Nina just didn’t know what was worst. The fact that Misho invited Sakura’s class to the Zoo--- or, to be more precise, HER Zoo (which she was a major stockholder in)--- on the last day of school before the Winter Break--- or that it smelled too much like a set-up that even Nina couldn’t ignore it. It just seemed too convenient. That on the last day of school Misho would somehow con the school to allow this field trip and they bought it hook, line, and sucker. Now, mind you, normally a field trip couldn’t possibly have been run through the paces and scheduled on such short notice, let alone set for the last day of school before a major break from school. Still somehow she did it and that made Nina nervous. The morning of the trip Nina woke up early, rolling over to stare listlessly at her portable computer she leaves on the nightstand every night before bed so she could do a run through of the camera monitors about town before breakfast. Eliza was still asleep, and the morning light was barely coming over the “horizon” so she figured now would be as good a time as any to do the morning runthrough rituals. With a slight stifled yawn she slowly sits up, pulling the computer towards her as she pops it open with a push of her finger and begins to type the commands in (not using vocal commands because she was worried she would wake Eliza). The computer responded, slowly going through the entire cycle of images from each “Station” set about from the school, to town, to New King Penguin Park, to--- that’s when she jams a finger down on the stop button in a slight annoyance. Something wasn’t right. With a slight yawn she flicks back through the images for a second until she finds one that didn’t seem kosher. It was the camera pod mounted in the head of King Penguin (the slide) in the park. But for some reason the image was inverted, as if the camera was filming upside down, and at a wrong angle at that considering how tall King Penguin was. Nina sighs as she sets the scan to go again, running a hand through her short green hair. “Damn kids found the camera again.” Three times to date someone had found the camera hidden in King Penguin’s head, and had somehow sabotaged it. Once the camera was hooked onto one of the small penguins surrounding the statue, once it was buried in the sand around King Penguin, and once somebody tried to use it to peek on women in the women’s bathroom (Nina however never reported the “peep” video to anyone and still has it.) Whoever found the camera this time had somehow rigged it to hang upside down (maybe it was just lying at the base of the slide). Either way? It only meant more work for Nina. She’d have to spin by New King Penguin Park on the way to Sakura’s “field trip” and take the camera back again. She’d then have to sneak in at night and rehide the camera--- maybe this time in King Penguin’s “mouth”. Nina’s day wasn’t starting off right, and somehow she felt it’d only get worst. ------ Breakfast was OK, and Tomoyo was on cloud nine with Sakura’s cooking. She always was on cloud nine so that was nothing new to Nina. Still, it wasn’t something Nina looked forward to seeing. Occasionally in the morning, when the two ate breakfast, Tomoyo became a little playful and fed Sakura by hand. Literally by hand. She’d take bits of the meal and gingerly press them between Sakura’s lips bringing a soft sigh and giggle from her. And, in turn, she would do likewise for Tomoyo. Sakura smiled as she felt Tomoyo’s fingers press another bite of food into her mouth, which she chewed with deliberate ease savoring each morsel. That was something Nina just didn’t want to see at the breakfast table. That was bedroom stuff. She didn’t force them to watch her feed Eliza and vice versa, so what’s up with them doing it to her? Eliza trudged downstairs and ate also. For once she wasn’t down before Nina, and it was mostly because they had been on alert since the Fight card harmed Sakura and everyone was pitching in on the search for Fight. However, while Nina was used to late nights and long hours Eliza was not. So while Nina made it through last night with flying colors, Eliza was wiped out. Then again--- Nina smirks as she nudges Eliza into her chair, gaining a slight smile from her--- she might not have been so wiped if Nina wasn’t so energetic last night in bed. At that thought Nina giggled a little, but fell back to her grumpy mood fast. “You OK? That doesn’t look like a happy face.” Nina sighs as she watches Eliza begin to eat, her eyes still weary as she slowly chewed her food. “I don’t know how you make it through each night.” “Lots of caffeine helps, though I was definitely on the ball last night to have rolled you under in “three“.” Nina offers, watching her eat. “How about you two? How did you---” (stops as she notices Sakura/Tomoyo were talking amongst themselves again) “---never mind.” As she walked out of the kitchen area to grab her jacket she noticed the TV in kitchen area was on and tuned onto the news. Now since there was a TV in each