The penultimate, climactic chapter. One note for those who have been
following the story: I've been calling Miss Mizuki's family shrine the
"Mizuki Shrine", but its actual name is the Tsukimine Shrine. I've
changed the name in the archived copies of the previous chapters
already. Don't get confused. ^_^


SO FAR: A rogue Clow Card called JOKER, possessing the sum of the powers
of all 52 Clow Cards (although it can only use each of those powers
once), has caused nothing but trouble for Tomoyo by granting every wish
that pops into her mind. For the most part, it has acted to save Tomoyo
from any mortal peril; but recently, it has been turning its power
against her, most notably when she and Sakura tried to consult Miss
Mizuki in search of a way to defeat JOKER. After a harrowing day, Tomoyo
retired to Sakura's house to spend the night, deciding that her best
course of action was to accept JOKER's presence as a blessing and use
what remained of its power to bring herself happiness. She and Sakura
flew into the night sky together under the influence of FLY and enjoyed
an enchanting outing until the magic suddenly ceased, leaving them at
the mercy of gravity high above the city. A cushion of air caught
Tomoyo, but she could only watch as Sakura slipped from her fingers to
fall to her death.

52 Curses
Chapter 8: Tomoyo's Brave Stand

    Tomoyo leaned over the side of the whirling tornado and stared down
into the dark clouds in disbelief. It simply wasn't possible. She knew
she'd commanded JOKER to save both Sakura and herself, and even if JOKER
was tapping into her subconscious wishes rather than her spoken command,
surely she hadn't wished for Sakura to die!
    But whatever the reason, she had to act quickly. She sat back in the
funnel and braced herself against the sides. "Take me to the ground,
quickly!" she shouted. "I have to catch Sakura before she hits the
ground!" The tornado obligingly began to descend, but at a feather's
pace. At that rate, Sakura would be dead before Tomoyo had even reached
the cloud layer. Losing patience, she kicked at the air, nearly losing a
shoe as her foot penetrated the soft surface of her conveyance. "I said
quickly! We don't have much time!" Her descent accelerated, but not by
nearly enough. She still felt as if she was sitting still in the air.
    There was only one thing left to do. Tomoyo rolled over and pulled
herself toward the side of the tornado, willing to take a fatal plunge
if it would get her to Sakura faster than the reluctant magic. The sides
of the funnel rose sharply, trapping her in its center, but the entire
tornado tipped onto its side as her weight shifted, and she was falling
again. The air continued to spin around her, but now it was merely
there, offering no resistance to her drop at terminal velocity.
    In seconds, she passed through the clouds, shielded from the dense
moisture by the swirling wind. The ground was still forever away, but
she was falling quickly toward it, and she suddenly wondered whether she
was going to die when she hit it, having forsaken the protection of
JOKER's magic. She screamed in terror, but could barely hear the sound.
    Then, the air under her became solid, and she was slowing down. She
looked down, and saw herself skimming just above the street's surface,
almost close enough to touch if she was willing to brave sticking her
hand into the spinning air that had saved her life. She heaved a
relieved sigh, and had already begun to wonder how long it would take
the tornado to release her when the original cause of her near-death
experience resurfaced in her mind.
    "Sakura!" she cried, leaping unsteadily to her feet. "Take me to
Sakura, quickly!" Instead, the tornado vanished, dumping her to the
ground. She barely managed to keep her balance as her feet touched down,
lurching forward. She shook her head and peered down the street,
searching for Sakura's body yet hoping that she wouldn't find it, that
there was still time, even though she knew she was far too late.
    "Ouch..." Sakura moaned from behind her. Tomoyo whirled around to
see her friend sitting up in the street, wearing nothing but her
underwear and socks, rubbing her posterior with both hands.
    "Sakura!" Tomoyo exclaimed joyously, diving onto Sakura with the
tightest hug she'd ever given and knocking the older girl onto her back.
"I'm so glad you're alive!"
    "No thanks to JOKER," Kero said morosely as he hovered overhead,
still holding Sakura's dress by the back of the collar. "If I hadn't
been following you two, she'd have a lot more than an achy butt to worry
about."
    Sakura felt her face heating up. "Um, Tomoyo, could you let go of me
for just a second? I need to get dressed."
    Tomoyo held the hug a few seconds longer before getting up and
standing aside to give Sakura room to don her shed clothing. Kero's
expression grew smug as his master regained her dignity. "Wasn't as safe
as you thought, was it?" he asked.
    "I can't understand why we suddenly couldn't fly anymore," argued
Tomoyo, surprised to find herself so calm after such a harrowing
experience. "I know I didn't want to fall, and there's no reason JOKER
would have wanted to harm us...."
