And here's what was originally meant to be the second half of chapter 2,
although I actually rather like having two separate chapters to capture
the events of this rollercoaster evening. For those of you just joining
our story, it should suffice to know that a new Clow Card called JOKER
has been granting Tomoyo's wishes, and making her life rather
troublesome in the process. If you want details (since this spoilerific
summary hardly scratches the surface of the story), visit
http://nidoking.anifics.com/52Curses.html . They're short chapters,
honest.

If you like what you read, please let me know! (Especially if it's what
I wrote. If you read something else and like that, I probably won't be
quite as interested.) Even if you don't, feel free to drop me a line to
say whatever's on your mind. I won't bite. Too hard.


52 Curses
Chapter 3: Tomoyo, Sakura, and the Inescapable Room

    For the rest of the evening, Sakura and Tomoyo amused themselves in
Tomoyo's room. Tomoyo called down for another tray of hot tea, which her
mother was only too happy to send a servant up with. Meanwhile, the
girls and Kero played a few board games, played with Tomoyo's favorite
dolls, and talked about their favorite adventures. All thoughts of JOKER
were gone, replaced by the familiar happiness of their friendship.
    All too soon, however, it ended. "Sakura!" called Mrs. Daidouji's
voice from downstairs. "It's time for you to go home!"
    "Coming!" Sakura shouted.
    Tomoyo sighed. "I wish you didn't have to leave, Sakura."
    "Me too," agreed Sakura. "I don't want to leave you alone with
JOKER. But remember, Kero says it's not trying to hurt you. So I'm sure
you'll be safe. And I'll see you tomorrow morning at the park, when we
go to see Yamazaki's model plane."
    "I'll have to try to convince my mother to let me go," said Tomoyo.
"I don't think she wants me to go outside anymore, after what happened
today."
    "Maybe if I can get my dad to pick you up from here, she'll let you
come with us," Sakura suggested. "If we're all in a big group with some
adults, she'll have to think everything's safe. And Kero and I will be
there to make sure JOKER doesn't try anything funny."
    "I hope you're right," said Tomoyo. She leaned forward to give
Sakura a hug. "I'm going to miss you. I wish you could spend the night,
but my mother would never allow it after all that's happened today."
    Sakura blushed. "It's only one night, Tomoyo... you'll be fine."
    "You know, Sakura can't stay the night, but I can," offered Kero. "I
may not be able to do much without transforming, but maybe she'll feel
less alone if I'm here."
    "That would be wonderful!" said Tomoyo. "Thank you, Kero!" She
removed her arms from Sakura to give Kero a hug.
    "Hey... watch the wings!" he protested.
    "It won't be the same without you around the house," Sakura said
wistfully.
    Kero extracted himself carefully from Tomoyo's arms. "Yeah, it'll be
different, but you can live without me for one night. Besides, it'll be
fun here. Tomoyo can get any type of food she wants, no questions asked,
and I won't have to spend the whole night hiding from your big brother."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, now that you're officially
the Card Captor, I suppose you don't really NEED to have me around any
more, and Tomoyo's such a lonely girl...."
    "KERO!" Sakura shouted jealously.
    Tomoyo smiled. "I'm sure Kero is just joking, Sakura. I just need
this comfort for tonight, and then I'm sure I'll be just fine. Tomorrow,
we'll come up with a way to capture JOKER, and I won't need Kero to keep
me company."
    "That's right," agreed Kero with an affirming nod. Then, he
whispered into Tomoyo's ear, "Of course, there's no rush to capture it
immediately, right?"
    Sakura smiled. "Well, you two have a nice night. Bring him to the
park in the morning." She grabbed the doorknob and rattled it. "Hey! The
door's stuck!"
    "It shouldn't be locked," said Tomoyo. "I don't even have a key for
that door."
    "I think this is JOKER's work," said Kero. He sniffed at the air.
"Can you feel it, Sakura? The magic presence in the room is a bit
stronger."
    "It feels just like when we were locked in that room by the LOCK
card," agreed Sakura.
    "JOKER must have used the power of LOCK to seal this room," said
Tomoyo.
    "That's no problem," returned Sakura with a smile. "I've still got
the Clow Key. I just have to unlock the door." She removed the necklace
with the Clow Key on it from around her neck and inserted it into the
keyhole. A quick turn unlocked the door. "See? No problem!" She opened
the door and gasped.
