Chapter 11
"I think Ieran's house is that way, but I was so scared I wasn't really paying any attention. Maybe if I fly that way a while, I'll see or feel something I recognize." But after flying several minutes she still didn't see anything familiar. "If only I had my cell phone. No, that wouldn't help, I forgot, Mom may be the only one alive back there and she can't give me directions." This sad thought really hurt. "If I hadn't brought Sakura and the Cards here, Ieran and her family would still be alive... But now I have to get back there and see what really happened. At least I didn't lose Mom anyway."
But after flying a while longer, she realized she was lost. She remembered the address that she had given the cab driver at the airport but she had no way of finding an address from the air with no map. She couldn't see the street signs without coming down nearly to the ground. "If I can find a cab... No, I have no money." But after flying aimlessly for a few more minutes she realized she wasn't going to find the house by chance. "I need a cab. I will just have to convince the driver to take me to the Li's and I'll pay him there. I have plenty of Hong Kong money in our room." But as she searched the streets, there were lots of cars but no sign of a cab. "Maybe if I fly towards the downtown area, over there where all the tall buildings are..."
When she got there, there were plenty of cabs, so after dipping down to find an empty one she set down on the sidewalk some distance in front of it and tried to wave it down. But it went right by. "Of course, you idiot, you forgot to make yourself visible. But... if the driver sees me, carrying what looks like a dead girl in pajamas, is he going to pick me up or call the police? But I have Illusion!" she realized. So she flew ahead of the cab, dropped down and had Illusion make the driver see a rich looking lady carrying a package, which worked, once she convinced the driver that she did NOT want her package in the trunk. In a little while, she was at the Li residence.
"But now what? The gate is closed. I could fly over, but he would see me...but maybe..."
"Please wait here." She told the driver, then got out and got Sakura back into her arms. "Illusion!" she said quietly, "Make the driver see me enter and leave the house normally." With this, she flew up and around the house until she found the missing window.
But now she had another problem. On her way out she had only cut a large enough hole for her and Sakura, not her wings. She didn't call them until she was out on the roof which angled down from just below the window.
But the tile roof was not a secure place to land, and certainly not while carrying Sakura. "I could just cut a really big hole in the wall...but that would be really hard while I am carrying Sakura with both arms, and besides I hate to do that to Ieran's house...but she is probably dead anyway...but- Mom?" In fact, Sonomi had felt Tomoyo's shield and had come to the hole in the wall looking for her daughter.
"MEET ME AT THE FRONT DOOR AND UNLOCK IT FOR ME!" Tomoyo yelled much louder than necessary since Silent was erasing the sound of her wings.
"Okay. I'll be right there." Her mom replied and disappeared into the house.
xxxx
"Is...she alive?" Sonomi asked as she followed Tomoyo to the stairs.
"Yes. She's fine. Just sleeping. How...about Ieran and her family?" Tomoyo asked hesitantly.
"They seem to be in a deep sleep state and-"
"That's wonderful!" Tomoyo interrupted, "I was so afraid that they were dead."
"Was that... I mean did Kutong just attack us?"
"Exactly right Mom. But no worry...we sent him to Hell..." Tomoyo finished with an odd look and a shrug. Having never heard her daughter use such language, Sonomi was stunned for a moment. Long enough for Tomoyo to get to Sonomi's room.
Once she had Sakura on the bed she turned to her mom. "Please stay here and protect her with your shield. I have to pay the cab driver."
"Okay. But...the cab driver?... But you were...flying..." The confused woman finished to an empty doorway, for Tomoyo had gone to her room for money.
xxxx
Grabbing her purse she headed back down but being still rattled from all the stress and still afraid of another attack by cohorts of Kutong, she made a wrong turn and had to use her Magic sense to find her way to the front door of the huge house. But the walk out to the gate helped her settle down some and she began feeling like the intelligent, well disciplined girl she usually was. She smiled as she paid the driver, gave him a big tip and a heart felt thanks for his service. "You don't know it but you were a great help to me when I was lost."
Back inside she found Ieran with her Magic sense and stripped the sleep spell off of her.
"Tomoyo? What happened?" She started sleepily.
"Kutong caught you with a sleep spell."
"Where is he? Is he is coming back here?!"
"No, I'm quite sure that no one will see him again. He may be dead by now, if not it's just a matter of time.
"He may be? Where is he?" Ieran demanded.