    "I wouldn't be so sure of that," said Kero. "You weren't paying
attention to where you were flying, were you?"
    "Not really," admitted Sakura. "We were just on our way to Tomoyo's
house to get her camera, when all of a sudden...."
    "... you flew right to this spot, and the magic went away," Kero
finished for her. "Take a look at where you are," he instructed,
pointing to the looming torii that framed the walkway at whose end the
girls had landed.
    Sakura gasped. "We're right outside the Tsukimine Shrine!"
    Kero nodded. "Seems like JOKER felt threatened when you two tried to
fly over the shrine grounds. Even if you weren't planning to drop in for
a visit, it didn't want to take the chance."
    "That's not fair!" Sakura protested. "We didn't mean to come here!
It was just a coincidence!"
    Kero shrugged. "JOKER's magic, JOKER's rules. I told you before,
it's too powerful and too unpredictable to control. You've gotta be
prepared for anything."
    Tomoyo didn't even realize she was crying until she felt a tear run
down her cheek. She sniffed involuntarily, drawing the others' attention
to her. Sakura stepped carefully toward Tomoyo, her usual sisterly
concern evident on her face and in her voice. "What's wrong, Tomoyo?"
    Tomoyo shivered. "JOKER didn't even try to save you," she explained.
"It wanted you to die. I don't know why, but it only saved me."
    "I'm all right," Sakura assured her, stretching out a hand to pat
Tomoyo's shoulder, but Tomoyo brushed her arm away.
    "That's not the point," she said firmly. "JOKER didn't just try to
stop us from getting to the shrine; it disobeyed my wish and tried to
kill you. It's changed."
    "What are you saying?" asked Sakura.
    Tomoyo looked up at the torii with defiance in her eyes. "We can't
just let JOKER have its way anymore. We have to fight it."
    Kero interposed himself between Tomoyo and the shrine entrance,
holding his arms wide. "Whoa, kid! Listen to yourself! You remember what
happened the last time you tried to get in here, don't you?"
    Tomoyo nodded. Her ankle still twinged in pain as she recalled her
brush with the deadly power of MIST. "I know it's dangerous. JOKER will
try to kill us again if we enter here. But it's already tried to kill us
on the outside as well. We're no longer safe anywhere. I think we should
face it where we know it will be waiting, rather than letting it
surprise us the way it has been."
    "You've got no way to protect yourself!" Kero reminded her. "Sakura
and I are powerless, and JOKER's not going to defend you against
itself!"
    "I think she's right, Kero," announced Sakura. "We can't live the
rest of our lives in fear. We have to oppose JOKER the only way we can."
She took Tomoyo's hand and turned toward the shrine. "I'm ready to go."
    Tomoyo shook her head. "Sakura, you can't. I'm the one it wants.
You'll only be putting yourself in danger."
    "If you're going into danger, then I'm going with you," Sakura
insisted. "We'll be stronger together."
    "But -"
    "You always stood by me when I fought the Clow Cards," Sakura
interrupted. "Now, it's your fight, so I'm going to stand by you."
    The smile on Sakura's face melted the last of Tomoyo's resolve. "All
right," she agreed. "We'll go to see Miss Mizuki together."
    Kero sighed. "Sure. Why don't we all just march right in there and
get ourselves killed? You've lived good, full, eleven year lives."
    "You don't have to come with us," Sakura reminded him. "We'll be
fine on our own."
    Kero groaned and settled on Sakura's shoulder. "You wouldn't make it
halfway there without me," he decided.
    The girls steeled their nerves and climbed the stairs one by one,
their breaths growing heavier with each step. Finally, they reached the
top and passed through the arch, bracing themselves for JOKER's attack.
Seconds passed, and then a full minute. Yet all remained quiet.
    "I guess we'd better keep going," Kero ventured at last. "But keep
your eyes peeled. It's probably going to try to catch us off guard."
    Tomoyo stared nervously at the path in front of them. It seemed to
go on forever, even though she knew it was only a short distance to the
shrine. Her terror was multiplying every sensation, making her feel like
she was being watched from every direction at once. The trees that lined
the path rustled as she and Sakura stepped forward, making her jump.
Just nerves, she told herself. It was just nerves.
    Suddenly, Sakura shrieked and jerked backwards, pulling her hand out
of Tomoyo's. As Tomoyo turned to see what was wrong, something grabbed
her wrist and yanked her off her feet. She had barely enough time to
look up and see that it was a long, gnarled tree branch before another
pair of branches shot out from the same tree and wrapped firmly around
her ankles. Thinking quickly, she pulled her left arm away from yet
another branch before it could ensnare her and grabbed the branch that
was holding her right wrist, hoping to pry herself free. But it held
firm, and the questing tendril managed to catch her arm while she was
occupied, pinning her helplessly in place. The four branches that
secured her limbs then began to pull in different directions,
threatening to tear her body apart. The sudden pain drew a scream from
deep within her, and Sakura echoed it as she suffered the same fate as
her friend.