room this one was used by Sonomi as she got ready for work (so she could watch while she ate breakfast). There, on the news, was an unfortunate sight that Nina knew she would probably see (considering where they were going today) but dreaded. King Penguin, upside down. Figures why the transmission from the camera in King Penguin’s head wasn’t working properly, the slide itself was turned upside down. As for who did it? It could only have been Power. But that’s when she saw something else. Quickly Nina moved forward and looked closely at the TV. There, on King Penguin’s upside down head was a mark--- a symbol of some kind etched into the hard body of the slide penguin. As she stared at it, Nina’s teeth ground together and her eyes narrowed. It was an Assassin Guilder insignia, but not one she recognized right away. Which meant there was an assassin guilder involved in this---- but how, and why? With a slight groan, Nina slipped her jacket on, realizing that a trip past King Penguin might be needed after all (just for different reasons than she planned for that morning. ------ The skate down to the park was almost uneventful. And it would have stayed that way if only for one thing. Nina was having a bad day since Eliza wanted to go Christmas shopping and left Nina the sole job of watching Sakura. And, which by the way irked her the most, they ran into Keiko on the way to the park. Both of these situations, combined, worsened Nina’s already bad mood. Tomoyo skillfully puts herself between Sakura and the two as they blade down to the park. Keiko, in her usual demeanor as she jogs next to them, looks at Nina with a bit of mischief in her expression. “Anyone see the Penguin slide on the news this morning?” “Yeah, yeah.” Nina shot off irritated, knowing what Keiko was prodding at. “Didn’t flip itself over, you know that right?” “Yeah, yeah.” she again shot off, irritated. “Think someone did that for it, right?” “Yeah, yeah.” “And there’s a letter for you from Marco Ramius in your pocket.” “Yeah, yeah.” (‘Jerk’ Nina said to herself as she skated on, trying to ignore Keiko.) “Gee.” Keiko sighs as they reach the Penguin slide, surrounded by the media and police, “Nothing really phases you once your in boredom mode.” “Yeah, yeah.” “-----” As they all looked on, the news crews were giving their thoughts on the thing as police, Alliance Officers, and two ACT officers (Advanced Counter Terrorism, ACT for short) poked around the penguin. “It’s Power.” Sakura suddenly whispers, her eyes looking over King Penguin very carefully. “I can sense her. She was here last night.” “And what about that?” Nina asks, pointing at the penguin slide and the symbol etched on it. “I know---” Sakura whispers as everyone edges closer to listen, attentions piqued. “I know---” “---absolutely nothing about that.” Nina faints. She quickly gets up as Sakura, blushing, turns to Tomoyo, “Maybe it’s graffiti?” “Power might be picking up an artistic sense.” Tomoyo added, to which Nina scoffed. “Or it’s an insignia from an Assassins’ Guild.” “Assassins’ Guild?” she and Sakura asked together. As they bladed away, Nina took over the conversation. “Assassins’ Guild. Remember Thunder‘s “partner“ it merged with? One of those fellows.” “Who is it this time?” Keiko asked, to which Nina shook her head. “Dunno. Can’t imagine anyone putting a contract out on “King Penguin”, of all things, but there’s got to be more to this than a simple case of “penguin tipping”.” “Guess we’ll find out soon enough, we’re almost to the zoo.” “I know---” Nina sighed, the zoo fast approaching. As she and Keiko drifted off to talk, Sakura/Tomoyo exchanged worried glances and begin to talk as well. “Is it power?” “Hoe----” Sakura moaned, her senses focusing back to what she saw at King Penguin. For a few seconds nothing then, “I sensed something--- I guess it’s Power but---” “You couldn’t tell?” “There was something else there--- muddled her power somehow.” “Muddled?” “It’s hard to explain.” Sakura tried to word, her hands motioning back and forth as if to signify something growing and shrinking. “I felt her power, but something tried to mask it--- the feeling was weak.” “Who? Could it be Mimic?” Tomoyo asked, to which Sakura could only shake her head “No, it doesn‘t feel like Clow energy at all--- something--- different.” Undaunted, Tomoyo pecked Sakura on the cheek as they reached their classmates, “You’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.” “Thanks, Tomoyo-chan---” Sakura answered, her voice trailing away until, “I don’t want to fight Clow Cards today. Can’t we have a normal happy day today?” Tomoyo smiles and takes Sakura’s hand, leading her brave Cardcaptor to their classmates. ------- The zoo was kinda quiet, and it was no wonder as to why. Christmas was only days away. People were far busier doing their last minute shopping than they were going to the zoo. Even the animals felt the decline in business and were taking the days off because there wasn’t much people to show off to. That, more than anything, riled