"Earthy made a really deep hole, maybe many kilometers deep. The Cards pushed him into it and then Earthy dropped a few hundred ton chunk of rock on top of him to push him down, then closed the hole. Last I checked, he was about four hundred meters or so down and still descending fast. He may still be falling now, I don't know, but I don't see how he could possibly survive." Tomoyo finished with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Good enough for now, though I wish I could get confirmation of his death. I've heard stories about how he has slipped out of traps before." As she finished speaking she remembered she had more urgent things to deal with. "Have you checked my children?! Are they all right?!" But then she notice that her eldest daughter was laying on the floor by the window and Tomoyo felt her scanning the whole area. "They are all just sleeping. I will remove this spell first." After a moment she continued speaking as she knelt by the girl on the floor. "I have never felt this spell before but it seems similar to a very old and powerful sleep spell that I am familiar with. I should be able to remove it without harm. Please check on the others and make them comfortable please, as this will take some time."
"I can do that, but wouldn't it be better if I removed all the sleep spells myself? It only takes me a few seconds." Tomoyo replied.
"A few seconds? And how would you do that?" Ieran asked as though Tomoyo was a foolish child. Instead of answering, the irritated Tomoyo just peeled the spell off the girl on the floor and in about five seconds she was opening her eyes.
"Like that." Tomoyo said clearly.
Ieran stared at her daughter for a moment then stood and bowed very low to Tomoyo. "I humbly apologize for my disrespect. It won't happen again, Tomoyo-sama."
"Don't be concerned. You are under a lot of stress. I'll go and wake the rest of your people now, okay?"
"If you would, could you wake my children first? That would ease my mind greatly." Ieran asked very politely. "I can show you were they are."
So Ieran's other two daughters were awakened followed by Syaoran. The girls were polite and thankful, and Syaoran was furious.
"WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE WARN ME WE WERE GOING TO BE ATTACKED?! I could have held him off if I had been ready!"
"He sounds like Kero." Tomoyo thought to herself with a smile as Ieran expressed her disapproval of her sons behavior. "And where is Kero?" Tomoyo wondered. A quick Magic scan found him in the a pantry sound asleep on a pile of sweets.
Once Syaoran had been properly chastised, Ieran went around with Tomoyo as she woke up the rest of the people in the house as well as Kero, and they talked as they walked.
So how did you and Sakura get him into that hole?" Ieran asked as Tomoyo removed the sleep spell from another of Ieran's people.
"Sakura was using her Dream Card to find out what was going to happen when Kutong attacked. I couldn't wake her so I flew away with her. I'm sorry but I destroyed the window in our room, but I was in a hurry to get away."
"Do not worry about it in the least. Such things can be easily fixed. "So you flew away with Sakura? You were using her Fly Card?"
"No, actually, I have my own Fly Card. Remember I said that the reincarnation of Clow made me some Cards. I have Fly, Shield and...a sort of sword Card." When Ieran nodded Tomoyo continued. "I had Fiery and some other Cards attack him but they couldn't touch him through his Shield. I'm glad that Earthy came up with such a clever trap and even more glad that it worked.
"It is fortunate for all of us... So the Cards obey you?"
"Well...sort of. Anyway, Fiery seems to like me so he threatens any Cards that don't want to obey me."
"Interesting. And it is said that Fiery is one of the hardest Cards to control due to his love of destruction."
"That part is certainly true. He seems to really enjoy burning things and killing."
"But then why would he like you?" Ieran asked.
"I don't have any idea. But he has been a lot of help to me."
"Yes, well... I am terribly sorry I wasn't any help myself. I am very ashamed of how I was so foolishly confident..." After a moment of painful silence Ieran continued. "He must have been here in Hong Kong, or at least close by when he learned the Cards were here. And he was far stronger than I expected." She sighed. "My shield was useless against his sleep spell..."
"Suddenly Tomoyo felt Sakura. "Sakura is awake and frightened. I need to talk to her, if you will excuse me?"
"Of course."
"It hasn't been an hour yet. Sakura must have made Dream release her early." She met the Cardmistress at the top of the stairs and as soon as Sakura saw her she yelled, "KUTONG WILL BE HERE ANY MINUTE! WE NEED TO GET READY!"
Tomoyo caught the excited girl in her arms and held her gently as she spoke. "It's over, Sakura-chan. Kutong is likely dead by now. Earthy pushed him really deep into the Earth. You missed it." she finished with a smile.
"I MISSED IT! You fought Kutong all by yourself?" Sakura cried.