    "Oh man, oh man, oh man," chanted Kero as he flitted from side to
side above them, holding the sides of his head. "I was afraid something
like this would happen!"
    "Kero, do something!" pleaded Sakura. "It hurts!"
    Hearing Sakura's desperate voice made Tomoyo's heart leap into her
throat. It was her fault. She'd led Sakura into danger, and now Sakura
was suffering for her mistake. Even her own pain was meaningless by
comparison. She twisted her body, hoping to pull one of her arms free,
but all that did was scratch her wrists and make her shoulders ache even
more. Kicking with her legs proved equally futile, accomplishing nothing
more than a dull throbbing pain in her hips. Her entire body hurt from
the combination of her struggles and the imminent
drawing-and-quartering, and there was nothing she could do about it.
    Kero finally steeled his nerves and swooped in to grab one of the
branches holding Sakura's wrists, pulling at it with all of his might.
When that failed to produce any results, he put his teeth to the task,
biting at the rough bark, but the tree was unaffected.
    "It's no good," he declared at last. "WOOD's just too strong!"
    "Isn't there anything you can do?" asked Sakura, fighting to counter
the branches' pull with her own strength.
    Kero sighed and shrugged helplessly. "Even if I had my powers, WOOD
is Yue's specialty. It's not an attack card, so I've never had to think
of a way to fight it." He shot upward, barely dodging a branch that
tried to grab him.
    "Well, think of one now!"
    "It ain't easy to think at a time like this," Kero informed her as
he retreated to a safe distance. "But it's just trees... they've
probably got the usual weaknesses. Fire, and axes."
    The mention of axes sparked a thought in Tomoyo's mind. If Li had
been with them, he would have been able to slice through the branches
with his sword. In retrospect, it would have been a good idea to seek
his help before confronting JOKER, but now she and Sakura would have to
fight for themselves. Still, that sword would have been awfully
handy....
    She felt something heavy in her hand and reflexively clenched her
fist around a thin shaft, but still nearly dropped it. The weight
quickly faded, though, leaving her fingers slightly numb but otherwise
able to hold the object without even noticing that it was there. When
she looked up at her hand, she was only mildly surprised to see Li's
jewel-hilted sword tightly clasped in it.
    Kero's eyes bulged as he noticed the weapon in Tomoyo's hand. "Where
did you get that sword?" he asked. "Don't tell me...."
    Tomoyo nodded. "I think JOKER gave it to me."
    "Well, don't just sit there and admire it!" cried Kero. "Use it!"
    Grasping the sword firmly, Tomoyo returned to her struggles with
renewed hope... only to find that a sword wasn't much use if she
couldn't swing it. The branches held her arm fixed in place, preventing
her from bringing the sword to bear against them. "I can't move!" she
shouted, hoping that Kero could come up with a solution.
    Sakura craned her neck to get a better look at Tomoyo's predicament.
"Tomoyo, I think you can cut that branch!"
    "Which one?" asked Tomoyo, searching for the branch Sakura was
talking about.
    "The one that's holding the sword!" replied Sakura. "Just move your
hand and you can hit it!"
    Feeling sheepish for overlooking the obvious solution, Tomoyo
quickly twisted her wrist, snapping the sharp edge of the blade against
the branch that secured her right arm. She only managed to create a
small gouge in the thick bark, but a few more clumsy swings weakened the
branch in several places, until a final stroke sliced cleanly through
the limb and severed it. She quickly pulled her arm down, falling
forward as the sudden lack of support caused her to lose her balance.
Her weight nearly pulled her left arm out of the socket, but her
shoulder held together, and she managed to right herself and paused for
breath.
    "Don't stop!" urged Kero. "Finish cutting yourself free and help
Sakura!"
    For Sakura's sake, Tomoyo cut her break short, quickly slicing
through the branch that held her left arm in a single stroke. This time,
she really did fall flat on her face, feeling the strain on her calves
as the branches tried to hold them upright. Fortunately, they gave just
enough that she didn't break any bones, but her legs were in an awkward
position as she twisted her upper half, trying to get the leverage she
needed to cut her legs free.
    "Watch out!" shouted Kero. "The branches are coming for you!"