Misho’s fur something fierce. Perhaps planning the trip for today was abit of a whismical whim, she thought to herself as she watched the students gathering near the entrance, but she needed the break that a possible new card incident might bring and wasn’t afraid to make things “happen” to get where she wanted to. That’s when she noticed Nina staring at her with an askew expression. She didn’t need to ask to know what was biting Nina in the rear, and she didn’t care. “Just as long as the card shows up on time.” she muttered to herself, “It’ll all be worth it.” ------- Sakura looked about the entrance to the zoo. Huge wrought iron gates stood ahead, leading into the gigantic Tokyo Zoo, major stockholder being one Misho NamoCatCat. The zoo wasn’t doing very brisk business this later into Christmas so Sakura anticipated a quiet day at the zoo. And, should trouble come, she thought it would make it easier on her with less people to avoid using her magic in front of. Tomoyo stood by her patiently, and with her calming smile relaxing Sakura’s tense nerves. They had talked to length about what might possibly be the card that Misho wanted Sakura to know about through her unexpected “field trip” offer to the school. And, as the two thrashed out the ideas, one card kept coming up as the likely candidate. That being Power, the card that came to the zoo once before and was sealed by Sakura here during her first time as Card Captor Sakura. But to think that Power was going to return to the “scene of the crime” that she visited the first time was abit of a stretch. Even Kero’s “crime show” logic of this being right up Power’s “alley” just didn’t seem to synch for Sakura. There had to be more to Power’s return than a trip down memory lane. As the class began, Mr. Terada once again handed out cameras and broke the class into groups, and this time besides Naoko, Rika and Chiharu being part of the group they also got Nina, Eliza and Misho (Misho coming in as they walked in one direction). “What?” Misho growled, noticing Nina’s inquisitive eyes staring directly at her as they started walking. “Got any explanation? King Penguin for example?” “I don’t know nothing about King Penguin. I just wanted to see where you were goi---” “Don’t lie to me.” Nina shot back, not even letting Misho finish her sentence, “There’s a card around here, isn’t there.” “I never said there was a ca---” “And there you go, lying a---” “DO YOU MIND?” Misho hisses, her voice falling silent as she realizes the others were watching her. As they went back to animal watching she drew Nina closer, “If one shows up I’d thought you’d be grateful that I’d save you all the work of tracking it down yourself. But you with your ingrateful-ness!” “Show gratitude for a publicity ploy from you? Heaven forbid.“ Nina countered, “If only your motives was as pure and benevolent as you make them sound someone might actually believe them.” The two split apart and walk on opposite sides of the girls without saying another word. ----- Sakura had two things on her mind. Pictures of penguins and pictures of elephants. No Clow Cards, no work, just herself, Tomoyo-chan, and the animals. Sakura had a love of penguins, but she also liked elephants a lot. Tomoyo, being the keeper of the camera, was game. Tomoyo, though, had three things on her mind. Pictures of the penguins, the elephants, and Sakura-chan--- oh, my. The others? Well, they were as much game as Sakura & Tomoyo so that fit their plans rather well. All they had to do was head for the elephant enclosure first and start the photo-ops. That’s when the topic came up. “Anyone hear about the penguin slide?” Chiharu asked, to which Naoko nodded her head, “Hmm. I heard a ghost did it.” “OOOoooh! That’d be so cool if that were true!” Rika sighed, “It’d make for a great picture for the class assignment.” “And not only that---” Nina added, leaning forward towards Sakura as she did, “---it’d be such a kick, especially if we saw a ghost right NOW!” “Elephants!” Sakura suddenly blurted out, running away as fast as she could. As Nina giggled she caught a disapproving glance from Tomoyo, which caused her to grumble “What?!” as she passed by. “It’s not my fault she’s such a baby about gh---” (whack) “---Eliza!” “Behave.” she sternly whispered, looking over to where Sakura was standing (shivering) waiting for Tomoyo to draw closer to comfort her. “Do you really need to get on Sakura’s case like that?” “It’s my one and only joy in this job.” Nina grumbles, “And I thought you were ditching on me today to go Christmas shopping? So don’t take my one legally in public joy in life away from me.” “Nina---” (Eliza leans over and kisses Nina softly on the lips) “There’s lots of joys that can be shared in public, and not just teasing Sakura.” “I guess---“ Nina sighed, knowing that once she felt Eliza’s soft lips against her own that she wouldn’t be able to resist her anymore today. Sigh. “By the way,” Nina suddenly changed the subject, a thought occurring to her, “---out of