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CardCaptors
The GemCaptor Chronicles


Note: I REFUSE TO USE THE DUB NAMES FOR ERIOL, NAKURU, AND SUPPI!! AND I’M NOT CHANGING THE CARDS TO STAR CARDS! I think the dub changes are stupid! STUPID STUPID STUPID! *deep breath* Now then, enough with the insane rant and on with the story! Also I’m sorry if the Glow flashback isn’t accurate. I don’t have much to work with, being a victim of the dub after all. Enjoy!

Last time on CardCaptors . . .


      Kara's having a bad start to her day when she gets yelled at for borrowing her little sister's computer monitor. After a talk with her mother, she decides that until she can buy a new one, she will go out and get a new typewriter. Upon finding one, she is surprised by it's quality and price.
      "It looks nice . . ."
      Taking it home and fixing it up, Kara decides to test it out by writing a story about a heroic knight who has to defeat a powerful sorceress and her comrades. Unfortunately, the story comes to life and the gang finds themselves under attack by that very knight!
     “It’s the Create Gem! We’re part of a story now and it seems we’re the villains!”
      It was a difficult battle for the group as the knight, who seemed to have the name of Solo, was very powerful and kept everyone on the run. When Ceaira finally managed to turn the tables with her crossbow, the Move Gem decided to intervene. Aquilia knew there was only one way to stop it.
      “You have to use your magic in mid transport and make it transport you where YOU want to go!”
      Ceaira followed Aquilia’s advice, leading her to victory over Create and Move by using a double seal. But as the captors celebrated their newest captures, two strange shadows were watching them from the radio tower.
      “When do we begin phase one?”
      “Very shortly my friend . . .very soon.”
      So who are they?