    Tomoyo was already swinging the sword as she looked up, dealing a
glancing blow to one of the encroaching branches. Another branch wrapped
around her left elbow, but she quickly cut through it and hacked the end
off the damaged one before setting to work on the branch holding her
right leg. It took three hits to cut most of the way through, allowing
her to pull the rest apart with a firm kick. She rolled over onto her
back, feeling the rough bark scrape her ankle, and sat up so that she
could sever the last branch with a single chop.
    "Way to go!" cheered Kero.
    Sakura started to echo Kero's congratulation, but it quickly became
a pained scream as the branches increased their pull on her, as if
taking out their frustration at Tomoyo's escape on her. Tomoyo leapt to
her feet, sliced at a few more branches before they could get hold of
her, and hastily cut Sakura's arms free, catching Sakura in her left arm
as she fell.
    "Thanks, Tomoyo," said Sakura, clutching at the younger girl for
support. "I thought my arms were going to be ripped off!"
    "Are your legs okay?" asked Tomoyo.
    Sakura nodded. "It's not pulling my legs as hard. I think I'll be
okay."
    Tomoyo smiled. "I'm so glad!"
    Kero sniffed at the air. "Hate to break in at such a sensitive
moment, but I feel something big coming. My fur's standing on end."
    No sooner had he finished speaking than a bolt of lightning shot
from the sky, striking the tree that still had its branches wrapped
around Sakura's legs. A shower of sparks flew from the point of impact,
setting the surrounding foliage on fire. One of the sparks just missed
the hem of Sakura's dress, making her jump, knocking Tomoyo to the
ground and falling on top of her.
    "It's hot!" shouted Sakura. "Am I on fire?"
    "No, you're safe for now," Kero assured her. "But Tomoyo, you'd
better cut her free quick, before those flames spread!"
    Tomoyo crawled out from under Sakura and hefted the sword, cringing
from the intense heat as the fire quickly worked its way along the
branches toward Sakura. She tried to take a step forward, but the
radiation was like a solid wall, pushing her back before she could get
close enough. "It's too hot!" she cried, shielding her eyes as the fire
flared up, forcing her even farther back.
    "I'm burning up!" shouted Sakura, coughing as the smoke started to
choke her.
    "Tomoyo, quit staring and do something!" ordered Kero. "She's gonna
die!"
    Tomoyo bent down and crept forward, shutting out the heat as best
she could. But the smoke was so thick by now that she couldn't even see
Sakura's lower half anymore. If she swung blindly into that smoke, she
would risk cutting Sakura's leg instead of the branch. "I can't get to
her! We have to put out the fire first!"
    "With what?" Kero shot back. "JOKER's magic? Even if it is still
granting your wishes, it's already used both WATERY and RAIN! There
aren't any more water type cards you can use!"
    Tomoyo's heart sank as she realized that Kero was right. She'd
wasted the useful wishes already, and now the powers that remained
weren't enough to get the job done. She looked down at Sakura, who
looked back up pleadingly, but Tomoyo could offer her no hope. She
averted her eyes and tried to remember a happier time.
    Suddenly, the answer popped into her head. There was one more water
type card, one that she and Sakura had spent hours playing with on their
last sleepover, when they'd had to wash the dishes together. One of the
more amusing and pointless cards, but in this instance, it just might
prove to be a lifesaver. "JOKER!" she shouted. "Cover the branches with
bubbles!"
    "Bubbles?" Kero echoed questioningly. Then, comprehension dawned in
his eyes, and he nodded his understanding. "I get it. BUBBLES can put
out the fire!"
    "I hope so," Tomoyo said worriedly, as there was no visible change
in the output of smoke from the fire. She couldn't even tell whether the
bubbles were appearing or not. Perhaps JOKER had chosen to ignore her
again....
    "I can't wait any longer!" Tomoyo announced. She squared her
shoulders and pressed forward again, forcing her way into the thick
cover of smoke and flame. "Sakura, hang on! I'm coming!"
    "Don't come any closer!" warned Sakura, her voice weaker than
before. "Get away, or you'll die too! You have to get to Miss Mizuki...
get rid of JOKER!"
    Tomoyo started to protest, but her foot landed in a shallow puddle
of boiling water, soaking her sock immediately and driving pins of pain
into her sole. She quickly stepped back and pulled off her sock,
wondering where the water had come from. The path had been completely
dry when they'd arrived, which was a bit odd considering the recent
rainstorm.... was it what was left over when the bubbles popped from the
extreme heat? If that was the case, then the bubbles must have been
working, but it obviously wasn't enough.
    "Tomoyo!" gasped Sakura. "Water... ground...."
    "I can barely hear you!" replied Tomoyo, bending down to listen to
whatever Sakura had to say.
    "WAVE..." was all she could make out before Sakura fell silent.
    "What did she say?" asked Kero as he did his best to brave the thick
smoke.