    "What is it, Sakura?" asked Tomoyo, moving toward the door to get a
better view.
    "This doesn't look anything like your house!" announced Sakura.
Indeed, as Tomoyo moved around the bed, what she saw through the doorway
was not the familiar hallway beyond her door, but a short corridor that
branched in two directions at the end, with the same wallpaper as that
which covered the walls of Tomoyo's room.
    "It looks like the beginning of a maze," said Tomoyo.
    "The MAZE card," agreed Kero. "It's JOKER again. It's trying to
prevent us from leaving this room!"
    "We'll have to find our way through it," said Sakura. "Tomoyo, do
you have any string in here? We can use it to trace our path."
    "There's some in my sewing kit," said Tomoyo. But the mention of the
sewing kit that she used to make Sakura's costumes reminded her of
something.... "Sakura? Would you change into one of the costumes I made
for you while I find the string?"
    A giant bead of sweat ran down the side of Sakura's head. "Why?"
    "Because we're fighting a Clow Card!" Tomoyo reminded her. "We
haven't had an adventure like this since you caught EARTHY!"
    Sakura sighed. "All right. I guess I might as well."
    "Is something wrong, Sakura?" asked Tomoyo, visibly disappointed at
Sakura's reluctance.
    "No, not at all!" said Sakura, waving her hand apologetically. "I
love the costumes you make for me, really! But don't you think we should
try to get through this maze quickly, before our parents come looking
for us and get lost in it?"
    Tomoyo nodded thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought about that," she
admitted. A lost opportunity to see Sakura in one of her outfits, but
keeping the Clow Cards a secret was certainly more important.
    "We haven't got a lot of time before they start getting suspicious,"
said Kero. "Definitely not enough time to find our way through MAZE. I
think we'd better find another way out of here."
    "You could go out the window," suggested Tomoyo. She grabbed the
Clow Cards from the bed and handed them to Sakura. "Use the FLOAT card
to get to the ground safely."
    "Hey, good call!" said Kero. "You could be a Card Captor yourself,
if you had any magic power."
    Sakura nodded emphatically. "Okay, I'm ready."
    "Too bad you're not in costume," Tomoyo whispered.
    "I'm sorry," Sakura apologized, "but I really don't have time for
that." She held the Clow Key in her palm. "Key which hides the powers of
darkness," she chanted, "return to your true form. I, Sakura, command
you under our contract. RELEASE!" Nothing happened. Sakura prodded the
key with a finger, but it lay perfectly still and lifeless in her palm.
"Huh? What's wrong with it?"
    Kero crossed his arms. "This must be the power of JOKER at work
again. It's sealed away the power of your magic."
    Sakura gasped. "If I can't summon the sealing wand, I won't be able
to seal JOKER!"
    "And you won't be able to use any of the Clow Cards!" added Tomoyo.
    "What do we do now, Kero?" asked Sakura, turning to see Kero
grunting in exertion. "What are you trying to do?"
    Kero exhaled sharply. "I can't transform either," he informed her as
he caught his breath. "JOKER's sealed all the power of Clow somehow."
    Sakura fell to her knees. "This is impossible! It's got all the
magic I used to have, and I have none! How can we beat JOKER when we're
so outmatched?"
    "We've just got to solve every puzzle it throws at us," announced
Kero. "The cards chose you because you have what it takes to be a Card
Captor, and one of the most important qualities is not being dependent
on the cards. You can do anything without them as long as you can
believe in yourself."
    "I do believe in myself," whined Sakura. "I just believe in the
myself that has the Clow Cards."
    Kero sighed. "Sakura... now's not the time to give up!"
    Tomoyo clutched Sakura's arm tightly in a hug. "I have an idea! Let
me pick out a costume for you, and then it will be just like the old
days, when we had so much fun capturing the Clow Cards together!"
    Sakura's face lit up with an embarrassed smile. "Again with the
costumes.... All right," she agreed resignedly. "I guess it might help
if I put on one of your costumes."
    Tomoyo's heart sank as Sakura's melancholy struck her with full
force. Seeing Sakura wearing a beautiful costume always lifted Tomoyo's
spirits, but there was nothing she could do to cheer Sakura up. It was
the most miserable feeling imaginable. If only there was a way Sakura
could share her happiness.... But enough wishful thinking. Tomoyo had
walked into the closet deep in thought, and now found herself staring at
the unfinished dress that the brooch she'd seen that afternoon would
have completed. But she couldn't put an incomplete costume on Sakura.