curiosity, where’s Rena? I thought she was coming today for this trip?” “She said she might have business today---” Eliza responded, looking about wondering the same thing Nina was wondering a few seconds before. ------- Sakura and Tomoyo, meanwhile, found a minute for a little private time between them as they waited for the next elephant exhibition to begin. “I’m sorry----” Sakura whispered, looking embarrassed, but Tomoyo only smiled and poked her on the cheeks with one finger each. “You just don’t like ghost very much, do you?” “I should be brave for you--- I want to be brave for you.” “You are brave for me. More than you could possibly imagine---” she whispered, her voice trailing off abit as she grew misty eyed and reflective. As she thought, Sakura’s eyes turned to her. Shocked, Tomoyo shook herself out of her own thoughts and went back to watching over Sakura. “Never mind. I’ll tell you about it someday. Come on, I want to take a picture of you with the elephants.” In the distance, unknown to them, someone was watching. But, for the time being, the only thing that mattered to the two young women were each other as Sakura ran over to pose in front of the elephant enclosure while Tomoyo snapped a few shots with both the disposable camera from the school and her own camera she bought for the field trip. But still, someone was watching them. ------- If there was one thing that was abundantly clear at this point, it was simply this--- Power was bored. Beyond all descriptions of the word. Beyond all meaning of the word. Power was bored. She was bored of the stakeout, and of the watching, and nothing she could think of as she sat there watching what was transpiring below would relieve that boredom. She kicked her feet aimlessly, waiting for some word of when they would act. But, as she sat there, she only received a gentle “Patience, Miss Power, patience.” and a gesture for her to take a nap while they waited from her partner, an armored male dressed in the gear and protective armoring of the Assassin Guild for which he belongs, Raven Guild. In the dim sunlight his dark black armor glistened, the light reflecting slightly off his visor as he dropped his rifle abit to gaze down at her. True, while she didn’t want to be down for too long, she knew that there was no talking him out of the waiting as long as he called the shots. Once he set his mind towards something it pretty much stood set and it took a lot of effort to change that mindset. And, as she grudgingly relented, they didn’t have the time to talk about it now. And since there really was nothing she could do about the boredom, she relented to the idea of sleeping until they moved. Besides her, the man in the dark black Raven Guild Assassin’ Guilder armor took abit of time to adjust the sights on his sniper scope on the plasma rifle he carried and waited. It was only a matter of time before he had a clear shot, but it wasn’t much longer. With that, Technocrat flipped open the visor plating and drew another sip of his drink as he watched for the target to show up. There was still time, and nobody seemed to be moving too fast to go anywhere. Even so, time was running out to deliver on the target packet. The target seemed to be there already, mind you, but there was no confirmation. All he knew was that the target was present, but not where the target was at this moment. One other thing, he knew the target would pass by the elephant enclosure, all he had to do was wait for the target and then--- Keep waiting, and the target would come to them, and as this moment that was his thoughts on the situation. And, as he himself relented earlier, that’s all they could do now. Still, he had his thoughts and opinions as to who wanted this hit carried out. And, being the well connected individual that he was, when Technocrat formed an opinion like that he was almost always dead right on when he made an opinion on something. He wondered however if this would be the first time that he was proven wrong on an opinion he formed. If nothing else, he knew one thing opinion or no, and that was that the target was coming. That alone, that was what was important at that time. Still, he didn’t like to wait, and wondered why the delay. The answer would come sooner than he thought it would, but for now--- Something suddenly catches his eye, and brings the rifle back up. It was showtime. ------ Alliance Command - Citadel City It was as if all the alarms were going off at once, and Admiral Nobringa just didn’t want to deal with it today. As she walked down the corridor to the “pit’, all about her she was bathed in a bright red from the flashing red alert lights as everyone scurried about. Seconds later she was joined by Temsik (who was a little slower dressing than Nobringa) as they piled into the hover elevator which directly linked to the command chamber. As the elevator moved, Nobringa pulled slightly on Temsik’s pants. “You seemed so much more lively before you moved into my quarters and we started being an item.” “Your very