"Not by myself. It was your Cards who saved us. Earthy came up with the idea, and Fiery organized it. I was just the bait. You have them to thank."
After Tomoyo explained all that had happened to Sakura and her mom who had been right behind Sakura, the Cardmistress did thank them. Everyone but Earthy since she wasn't back yet.
"Maybe Kutong is still falling." Tomoyo wondered with a shiver. "It's over six thousand kilometers to the center, that would take many hours... With all his power he must have Cards of his own. Perhaps Sakura can capture them and convert them for our own use. Or better yet, for Mom's use!" The sprites had all gone back to Card form and Sakura was putting them away, when Tomoyo spoke. "I wonder if Fiery can find Kutong and see if he has any cards." Fiery instantly popped up and smiled at her.
"Sure I can. You want me to make sure they are destroyed?" He asked.
Sakura jumped a bit at the unexpected appearance of Fiery and snapped at him. "I told you to go back to Card form!"
"You want me to ignore Tomoyo? She's part of you, you know. And the smarter part too." Fiery smiled back. Both Tomoyo and Sonomi couldn't help smiling at this.
"Fiery!" Sakura said as she blushed. Tomoyo was trying to keep a straight face but with Sakura's cute blush she lost it and had to chuckle.
"I'm sorry Sakura!" Tomoyo was quick to recover.
"That's okay, I guess." Sakura sighed. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you, Fiery. You are perfectly right. Tomoyo is not only part of me, but the smarter part. And you and all the other Cards should obey her as you would me."
"Told you so!" Fiery had to add with a grin then turned to Tomoyo. "So did you say you want to make sure all of that guys Cards are destroyed?"
"No, not at all. I think we should capture them and remake them as our own. We can use all the power we can get. But Kutong's shield may not have lasted this long and they may all be destroyed by the heat and pressure down there already."
"Isn't it rather risky to try to take his Cards away from him? Sonomi wanted to know. "What if it gives him a way of escaping?"
"We can't get to his Cards until he is dead, so there isn't really any risk. Besides I was capturing dangerous Cards when I was ten." Sakura said proudly. "The worst that could happen is that they are destroyed when he is destroyed.
"Okay, can I talk now?" Fiery asked everyone.
"Yes, of course." Sakura replied.
"I can go down into the ground after Earthy and see what's happening, it won't take long."
"But if he's still falling... Are you fast enough to catch up with him?" Tomoyo wanted to know.
"You've never seen me really open up! I am FAST!" Fiery informed them with a proud grin.
"Take Shadow with you, Fiery, and have him capture any Cards that you can find, then bring them back here, and I'll remake them." Sakura instructed.
"Shadow can't travel though the ground like I can. But Earthy should be able to hold any loose Cards she can get a hold of underground. And when she brings them back to the surface she can pass them to Shadow and let him bring them back here."
"Okay." Sakura said, then looked at Tomoyo.
"It sounds like a good plan." she agreed while Sonomi just shrugged, realizing she was way out of her league.
Do it, Fiery and Shadow." Sakura ordered and in an instant Shadow came out of the deck and followed Fiery down the hall. As they turned into Sakura, and Tomoyo's room (which has the big hole where the window used to be) the girls heard him call out to Shadow. "Come on! This is going to be fun!"
"I really don't like the sound of that." Sakura sighed.
"I don't either, but as long as he gets the job done... And even if Kutong is still alive, he is a really bad guy." Tomoyo said reassuringly, then did her best to think about something else. And something else to think about came up very soon.
"Tomoyo? Did something happen to me while I was asleep? There is a tender spot on my left hip and my left shoulder feels stiff and sore."
"Oh yeah. I did slam her into the ground once and fell on her twice."
"I'm sorry Sakura-chan! It's my fault. I was clumsy when I was carrying you and fell a couple of times. On top of you..." Tomoyo added sadly.
"That's okay Tomoyo! You saved my life as well as...well, saved the world...which is even better than saving Hong Kong like you did last time! Don't worry about a little thing like that-ouch!" Sakura finished as she forgot and reached for the stair rail with her left hand.
After several more assurances from Sakura and a couple from her mom, Tomoyo realized that her sadness and regrets were hurting her love who always wanted her to be happy. So she did her best to forget her mistakes and think about the future.
"So, it looks like your shield passed the test." She said to her mom.
"I guess it did." Sonomi realized. "Well it is a good Earth Magic Shield!" She smiled.