She'd have to choose a different one for tonight.
    "Um, Tomoyo..." Sakura said timidly from the closet door. "That one
you're looking at...."
    Tomoyo spun around, a fierce blush coloring her face. "Oh, no! It's
not finished yet! I'll find another one for you to wear...."
    "Actually...." Sakura shuffled her feet as she spoke. "I thought it
would look good on you."
    "On me?" Tomoyo was a bit shocked at the very idea. "But I made
these only for you!"
    "I just don't think it's fair," continued Sakura. "You spend all
your time making these wonderful costumes for me, and you never get to
wear any of them yourself. You should have pretty clothes to wear as
well...."
    "I don't need anything, as long as you're happy," Tomoyo protested
self-consciously, certain by now that her face was actually on fire.
Unsure of how to react to what seemed to be an advance from Sakura,
Tomoyo looked up, only to find that Sakura had done the same. Their eyes
met, and they stared at each other, drinking in their embarrassed yet
warm feelings.
    Finally, Sakura broke the silence. "Um... I was thinking...."
    "Yes?" prompted Tomoyo.
    Sakura turned away and covered her face with her hands. "No, never
mind. It's silly, really."
    "No, what is it?" asked Tomoyo, taking a careful step toward Sakura.
There was definitely something strange going on with her.
    Sakura peered at Tomoyo between her fingers, watching for her
reaction. "I was just thinking that you always videotape me when I'm
capturing a Clow Card...."
    Tomoyo nodded, not saying anything as she took another step forward.
    "Well, since you're the one filming, you never get to be on the
tape," Sakura pointed out. "So I thought maybe, since this is your card,
I should film you instead."
    Tomoyo froze. "F-film me?" Why was her heart pounding so hard all of
a sudden?
    "You have so many tapes of me, Tomoyo," said Sakura, her voice
sounding as nervous as Tomoyo felt. "I... I want to have a tape of you,
too! I want to always be able to remember you just the way you are!"
    Tomoyo slowly shook her head. The words she was hearing were echoes
of her own feelings, the way she herself felt about Sakura. And yet...
why did hearing them from Sakura's own mouth hurt so much? "Stop it,"
Tomoyo pleaded quietly. "Stop playing with my heart like this!"
    "But I'm not playing!" Sakura shot back forcefully. She clasped her
hands to her heart. "This is the way I really feel," she announced, a
tear rolling down her cheek. "I love you, Tomoyo."
    Tomoyo recoiled in shock. "But what about Yukito? A-and Li?"
    That probably wasn't the right thing to say, after Li had
disappeared, but Sakura wasn't put off at all. In fact, her smile
widened even more at the mention of those names, and she wrapped her
arms around herself in a mock hug. "I love both of them, too. They give
me warm feelings inside when I'm near them. But the feeling I get from
Tomoyo is even warmer."
    It should have been a beautiful moment, but for some reason, Tomoyo
found it very disturbing. The Sakura she knew would never say such
things. "Sakura, what's happened to you?" she asked.
    "I don't know," replied Sakura. "I just looked into my heart, and
found how I felt about you."
    "I don't know what to say." Tomoyo's world was coming apart with
every word Sakura said. She'd always been content to watch Sakura from
the sidelines, cheering her on and cherishing her happiness. But when
Sakura returned those feelings... it was uncomfortable. "I don't deserve
your love, Sakura."
    With those words, Tomoyo turned away from Sakura, unable to face her
friend any longer. Surprisingly, for the first time ever, she wanted
Sakura to leave her alone, but a pair of soft arms wrapped around her
waist from behind. "Please don't turn away, Tomoyo," begged Sakura.
    Tomoyo could feel Sakura shaking with sobs as she tried to hold back
her tears. Tomoyo was on the verge of crying herself. But she couldn't
let Sakura see her cry.
    At that moment, Kero poked his head into the closet. "Hey, what's
taking you guys so long? Do girls always take forever to -" He froze as
he saw what they were doing, only to fall as his wings briefly stopped
flapping. After flailing his arms and legs to regain his balance, he
pointed accusingly at the pair. "What's going on here? Why's Sakura
getting all lovey-dovey with Tomoyo?"
    Tomoyo tried to come up with an explanation, but Sakura beat her to
it. "I don't know why I suddenly feel this way, Kero. But now I just
want to hold Tomoyo tightly and never let go. I want us to be together
forever!"