energetic in bed, Rai‘chal.” “Flattery got you in there in the first place, so I guess it’ll get you far---” she remarks, only to feel Temsik draw near. “I’m glad you’re here with me. You‘ve always been with me, I---” “I know--- I‘m glad we could be like this--- I love you too.” she sighs as she feels the lift slowing, the two stealing a quick kiss before entering the huge “pit” area. The main command chamber, a.k.a. “the pit”, is a huge room that drops downward into a circular “pit” of rows upon rows of tech computer stations manned with teams of tech officers, data gatherers, and Alliance Command personnel. Each level, sinking down tier after tier, lowers towards a central platform where several workstations lie strung out along the outer “circle” of the platform, and a huge round table with seven chairs occupied the space in it‘s center. It’s in this area that central area where Nobringa and Temsik went to, pouring over the pads of data left for them as it came in. On the huge screen to one side of the room’s upper walls, everyone watched the latest telemetry. On another screen, a Captain of a Datalus class Winterian Frigate was in constant contact with the center, her voice cracking abit as the stress wore on her nerves. Her ship was several parsecs out of the “ring” of dreamspace and into Elsespace (the white infinite void beyond the dream layer). “The rifts slowly expanding by the hour, growing wider as time passes.” ------ From her post on the bridge of her vessel, Captain Antilles had a clear view of the near invisible rift forming before them. The room’s full on CombatHoloSystem was on, which made the rift visible. The system, utilizing holovisors and a bridge encompassing holo-system, gathered data from outside the ship and projected a full out 360 degree “outside view” on the bridge. The effect was as if the entire bridge melts away (except for key posts like helm stations, the captain’s chair, weapons stations and so forth) showing the space outside. That made it easier for gunnery officers to bring the ship’s weaponry to bear on targets attacking from any angle, as well as made the helmsofficer’s job of piloting in tight situations easier since it gave the officer a clear view of his/her surroundings without the limitations of a viewscreen or sensor readings. The CHS (short for “CombatHoloSystem”) was set for tachyon particles and that’s how the rift was first sighted in the empty “noise” that existed in ElseSpace. The rift, which started small, was slowly beginning to grow hour upon hour upon hour. It was only in the last hour or so that they detected a huge object within the rift itself--- something waiting to come out. “Has anything passed through the rift yet?” Admiral Nobringa asked, to which she shook her head, “That’s a negative. Nothing has passed through yet, but from our readings here---” she pauses to check her readings one more time before replying, “---it looks like whatever it is that is stuck between realities is about the size of a small moon--- perhaps, if I were to hazard a guess, a Dyson Sphere.” ------ Several gasps and worried groans spread throughout the “pit”. A Dyson Sphere. In theory, an artificially created mobile ‘world’ with it’s own ecosystem and even a miniature artificial “sun” within the center of that “world”’s “space“. Dyson Sphere were, theoretically, a conceived of possible last ditch attempt to flee a dying homeworld. To date, however, the existence of Dyson Spheres was only theoretical in nature. No world in the known galaxy in the last 5000 years had ever had the ability or resources to build a Dyson Sphere, even in the gravest of emergencies, so to see one now--- it boggled the mind, and excited while also terrified the people in the “pit” at the same time. “How long before the rift is wide enough to allow the sphere through?” Nobringa asked. “Between seven to ten more days.” “Then there’s nothing more to be done. Best come back to the “barn” and release your crew for holiday on schedule.” Stunned silence. “B-b-but---” Nobringa cut her off before she could continue, “We can’t keep this under wraps if people note that a starship is hanging out in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. And, as you stated in your earlier report, the rift is hidden by the hard vacuum “noise” of Elsespace so nobody will notice it for the time being. And, according to estimates, we have until after Christmas to New Years’ before the rift sends out it’s “passenger” so we have time.” “Isn’t there anything we can do now?” “For now just drop some monitoring probes and we’ll keep track of the growth from here. But that’s that, return to base and release your crew for break. That’s all you can do until we know more.” And, with that, the link was severed. As Nobringa leaned back in her chair, she felt Temsik’s fingers working on her shoulders. All her aide ever wanted out of life is peace of mind for her superior officer--- the two living together since September seemed to make that “task” easier for her. Nobringa sighed, ’I have to remember to return the favor tonight.’ she thought to herself. From the walkway heading up towards the lifts, someone walked into their area and sat down. Nobringa didn’t need to look up from her slouched position to know who it was. She simply waited as he sat, wrote out something on a piece of paper, and pushed it towards her to read. “IT IS EVERYTHING THE TRANSMISSIONS HINT IT TO BE--- TIMES 20.” “Oh, sure---” Nobringa sighs, not hiding her irritation for a second, as she pushes the paper back to the male, “---kick us while we’re down why dontcha. Any other words of cheer, Captain Lazarus?” “Killing the messenger won’t make the message sound any better than it is right now.“ Captain Lazaruas remarked in an even tone of voice, “CLAMP School will soon be in “Session”, my friend--- whether we like it or not.” “So it’s true--- what the Goddess of the Paths said a few days ago---” Nobringa mutters, feeling Temsik pick up her pace trying to rub out the pain slowly forming in Nobringa’s body. “---should we---” “For the time being---” Jack lays out, slowly choosing his words as he speaks, “I think it’s best that we don’t involve Kotobuki or the others just yet--- at least, not until there’s something to involve them in.” ------ Meanwhile, back at the Tokyo Zoo. The elephant show was improved slightly since last time. This time, besides a tug of war against volunteers from the audience (students), it also did a tug of war against a small mobile crate moving mecha (and the mecha always lost to the elephant). The pictures Tomoyo was taking promised to be stunning, and this time (mused Sakura) she didn’t have any interference from a Clow card. As for King Penguin? It had to have been Power. Maybe she was just bored and wanted to entertain herself. Once she had enough of being human she’d return to Sakura and become a card again. But, for now, Power was trying to find anyway to amuse herself. Though, and this thought made Sakura particularly happy, as long as she didn’t find entertainment at the zoo while Sakura was there then she didn’t mind what Power did to keep herself occupied (as long as nobody was hurt). Suddenly she felt Tomoyo draw closer, her head coming to rest on Sakura’s shoulder as they watched the elephants. Sakura sighed happily, enjoying Tomoyo’s reassuring presence near her as she enjoyed Tomoyo herself. Sakura draws an arm around Tomoyo’s waist, and draws her close. Tomoyo was with her, her friends was with her, and everything was perfect. “Lunch!” Sakura suddenly facefaults as the other girls in their group suddenly turn and walk off. “---so much for the romantic moment---” Sakura sighed, irritated that everyone just walked off for lunch on such short notice. They didn’t even bother asking if they wanted to go along. Tomoyo, sensing Sakura’s frustration, poked at the huge lunch she was carrying for them and smiled. “Maybe we can refind our romantic moment after a little lunch?” “Ok.” Sakura relented, knowing that Tomoyo was only thinking of her when she made the suggestion. “Let’s eat then.” Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, and she suddenly went dashing off towards the wooded area between off to one side (where visitors could rest during their walk through the zoo) in a panic. ------ “He didn’t sneak along this time.” Tomoyo noted, pointing at the bag one more time. They had already set out lunch and this time no Kerberos. The bag only contained lunch, a pouch of Tomoyo’s batteries for her cameras, and some spare film. No extra passengers. Sakura, just for good measure, looks one more time before she goes back to eating. “I was sure he was hiding in there again.” “I think Kero is far too happy with staying at home and---” Tomoyo stops, noticing Sakura’s sour expression. “What’s wrong?” “I don’t know--- I just want to be alone with you today---” she laments, looking about her, the small wooded area was covered in a light snow cover, the three bare but yet there was enough cover around them so they had a measure of privacy. Still, as she knew, they were not really alone. But that didn’t matter to Tomoyo in the slightest as she cuddled up next to Sakura and helped her dig into their lunches. As they ate, Tomoyo would occasional give Sakura a squeeze or lean on her shoulder, a little something here and there so that, even with everyone around them, it seemed as if they were having an intimate lunch in a very private place just for the two of them to enjoy. Finally, after they finished their meal and took to laying in the snow staring at the sky for a few minutes, Sakura’s worry lines faded and she began to smile again. “Now that’s the kind of expression I cherish from you, Sakura-chan.” Tomoyo whispers, poking Sakura’s cheek as she does, “Your smile is very important to me.” “Tomo-chan---” Sakura whispered happily, rolling over to bring her head against Tomoyo’s chest now as she laid in Tomoyo’s arms, “Do you think we’ll ever--- I mean--- get married--- like Meilin---” “I’m sure we will.” “I’m