, eyes opening as his meditation abruptly ended. It was similar to Clows, but not the exact same as one would expect with a reincarnation. It must be a student of Clows then that was the only explanation. The problem was, to the best of Yue’s knowledge, both of Clows former students had been locked away by the magician himself.
 
The knowledge didn’t make him feel any better. He knew he should inform his mistress, but debated if it was the right thing to do. If this was nothing, there was no point in worrying her, yet Yue’s instincts told him that it couldn’t be dismissed as merely nothing. Just as he decided on a course of action – he would speak to her when she returned from her studies that evening – he could sense a card under his jurisdiction, Windy, being used. A favoured card of his Mistress to use when she was being attacked, Yue sprung to his feet, heading to the window.
 
The mistress was in danger and he had to protect her. If his brother was worth anything as a guardian, he would have sensed something was amiss as well. Hoping this was true, Yue summoned his wings and took to the Sky, heading in the direction where he could feel Clow like Magic and his mistress.
 
He prayed he would make it in time.
 
In nearly no time at all, he arrived on the scene. Quickly assessing, he saw a doll that had a black orb that was floating in front of her. Forming ice in his hand, he sent them hurtling to the ground below. Starling the doll, who was just about to launch the black orb, her shot went wide, missing Tomoyo and Sakura completely.
 
He landed silently and gracefully in front of his mistress and her friend, wings spread slightly in order to shield both of them from any further attacks.
 
“Ohh look, bird man came to play as well!” the doll cried out in delight. This would be even better. If she could get the cards AND bring bird man to her master…he would make her a real girl, like he had promised.  
 
“Are you injured Mistress?” Yue asked, ignoring the doll in front of him.

Her recording was interrupted by the arrival of Yue, although it was hard for Tomoyo to feel much more than a twinge of regret, knowing that likely he had saved her from the strange attack summoned by the doll. In fact, the doll was still there, speaking. Before it had said something about its master. What could that mean? The dark-haired girl, temporarily out of danger, kept the grip on her phone careful as she continued to film the unfolding scene. Her focus remained on the doll and on Sakura, alternating between the two.

"You can do it, Sakura-chan," she cheered softly, hoping it would inspire the Card Captor to try another tactic.

In her heart, she trusted Sakura to defeat the thing, even with the recent failure of Windy to interfere. Sakura was smart, and strong, and had an unbeatable motto. What she could do, as the brunette's friend, was avoid becoming a liability in this fight. It made her feel slightly better to see that the moon side of the two guardians had arrived to protect his mistress, but until the creepy doll was no longer present this situation remained dangerous.

Windy could not even touch the doll—it simply disappeared and reappeared somewhere else. Sakura narrowed her eyes. If it could teleport like that, then Windy could not be fast enough to catch it. But at least now she learned something about her enemy.

She bristled at the words coming out of the doll’s mouth. Another strong magician? Someone more deserving to have the cards? No… she’d been over this. She had won the cards through the trials fair and square. She had collected them one by one painstakingly, and had even turned them into Sakura cards. They were her cards now. She was bonded to them, and there was no way she was ever giving them up. They were as much a part of her as her own limbs.

She readied herself to jump away as the black ball appeared, but then the doll’s eyes slid toward Tomoyo, and Sakura stiffened. Would it target her friend to get to her? No! She must protect Tomoyo at all costs.

Suddenly, Yue appeared on the scene. He immediately went on the offensive, though he still couldn’t quite incapacitate the doll. At least he distracted it and its attack didn’t hit its intended target. Sakura stared in confusion at this mysterious enemy. The doll seemed to recognize Yue… just who was behind this attack?

“No, we’re fine,” she answered Yue, her brain working fast as she conjured each card in her mind’s eye and what they could do, trying to figure out which would work best. “Who is this enemy? He or she seems to know you…”

She decided to try attacking again. “Freeze!” she called out another card, this time creating a stream of ice from behind the doll so that it would not see it coming, which would hopefully strike it and freeze it in place.

Yue remained silent for a beat before replying. "While the enemy seems to know me, I regret that I have no knowledge of them mistress," Yue said, his voice neutral as always. His former master knew many other magicians and magical beings, so identifying the dolls master without more information would be impossible at this time. 

The doll mind was completely shocked when the magician child managed to use a card to freeze her. Concentration lost, her dark orb of magic disappeared, leaving Tomoyo safe for the time being. 

"Release me at once!" she demanded, her voice reminiscent of a whining child's.

Tomoyo gave a soft sigh of relief as the doll's magic was interrupted by Sakura, temporarily placing her dearest friend and herself out of danger. She knew that Sakura could do it. Even after so many years of peace and normal life, it could not be denied that the powers that flowed through the brunette were strong and stable. The girl never seemed to realize it herself, but she was so much more than any ordinary person. Sakura truly was a treasure. Tomoyo felt that familiar warmth in her heart as she reflected on this.

Yue's inability to confirm the owner of the doll, however, gave the dark-haired young woman pause. How were they to learn anything about whoever had just tried to attack them? Violet eyes glanced over to Sakura, wondering how her friend would react to the doll's plea, now so contrite. Still... Tomoyo couldn't quite bring herself to trust it or its request.

She grew more confused as Yue claimed not to know this enemy. Perhaps they simply hadn’t shown their true form? After all, this doll couldn’t be it.

She almost wanted to cheer when Freeze managed to do the job and trapped the doll in place. Its voice sounded like a child begging for help, and for a moment she hesitated.

But she would not be fooled. Steeling herself, Sakura stepped forward determinedly. “Tell me who you are and what you want! Show me your true form!”

The words were reminiscent of those she used to use to return Clow Cards back into their true form, yet she only wished it was a spell as powerful as that.

"Can't you tell who my master is?" The doll asked, turning to face Sakura. "Tsk tsk, I guess your guardians have been laxed in your magical training. How can you call yourself the Master of the Clow Cards if you can't sense basic magic." The dolls voice had taken on a sing song quality, mocking Sakura. 

"You should just give them up to my master, he knows how to wield them properly, not a pathetic child such as yourself." Maybe this wouldn't be so hard to get the cards for her master than she could be a real woman and stay with her master forever by his side. 

"How about you do the right thing and hand them over?"