    Tomoyo's blush returned as she heard Sakura's declaration, but this
time it wasn't because of Sakura's emotions. Sakura's words had revealed
to Tomoyo why JOKER was trying to prevent Sakura from leaving. "I'm so
sorry," she sobbed. "This is all my fault."
    "Don't say that," urged Sakura. "You didn't put these feelings in my
heart."
     "I meant the locked door and the maze," Tomoyo clarified. "It's
because I wanted to be with Sakura, and I wished that she would never
leave. That's why JOKER wants to trap you in my room." But as for
Sakura's feelings... were they another one of JOKER's tricks to keep the
two girls together?
    Picking up on Tomoyo's thought, Kero hummed to himself. "So Sakura
feels the same way about Tomoyo as Tomoyo feels about Sakura.... It
sounds to me like the work of another Clow Card."
    "It can't be!" protested Sakura, letting go of Tomoyo and turning to
face him. "These feelings are mine! They can't have come from a Clow
Card!"
    "Is there a card that manipulates emotions?" asked Tomoyo.
    "Not exactly," admitted Kero. "But this seems like the work of the
LIBRA card to me."
    "LIBRA?" asked Sakura. "That's one of the cards that was still in
card form when I found it. What does it do?"
    Kero easily slipped back into lecture mode. "Well, LIBRA's magic
tells the user whether what's being said is the truth or a lie. Clow
Reed figured judges would have a lot of uses for a card like that. But
there's another use for LIBRA, which is an interesting side effect of
its form." He pointed to the full-length dressing mirror on the far wall
of the closet. "You already know that MIRROR has two uses. Its magic
creates a copy of the caster, but because its form is a mirror, it can
reflect things like light or the energy beams from SHOT."
    Sakura nodded, remembering that she had used that aspect of MIRROR
to capture SHOT. "So what's the other effect of LIBRA?"
    "LIBRA is a set of scales, representing balance," said Kero. "So the
card has the power to bring conflicting things into balance. In this
case, it gave some of Tomoyo's emotions to Sakura. Or rather, JOKER used
that aspect of LIBRA's power."
    Sakura's face clouded with sorrow. "Then when Tomoyo makes me feel
so happy, it's just JOKER making me feel that way?"
    "To you, the emotions are as real as Tomoyo's are to her," explained
Kero. "But they're only a result of the magic."
    "Then this is the way Tomoyo feels about me all the time?" Sakura
turned to Tomoyo, who averted her eyes. "I never realized how you
felt... all this time, with the costumes and the videos.... I thought it
was just for fun, but it's so much more than that!"
    Tomoyo tried to tell Sakura that it really wasn't anything to get
excited over, but choked on the tears she hadn't even noticed. She felt
Sakura's hand lightly touch her shoulder. "Are you all right, Tomoyo?"
Sakura asked with genuine concern. "You're crying. What's wrong?"
    "It's too much," replied Tomoyo. "I don't want this attention. I
don't want you to act this way. This isn't the Sakura I know!"
    "Hey, chill out, kid," advised Kero. "She's just overwhelmed by all
the new feelings. You've spent your whole life devoted to Sakura, so
you're used to the way you feel. To her, it's a sudden change, and all
her memories are of you treating her like a goddess while she did
nothing to return it. It's natural that she'd overdo things a little at
first."
    Tomoyo glanced at Sakura, who was staring back expectantly, and
bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I should have considered
your feelings. It's just that all I ever wanted was to make you happy. I
loved you just the way you were, and I never wanted you to love me back.
Not this way!"
    Having finally put her true feelings into words, Tomoyo looked up,
expecting Sakura to be hurt, or at the very least surprised. But Sakura
smiled even more brightly than before. "Tomoyo, I AM happy. I'm happier
than I've ever been before!"
    Tomoyo sniffed and wiped away her tears. "Really?"
    Sakura nodded emphatically. "I don't care if these are just made-up
feelings... they're the greatest feelings I've ever had!"
    Tomoyo couldn't help smiling at that. True, her happiest moments
were when she was with Sakura, and now Sakura was finally getting to
experience that feeling herself. But somehow, Tomoyo had lost it. Sakura
was finally happy... and her own happiness just wasn't there. The tears
came back, drawn out by the sadness deep within, and Tomoyo couldn't
stop them no matter how hard she tried.