happy--- I---” Sakura stammers, blushing as she looks into Tomoyo’s eyes, “---I---” A loud explosion rocks the ground, as if something fell out of the sky. Instinctively, Sakura grabs onto Tomoyo, crying out. As the seconds pass, Tomoyo looks about. “That must be Power. Sakura---” “NO!! I don’t want our happiness to end! Let someone else do it!” “Sakura-chan.” Tomoyo gasped, looking down at her love, shivering as she held her. “I don’t want our special moments to be always interrupted by Clow Cards! I want my life back!! I don’t want to be the Mistress of the Cards anymore!! I want you!! I want you!!” “Sakura-chan---” Tomoyo whispered, drawing Sakura up to eye level, “That’ll never change. We’ll always be together---” (another explosion) “I want to be a normal girl again--- a girl in love--- I don’t want to do this anymore---” “I know, I know---” she sighs, holding Sakura tight, “---but you made a vow that you would. As I vowed I’d always be at your side, as long as you’d have me.” “I don’t want to lose you! I love you!” “Then there’s nothing to be worried about.” (explosion) “Now I want you to dry those tears and let’s get going. I know it’s hard but as long as I’m here I won’t let you carry your burdens alone.” “Tomo-chan---” Sakura whimpered, before finally pulling herself together and standing up. “You’re right! I can’t let this happen---” she pulls Tomoyo to her feet and the two race out of the small wooded area towards the disturbance. ------- As the two reached the elephant enclosure they saw something that brought them to a halt. Power, quite visible, was using her power to bench press a 7 foot tall mecha suit. Somebody had apparently snuck a tessaract gem into the park with the suit, and was using it now for some reason. Sakura gasped, watching as Power, eyes narrowed and focused, used simply motioned with her hands to lift the huge armor off the ground without touching it. “I don’t believe it---” Sakura gasped. “She’s using telekinesis---” Tomoyo whispered, her camcorder going since they left the trees recording everything they saw. Sakura couldn‘t understand what was happening, “---but how--- gasp!” She then remembered something. ------- Years ago--- King Penguin Park Sakura wanted to flip King Penguin back rightside up, she just knew however that it wasn’t going to be an easy task. She could pick up King Penguin easy enough, but she didn’t know how to get it right side up now that she had it. Holding it was no problem with Power’s power, but still--- “Levitate and flip it.” Both Sakura & Tomoyo turns over to Kero, Sakura blushing abit. “Levitate?” “How’d you think a little girl like Power could lift that elephant so high? Let alone give it that toss when her small body size would have made that difficult even with her power levels?” Silence. Kero sighs and he elaborates for the two of them. “She’s the embodiment of power, but not merely physical power. For instance, those craters she left while invisible? Wasn’t merely her jumping. She used her mind to cushion her jumps in a dramatic manner with a “shockwave” that created those craters. She also can use her power to thrash things, or bench press large objects and hurtle them into the air with minimum effort. One of her better tricks I have to say.” “Tricks?!?” Sakura blushed, only to realize that Tomoyo had taken her picture. ------ “Tomo-chan---” Sakura sighs, remembering the awkward moment with Yuki when he saw that picture of her bench pressing King Penguin, blushing at Kero’s idea of her levitating the huge slide. She eventually flipped it over and got it in place, but she remembered just now how Kero said Power had more “power” than she let on. With a swipe of her arm she sends the armor flying into the air, just as she did the elephant a few years ago. Sakura, holding her wand out, takes a step forward. “Pow---” “PAPA! Your turn!” “P-p-papa?” Sakura stammers, looking about. Behind Power, she suddenly notices, a man in dark armor steps out. As he watches the armor stall in midair, beginning it’s fall back down, he brings to bear a long rifle from his own tessaract jewel and motions to Power. “Stop it just so above the ground please.” “Ok.” she nods, quickly bringing the mech to a halt in the air above just within reach of the two. “She could do that???” Sakura gasped, realizing just now the extent of Power’s power. As they watched, the armored male puts the rifle’s tip against the mech’s faceplate and waves at the armor, “Bye now.” BAM! Sakura’s jaw drops open. Tomoyo stands there stunned. As the two watch he motions for Power to toss the mech armor aside, leaving it and it’s now dead pilot for someone else to clean up. As he motions for her to follow him, Sakura bolts forward towards her. “WAIT! YOU MONSTER!! WHY---” Power, shocked by Sakura’s appearance, lashes out knocking Sakura back with a jolt of psionics, sending her flying into Tomoyo knocking the two of them down. “Power!” Technocrat calls out, coming to rest near her, “Don’t panic like that. You could have hurt someone.” “I’m