    "She said WAVE," related Tomoyo.
    "WAVE? But why?" asked Kero. "WAVE only works if there's water
nearby."
    "There is!" Tomoyo shouted triumphantly as the pieces fell together.
"JOKER, make a wave with the water on the ground! Splash it all over the
fire!"
    From the depths of the smoke-filled area came the tiny sounds of
water splashing, and the sharp hiss of the fire slowly dying as the
combination of bubbles and splashing finally proved to be its match.
    Not waiting for the fire to die out completely, Tomoyo dashed into
the thinning cloud of smoke and fell to her knees, ignoring the heat of
the water under her and groping for the branches with her hands. Her
fingers closed around Sakura's leg, and she quickly ran her hands down
its length until she found the branch. It was a simple matter to pull
the weakened branch from around Sakura's ankle, and the brittle wood
crumbled to ash as soon as it was removed. Thinking quickly, Tomoyo
grabbed Sakura around the waist and carried her out of the smoke,
letting the last remaining tether break of its own accord as she pulled
Sakura to safety. Kero grabbed Sakura's collar and lent his own strength
to the effort until the three were well clear of the hazard.
    "How is she doing?" asked Kero. "Is she breathing?"
    Tomoyo rolled Sakura onto her back and cupped her hand over Sakura's
mouth. "I don't feel -"
    Sakura suddenly coughed and weakly opened her eyes. "Tomoyo... are
you okay?"
    "You're the one I'm worried about," said Tomoyo, clutching Sakura in
a hug. "You were in the fire."
    Kero flew down the length of Sakura's body to investigate her
condition. "Her left leg looks a little burnt, but it's just on the
surface. It could probably use a bandage, but she'll survive."
    Tomoyo turned to examine Sakura's leg, expecting far worse than what
she saw. The skin was singed a bright red, with specks of black here and
there. She pulled the burnt end of the skirt away from the wound and
fingered the material lightly. "Sakura... may I use the end of this
dress to make a bandage? I'll repair it later, I promise."
    Sakura lifted her head to look, but the fabric in Tomoyo's hand
blocked her view of the leg. She sighed. "It's already ruined anyway,"
she agreed. "Don't worry about it. I can get another one."
    Tomoyo's face darkened as she tore a strip off the bottom of the
dress and returned to the fallen trees to soak it in the hot water. "I'm
sorry, Sakura. This was my fault."
    Sakura shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'm just glad we're together.
I wouldn't want you to have to face this sort of danger alone."
    Tomoyo knelt beside Sakura to tie the bandage around her leg. "It's
my danger, Sakura. You've already done too much for me, and now you've
been hurt because of it. You should go home and let me face this...."
She couldn't even get the word 'alone' out of her throat. She couldn't
go on without Sakura. If Sakura left, she'd probably just sit right
where she was and cry until JOKER found another way to kill her. But as
she firmly knotted the strip of cloth around Sakura's calf, she reminded
herself that she was responsible for Sakura's suffering. She had to
convince Sakura to leave before anything worse happened to her. Why did
doing the right thing have to feel so horrible?
    She was surprised to feel Sakura's arms wrapped around her. "I won't
leave you, ever," whispered Sakura. "No matter how much JOKER hurts me,
it's only pain. If anything happened to you because I wasn't here with
you, it would never stop hurting."
    Well, that explained why it felt so horrible. Sakura was never one
to be pried away from protecting her friends, even when she couldn't do
anything to protect them. And Tomoyo remembered how doggedly she had
stuck by Sakura's side at times, even though she'd had nothing to offer
but moral support. She wouldn't have been turned away then, no matter
how great the danger. Although she'd sat on the sidelines when things
got really bad, she was always there, filming Sakura's bravery for her
collection while cheering her on as best she could. Sakura wasn't used
to being the moral support - she had always been the one fighting in the
past - but she wasn't going to let Tomoyo face anything alone.
    Tomoyo wanted to protest again, but she just didn't have it in her.
She left it at "Thank you."
    Sakura gave her a quick squeeze and released the hug. "Well, let's
go. JOKER could attack at any time, so we'd better be ready."
    "Are you sure you can walk?" asked Tomoyo.
    "My leg doesn't hurt anymore," replied Sakura. "I think I can walk."
    Tomoyo stood up and helped Sakura to her feet, much relieved to see
that Sakura didn't appear to be in any pain as she placed weight on the
injured leg.
    "Hey," Kero piped up, "are you going to leave the sword behind?"