    Sakura's arms circled her shoulders again, this time from the front.
"What's wrong?" she asked as she hugged her friend. "I don't want to see
you cry. I want you to be happy too!"
    "I can't," Tomoyo confessed. "This just isn't you. My wish changed
you, and now instead of living your own happy life, you're wasting your
time on me. I didn't want you to be happy because of me! I wanted you to
be happy because... you were happy...."
     "That's it! I'm not going to let it be this way!" Sakura released
Tomoyo and stepped back, staring up into the air just above Tomoyo.
"JOKER, come out! I'm going to make you sorry!"
    "What do you think you're doing?" asked Kero. "You're not ready to
challenge JOKER yet!"
    "I don't care!" returned Sakura. "JOKER made Tomoyo cry, and I'll
never forgive that! If my feelings are making Tomoyo sad, then I'll do
whatever I have to to get rid of them!"
    "No!" shouted Tomoyo. "Don't give up your happiness for me! I'll
learn to love you this way eventually!"
    "You've made so many sacrifices for me already," said Sakura,
glancing at the plethora of dresses that surrounded her. "It's my turn
to do whatever I can to make you happy."
    "But you can't use your magic!" Tomoyo reminded her. "JOKER is far
too powerful! You could be hurt!"
    "That's better than you being hurt," said Sakura. "I'm the Card
Captor, so it's my job to take whatever risks I have to. With or without
magic, I'll protect you!"
    "No!" Tomoyo cried again, throwing her arms around Sakura. "Please
don't do it!"
    "Eh?" Sakura suddenly seemed uneasy for the first time since Kero
had intervened. "Tomoyo, what...?" Unsure of how to phrase her doubt,
Sakura fell silent, only to hear Tomoyo sobbing into her shoulder.
"Tomoyo, you're crying again."
    "I'm crying because I finally understand," said Tomoyo, her aching
heart feeling much lighter as she found comfort in Sakura's new
emotions. "I don't know why, but now that I know how much these emotions
mean to you, I'm very happy for you!"
    "I'm glad," replied Sakura. "I would have given it up to make you
happy... but I really do like feeling this way." She returned Tomoyo's
embrace warmly, and for the first time since LIBRA's power had affected
her, Sakura and Tomoyo hugged each other with mutual feelings.
    "Yeah, yeah," said Kero impatiently. "We get the message. Everybody
loves each other. Now, can we please get back to the task at hand? Your
parents are probably already looking for you, and that means they're
lost somewhere in the maze!"
    The girls ignored him, lost in their own happiness. They broke their
embrace and stepped back to look at each other's smiling faces. "Isn't
it wonderful, Sakura?" asked Tomoyo. "I never thought we could be this
happy together!"
    Sakura nodded in agreement. "It's the greatest moment of my life!"
    Tomoyo regretted not having her camera in hand to capture Sakura's
bright smile on film. It was the cutest expression she'd ever seen on
Sakura's face. The other girl was positively glowing with cheer, and
Tomoyo felt it as if it was her own. "It's the greatest moment of my
life as well," she agreed. "I wish this one moment could last forever!"
    Sakura made no move to reply. In fact, she didn't move at all, as if
she were frozen. Kero hovered perfectly still in the air beside her,
also not moving so much as a muscle. Tomoyo smiled back for a few
seconds, but the lack of movement was unnerving. "Sakura?" she asked,
waving her arm in Sakura's direction. Sakura didn't respond at all.
"What's wrong, Sakura?"
    Worried almost to the point of panic, Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's arm
and pulled on it, but it wouldn't budge an inch. "What's going on?" she
cried, her voice echoing in the total silence. That was another strange
thing. It was already dark outside; by this time of night, Tomoyo could
usually hear the crickets in the garden chirping, a noise that always
faded into the background and became inaudible - until it truly
vanished. Except for her own breathing, everything was as silent as
death.
    Suddenly, her words came back to her in one horrifying revelation:
'I wish this moment could last forever....' It was painfully clear now;
JOKER had granted another wish, this time using the power of TIME to
freeze time for everyone but Tomoyo herself. The moment really would
last forever... but Tomoyo was the only one who would be able to enjoy
it.

---------------------------------------------------

AUBREY: I like Chewbacca! I want to play him!
DAVAN: No, you're a girl. You can't play a Wookie. You have to play a
girlie character like Leia, C3PO, or Luke Skywalker.

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