sorry---” she sighs, looking back at Sakura, “She’s dangerous, papa.” “Power, wait! You shouldn’t be with---” “SHE’S DANGEROUS!” Power screams, clinging onto Technocrat’s shoulder allowing him to hoist her up in the air. Just then, Nina & Keiko (who were eating lunch with the other girls) show up. As the two sides stare at each other, Power nudges the armored male. “Let’s just go.” “Right---” he agrees, stepping backwards from everyone. Sakura, legs abit wobbly, stands up and tries to walk towards Power again. “Power, wait! Come back with me! You don’t want to stay with---” “LEAVE PAPA ALONE!” she cries out, “IF YOU TRY TO TAKE ME AWAY FROM PAPA I’LL KILL YOU!!” Sakura stops dead in her tracks, her face frozen. “---kill---” “LEAVE US ALONE!! LEAVE PAPA AND MAMA ALONE!! DON’T YOU DARE HARM THEM!! NEVER!!” she cries, as the two teleport away. Sakura, dumbfounded and confused, collapses on the ground. “---kill me---” Tomoyo holds onto Sakura, comforting her after her second big shock in one week. In the background, Fight watches. “I knew it was a mistake.” she sighed, leaning against the tree. Suddenly a voice calls out and a hand tugs on her shirt. “Miss?” Fight turns and smiles, tapping her young charge on her head as she motioned back to the class. “Nothing. Let’s go.” During vacation, Mirra’s class was taking excursions to the sights of Tokyo from time to time, and their new P.E. teacher today was subbing on the field trip. As Fight drew near, she wondered if Mirra felt her--- only to smile. ‘She’s more interested in her love life than me.’ she thinks, watching Mirra & Hikaru hold hands as they followed her through the zoo. ‘Just as well. Even with my disguise I can’t hide my presence from her forever--- still, it’s a nice thought.’ As they go on, Fight briefly thinks about Power, and lets it go. ‘Guess I’m not the only one with a lifestyle that mistress disapproves of.’ ------ Nina called up for data on the assassin Technocrat and came up with the following. TECHNOCRAT Human Assassin Listed as “The Technological Assassin” Raven Guild Technology enhanced and skilled with cybernetic and technological killing tools Presently partnered with Quake (see Version 2.0) Last updated 8-14-02 “Version 2.0?” “Let’s find out about that, Tomoyo.” Nina responds as she pulls up the data. “Now, before, Quake looked like this---” The image of a huge male in battle armor comes up. QUAKE Cyberroid Assassin Listed as “The Terran Assassin” Raven Guild Special Ability - Ability to manipulate “terra” in general vicinity. Presently partnered with Technocrat (original) See Version 2.0 for update (8-14-02) “That means he can manipulate the earth beneath him.” Nina points out, pointing at a line in the text. “We know that!” Keiko rebuffs, “What’s the new Quake look like? And this time how about a nude pic so we can become totally disgusted at his murdering loathsome male body.” “Gee, aren’t you just a well adjusted individual with males.” Nina sighs. Sakura, still shellshocked, just sat there, cradled in Tomoyo’s arms as they watched. “OK. One completely embarrassing picture of Quake 2.0 in the buff coming---” (she stops) QUAKE 2.0 Amazonian Assassin Listed as “The Terran Goddess Assassin” Raven Guild Special Ability - Ability to manipulate “terra” in general vicinity. Presently partnered with Technocrat (original) Sex change to Amazonian (8-14-02) “----” Everyone just stood there, staring. And staring. And--- Keiko grabs her face and screams, “AGH!! THAT’S HORRIBLE!! IT’S EVIL!!” “Eliza’s is much bigger.” Nina scoffs, turning the image off. “OH YOU WOULD SAY THAT!!!” Keiko screams, making Sakura cringe and hold Tomoyo tighter, “THAT’S SICK!! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?!?” “That Quake is the girl in the relationship?” “-----” (silence) “---you make me want to go back to my sake addiction--- you know that.” “You had a sake addiction?” Nina coyly responded, rolling her eyes. “You know I did! (After November how couldn’t you!)” Keiko huffed, storming out. “Well that was fun.” Nina sighs, turning back at Sakura. “I always thought Technocrat was that kind, but I guess he was more bi-sexual than I gave him credit for. Say, Sakura, what do---” Sakura was crying in Tomoyo’s arms. Nina smiles, and moves forward to comfort Sakura. “I know, I know.” Nina sighs, wrapping her arm around Sakura. “It must be an enormous shock to find Power has fallen for those two. Wanting to be the daughter of two assassins must be painful, and how she threatened you. But I’m here for you!” (Nina leans forward) “Anything you want to talk about! Anything at all! I’m here for you!” Sakura, red faced and teary, looked up at Nina and she began to mouth a few words before going back to crying on Tomoyo’s shoulder. Nina walks out of the room in a huff. “Goddamn fascist bigot fixation on Eliza’s Amazonian gender! She doesn’t see me go all bitchy and crying everytime I think of Tomoyo wearing a strap on does she?!? Same thing after all!”
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