    Tomoyo turned to look at the discarded weapon. It lay invitingly on
the stones of the path, offering its feeling of security by simple
virtue of being a weapon to the otherwise unarmed girls. Certainly, it
could deal with many of the threats that might face them on the path
ahead... but somehow - perhaps because it was a gift from their enemy -
Tomoyo was afraid to touch it. "I don't think I can really use it
anyway," she said aloud. "I'd be more likely to hurt myself or Sakura if
I carried it."
    "Don't worry," said Sakura. "I'll carry it. I've use SWORD before,
lots of times." She let go of Tomoyo's hand and trotted back to retrieve
the sword.
    With his usual ironic timing, Kero's brow twitched in sudden
realization just as Sakura's fingers closed around the sword's hilt.
"Wait, Sakura!" he shouted. "Don't touch it!"
    "What's wrong?" asked Tomoyo as Sakura slowly straightened up,
holding the sword as naturally as Li would have. "What will happen?"
    "Have you forgotten what SWORD's other power is?" replied Kero.
"It's a mind-controlling card as well as a weapon. When it's tame, it
just gives the user innate skill with the sword, but in its wild
state...."
    Wordlessly, Sakura turned to face Tomoyo, staring into her with eyes
that showed no spark of humanity, merely blank enlarged green irises
without pupils. She raised the sword in front of her body, poised as if
to leap at any second.
    Kero recoiled, cringing in fear at the sight. "This is bad... she's
under SWORD's control! And I have a feeling you're going to be her
target!"
    "How can we stop her?" Tomoyo asked breathlessly, still in shock
that her best friend was about to try to kill her.
    "It's going to be tough," said Kero. "If you get too close, she'll
slice you apart. And throwing things at her won't work either. She'll
just cut them out of the sky."
    "I don't want to hurt her!" Tomoyo protested. "It's not her fault
she's being controlled!"
    "I don't think you have a choice," replied Kero. "It's her or you."
An idea flashed across his features. "You could use SHOT and
incapacitate her!"
    "NO!" screamed Tomoyo. "I won't do that!"
    As if taking Tomoyo's raised voice as a signal, Sakura leapt into
the air, aiming to land right in front of Tomoyo with the sword held
horizontally to slice through Tomoyo from head to feet. It was only
Kero's quick reflexes that saved her, as he shoved her out of the way of
the blade, barely clearing the sword's path himself as it lopped off a
few wisps of his tail fuzz.
    "She's going to kill us both if you don't do something!" shouted
Kero, as Sakura turned to strike again.
    "I won't hurt Sakura!" she reiterated, backing away from her
possessed friend.
    "Then you'd better start running," advised Kero, "because it doesn't
look like she has any problem with hurting you!"
    "I can't leave her like this!" Tomoyo narrowly ducked a quick swing
by Sakura, then rolled out of the way as the sword tore into the paving
stones she'd been lying on.
    "Look," said Kero, "the only way you can fix this now is to get to
the shrine. I'll try to stall Sakura while you go on ahead."
    "Are you sure you should -?" she began.
    Ignoring her, Kero positioned himself in front of Sakura's face and
waved his arms frantically. "Wake up, Sakura! Snap out of it!" he
shouted.
    Sakura reached up with her free hand and grabbed Kero by the wings,
tossing him aside casually yet with enough force to knock him
unconscious instantly when he hit a tree headfirst. With the obstacle
removed, she set her blank eyes on Tomoyo and raised the sword,
assessing the distance between them in preparation for a final, fatal
strike.
    With one glance at the fallen Kero, Tomoyo's fear for her life
finally overrode her concern for Sakura. She spun on a heel and took off
at full speed toward the shrine. Sakura's footsteps followed her, slowly
catching up as the path continued, seemingly forever. There was no end
in sight, and no sign of the shrine, or the courtyard, or anything at
all other than the infinite tree-lined path. It felt very wrong, but she
didn't have time to stop and consider it. Sakura was in far better shape
than Tomoyo was, and Tomoyo's feet were beginning to ache from running
on the hard stones with no shoes and only one sock. If Sakura was
suffering from her own inadequate footwear, it didn't affect her pace at
all.
    Knowing that she had no chance against Sakura if she caught up,
Tomoyo had no choice but to keep running. But surely she should have
reached the shrine by now, several times over! The path had never been
this long, had it? It had to be the work of JOKER again, making the path
stretch forever so that she could never reach the shrine at its no
longer existing end. She'd experienced the phenomenon once before... the
work of the LOOP card. She was repeating the same section of the path
over and over again in an inescapable loop. Well, not inescapable... if
she could locate the end of the loop, and find a way to cut it, the path
would return to normal. But without the power of magical sight, that was
much easier said than done. The trees all looked the same - in more ways
than one - and in the darkness, she had no way to tell where the
invisible line was.
    Her bare foot came down badly on a cracked paving stone, and she
stumbled, giving Sakura time to catch up. She managed to spin around as
she fell so that she landed in a sitting position, facing Sakura, but
her muscles froze as the sword rose over her, her fear paralyzing her
even as sharp death swung down at her head. A vertical slit of light
passed between her eyes, and the world split apart as a sharp pang tore
through her head. Then, everything cleared, and she found herself
staring up at the torii. She raised her hands to her head, expecting to
pull them away covered in blood, but there wasn't even a scratch. In
fact, there wasn't a mark on her body except for the scrapes on her
ankles from earlier.
    She stood up, waiting for the last traces of her headache to vanish,
while she tried to puzzle out what had just happened to her. The loop
was clearly broken, since the path no longer stretched infinitely in
both directions, and there was no sign of Sakura.... Tomoyo heaved a
relieved sigh as the pieces fit into place. By some miracle, the end of
the loop had been right between herself and Sakura, so the sword swing
had broken the loop before it could hit her. That meant that the shrine
was only as far away as the length of the path, now... but Sakura was
waiting for her at the other end, and still under SWORD's control.
    Tomoyo suddenly felt very alone, and wished Kero were there to keep
her company and help her come up with a plan to restore Sakura to normal
without hurting her. Unfortunately, Kero was lying unconscious somewhere
further up the path, in the same direction as Sakura. Steeling her
nerves and praying for the best, she set off in search of her flying
companion, keeping her eyes on the ground and her ears perked for the
sound of footsteps. Fortunately, she found Kero first, slumped against
the trunk of the tree that Sakura had thrown him at. She picked him up
and cradled him gently, examining him for any signs of injury.
Thankfully, there were no obvious bruises on his head or body.
    "Kero, wake up," she whispered, shaking him lightly. "I need you!"
    Kero didn't even stir, leaving Tomoyo at a loss for what to do next.
She would have to come up with an idea on her own. But only two cards
came to mind: ILLUSION, which was how Sakura had saved her friend Rika
from the SWORD card's influence, and SHOT, which had been Kero's only
suggestion. She was sure ILLUSION had already been used up, and SHOT was
simply out of the question. ARROW was equally unthinkable; shooting
Sakura with hundreds of arrows was even worse than a single shot.
    A softened footstep caught her ear, interrupting her train of
thought. She looked up to see Sakura standing a few feet away, holding
her sword expectantly. She had only seconds to act before she was
attacked, and she still couldn't think of anything except for those
three cards. ILLUSION, SHOT, ARROW... it was useless. Every other card
she could think of had already been used. There had to be another card
she could use to stop Sakura....
    As Sakura stood there, surveying the situation, her hair and dress
waved in a slight breeze that blew coldly down the newly unlooped path.
It was Sakura's spur to attack; it was also the key Tomoyo needed to
come up with a plan. "JOKER!" she shouted as Sakura shifted her weight
and prepared to strike. "Pin Sakura down with arrows! But only hit her
clothes!"
    Several horizontal shafts of light appeared, surrounding Tomoyo with
brilliant blue arrows. As Sakura leapt forward, the arrows shot toward
her, barely missing her as they caught in the fabric of what remained of
her sundress. Her forward momentum stopped instantly, and she fell
backward, landing on her back with the arrows holding her torso and
shoulders on the ground. Silently, she twisted and strained, trying to
stand up, but the arrows gave her no room to maneuver.
    Tomoyo was stunned to see Sakura so unconcerned at her predicament,
as if she were a single-minded machine rather than the girl she'd come
to love as her best friend. The fear she'd been feeling all along became
mixed with a new emotion - the sinking feeling of betrayal as she had
been forced to turn her power against Sakura. But the sound of tearing
cloth broke the spell, as Sakura's dress tore, freeing her from one of
the arrows. Tomoyo dashed forward, realizing that if Sakura were to
escape, there would be no way to stop her again.
    Sakura raised the sword threateningly as Tomoyo approached, unable
to move her arm above the elbow but still using what mobility she had to
keep the blade between herself and Tomoyo. Tomoyo held back, afraid that
if she got too close, Sakura would manage to cut her. As soon as she
stopped, Sakura resumed her struggles, freeing her entire left side as
she rolled over, snapping the arrows on her right side in half. Without
hesitating, Tomoyo leapt onto her while her sword arm was pinned and
threw her body across Sakura's. She felt the blade trace a slash across
her back, but she doggedly held on with both arms.
    "Please wake up, Sakura!" she shouted, reaching blindly for Sakura's
sword hand. She closed her hand tightly around the handle and pushed it
away, hoping to at least prevent Sakura from using it, if she couldn't
dislodge it from her grip. But Sakura fought back with inhuman strength,
making Tomoyo's arm ache after only a few seconds of wrestling. She
stared directly into Sakura's blank eyes, searching for any clue that
would tell her how to break the spell. All she saw was her own
reflection, her face tall and narrow with deep worry, for Sakura as much
as for herself. It reminded her of a fairy tale, and the idea struck her
as foolish, but it was still an idea. If it didn't work, she wouldn't be
any worse off for trying it.
    Lowering her head until their noses touched, Tomoyo closed her eyes,
whispered "I love you, Sakura, even if you run me through," and pressed
her lips to Sakura's in a kiss. The sword clattered noisily to the
ground beside her, and she quickly kicked it out of Sakura's reach, just
in case.
    As the sword scraped across the pavement stones, Sakura groaned and
turned her head, breaking the kiss. Tomoyo pushed herself up, but kept
enough of her weight on Sakura that the other girl wouldn't be able to
get up, if she was still bewitched. But when Sakura finally opened her
eyes, they had returned to normal. "Tomoyo?"
    Tomoyo saw a tear fall onto Sakura's cheek and realized that she was
crying. "Oh, Sakura!" she breathed joyfully, pulling Sakura up into the
warmest hug of the evening. "I'm so glad you're all right!"
    "What happened?" asked Sakura. "I remember picking up the sword...."
    "You were possessed by the sword!" explained Tomoyo. "You tried to
kill me, but I snapped you out of it."
    "Oh no! Did I hurt you?"
    Tomoyo's back gave a twinge as Sakura mentioned pain, but she shook
her head emphatically. "No. I'm fine," she lied, hoping to spare Sakura
as much guilt as she could.
    "I'm sorry," Sakura apologized. "It was my fault."
    "It's all right," replied Tomoyo. "We're okay now. That's all that
matters."
    "Yep," said Sakura with a nod. "We survived another challenge." She
lifted her head and looked around. "Say, where's Kero?"
    Tomoyo's heart skipped a beat. "Kero?" She gasped and climbed to her
feet, scanning the ground. "I must have dropped him somewhere!"
    "Dropped him?" Sakura asked as she sat up. "What do you mean,
dropped him?"
    "I was holding him, and then -" She quickly broke off, remembering
her resolve to shield Sakura from knowledge of her actions under SWORD's
control. She couldn't tell Sakura that she'd hurt Kero!
    "Why were you holding Kero?" Sakura asked as she stood up and
brushed herself off.
    "Um, I..." Tomoyo stalled, trying to think of a plausible
explanation. Her heart sank again as she realized that she was planning
to lie to Sakura. But she had to. She was lying to protect Sakura.
    When Sakura failed to ask again, Tomoyo looked up, wondering whether
Sakura had figured out why she wasn't answering. But Sakura's mouth hung
wide open, and her entire body was shaking as she stared at something
behind Tomoyo. Her lips moved, trying to form words, but no sound came
out. Gripped by fear, Tomoyo spun around and found herself looking up
into a tiny but intense ball of light. It was much brighter than GLOW,
and unlike the harmless light-type card, it gave Tomoyo chills just to
look at it.
    Before she could remember where she'd seen the light before, it
pulsed quickly and emitted a tiny spark, aimed directly at her heart.
Her muscles froze in shock, and she was paralyzed, helpless to do
anything but watch as SHOT's attack closed the distance.
    Sakura's shout of "Tomoyo!" pierced the silence as a pair of hands
roughly pounded Tomoyo's side, pushing her out of the way of the
projectile. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, landing in a
sitting position as Sakura fell into her lap. She wrapped her arms
protectively around Sakura, not taking her eyes off the ball of light
until it vanished. She released the breath she'd been holding and gave
Sakura a grateful squeeze.
    "Thank you, Sakura," she said to the girl in her arms. "You saved me
again."
    Sakura didn't respond. She lay unmoving across Tomoyo's legs, so
still that Tomoyo couldn't even feel her body moving as she breathed.
That was when she felt the warm moisture seeping into her dress, and
knew what it was even before she looked down and saw the dark red stain
spreading over her lap. Horrified, her throat seized up, and she
couldn't get out the scream that was trapped in her chest. When she
finally did manage to get the words out, they came as a mere whisper.
"S-Sakura?"
    She clutched Sakura's body tightly to her chest as she felt the
tears begin to pour freely from her eyes, and she repeated Sakura's name
over and over, louder and louder as her voice returned. But nothing she
could do would change what had happened. Without even a chance to say
her heroic last words, Sakura Kinomoto had given her precious life to
save her friend.

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

BOSS: Excuse me while I weigh those very... weighty... choices.
BOSS: Does anyone know what "heads" means?

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