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Episode Seventeen

Surprise x 2


     “Today’s the day! Today’s the day!” Sakura couldn’t stop giggling to herself as she pulled down her emerald green shirt. Kero looked up from his small plate of cookies, a bit curious as to why his chosen CardCaptor was so mysteriously excited. “What’s up with you Sakura? The only time you’re this excited is when you’ve got a plan cooked up.” “Oh, a lot of things. You see Kero, today’s Valentine’s Day! Li and I are surprising Madison and Meilin.” “But how?” “If I tell you, you’ll tell Aquilia. She’ll tell Ceaira, who will tell Madison or Meilin, and it’ll all be ruined. You’re just going to have to wait until they find out.” Continuing to giggle, Sakura grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. Kero floated up from the desk with a cookie in his hand, watching her with more curiosity. “Will you at least tell me where you’re going?” “I’m gonna meet Li and Wei so we can pick up the surprises. See ya later Kero!”
      Closing the door, Sakura raced down the stairs, then headed for the door to get her shoes. As she laced them up, Aiden stuck his out head from his office, wondering what the noise was. When he saw Sakura, he simply smiled. “I take it they’re arriving today?” “Right dad! Li, Wei and I are going to go get them now. Are you sure it’s okay that they all stay here? There will be three people after all” “It’s no problem, everything’s all set.” “Thanks so much dad! See ya later!” “Bye sweetie.” Aiden turned back in toward his office just as he heard the front door close. Giving a smile, he went back to work.
     “Please can I go with you and Wei, Li?” “No Meilin!” “Pretty please?” As Li grabbed his backpack and placed some money inside, Meilin was sitting cross legged on his bed with a pout on her face. As he pulled the bag onto his shoulders, he turned to Meilin and frowned. “Look, you can’t come with us, not this time.” “But why not Li?” “I can’t say.” “Why not?”
      Li was caught in a corner, for he could feel sweat just appearing on his forehead. He knew in the back of his mind that Meilin knew how to pry information out of him. However, before she could even say a word, Wei walked into the room and cleared his throat to get their attention. “Are you ready to go, Master Li?” “Yes, Wei.” Li gave a nod then left the room, leaving Meilin on his bed with a wide frown across her face. Wei smiled, then followed his young pupil and the two left the apartment. After thinking for a moment, Meilin left Li’s room and headed into hers. She flopped down onto her bed and picked up a magazine. “Something tells me Li’s plotting something . . .”
      Sakura leaned against the lamppost, she looked down at her watch with the crescent moon hands and sighed. She looked down the street, then up the other way as she looked at her watch again. “Where is Li? He was supposed to be here by now.” “What’s up Sakura?” The emerald eyed teenager panicked, jumping practically three feet off the ground when she realized Madison was standing beside her with her normal aura of curiosity, wearing a blue dress with a black jacket over it. Her hair was tied with blue ribbons which held the two ponytails together. After calming down, Sakura straightened herself out and hid her secretiveness with a wide smile. “Hey Madison! Nothing’s up today! Nope!” “Okay then, if nothing’s up then do you wanna go to the mall? I have to buy some video tapes and material for all of your kimono’s so I need to know what colour you’d like to wear. I have the others ready except yours.” “Umm . . .what’s wrong with pink? It seems to be my best colour after all. Anyway, I really can’t come today because I have to . . .run an errand for dad!”
      Sakura nodded very quickly over and over, keeping her innocent grin across her face as Madison only watched in confusion. She shrugged it off, then adjusted her backpack and smiled. “Okay Sakura. The kimono will defiantly be ready tomorrow so you can try it on for the Cherry Festival this Saturday.” “Okay. See ya Madison!” Giving a wave, Madison smiled once again before turning the other way to head down the street. When she knew her best friend was out of sight, Sakura let out a loud sigh of relief before sliding down to the ground. “That was so close! So where is Li?” “Right here.”
      Letting out a startled cry, Sakura leaped up off the ground again, then spun around quickly to look at Li right in the eyes with her own serious expression. “There you are! Where have you been?” “Making sure Meilin didn’t go with us. She nearly succeeded you know.” “Oh, okay. Madison caught me off guard a few minutes ago and nearly got me to go shopping with her for the material for my kimono. Where’s Wei?” “In the van. Let’s get to the airport so we can pick up their surprises.” “No problem. They’re going to be so happy!” “But of course!” Nodding to each other, the two laughed and conversed about their plan as they hopped into the van, which pulled away from the curb a few minutes later and headed down the street.
      Some time later, the three found themselves sitting in the terminal of the airport, looking up once in a while at the schedule. Li was reading a book, while Sakura couldn’t seem to sit still, and Wei was away getting himself a bagel. “So which plane is arriving first Sakura?” “I think it’s the one from England. The one from Hong Kong arrives fifteen minutes later.” “Okay. When does the England flight arrive?”
      Before Sakura could speak, a chime was heard over the intercom, followed by the voice of the announcer. “Attention passengers. Flight 261, London to Reidenton is now arriving at gate 2F. Thank you and have a nice day.” Sakura suddenly jumped up from her seat, causing Li to be startled and drop his book to the floor. After retrieving it, he stood up and looked oddly at his magical friend. “Calm down Sakura!” “I can’t! Madison is going to be so happy!” “I know! I’ve heard that only about a million times. Let’s go meet him already.” Sakura gave a nod, still smiling wide as the two walked from their seats over toward the nearby 2F gate. There, they only had to wait a few moments before a teenager with jet black hair and blue eyes behind a pair of small glasses, wearing a blue shirt with black jeans, appeared from the tunnel and waved to them. Behind him was a young adult with long brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a green sweater and blue jeans. “Hello there!” “Eriol! Nakuru!”
      Sakura waved madly, while Li simply gave a nod to his cousin as he walked over to them, smiling as he always used to back when they were eleven. Nakuru became totally excited and ran over to them before any of them could react. Giving the two friendly hugs, Sakura couldn’t help but smile, even after the two shook hands and hugged Li. “I almost didn’t recognize you Eriol! You’ve changed a lot since the 5th grade.” “Must be the new glasses.” “Perhaps. I may be Clow’s incarnation but that doesn’t mean I won’t grow like a normal teenager. Besides, you two have grown up a bit yourselves.” “Really though.” Eriol nodded, flashing another smile as he adjusted the strap of his large backpack. Suddenly, there was a strange nosie heard as a section of the bag shifted. Sakura’s eyes widened, wondering what was in there. Taking once glance at her expression, Eriol chuckled as the three walked over to a bench where he took off the backpack and placed it down. “You saw that eh? Wanna see?” “Sure, hope it’s nothing bad.” “Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing.”
      Unzipping the main pouch, Sakura leaned in to see what Eriol was keeping in there. Just then, a pair of blue wings popped out, followed by black fur. Sakura’s eyed brightened as a small black cat popped it’s head out from within the backpack, looked around, and smiled at the three. “Greetings Card Mistress. Clow’s descendant.” “Suppi!” Giving a small smile, Suppi climbed out of the backpack and jumped up to land on Eriol’s shoulder. “Looks like everyone came!” “Yeah!” “Has the other person arrived yet?” “No, we’re still waiting for his plane. It should be here anytime. After that, we’ll go back to my place and get everyone settled in.” “Good plan Sakura.” The group nodded, then suddenly looked up toward the speakers on the ceiling, as another announcement began for all to hear. “Attention passengers. Flight 183, Hong Kong to Reidenton is now arriving at gate 4B. Thank you and have a nice day.” “That’s the one! Let’s go! Let’s go!” Sakura giggled, then quickly ran off toward the designated gate, leaving the rest of the group to attempt and catch up.
      The next morning, Madison was bored as she finished up Sakura’s kimono for the festival. It was pink, with blue flowers having yellow centres. Tucked underneath her ear was her cell phone as she talked to the person on the other end. “I swear Meilin, those two are up to something. Sakura totally panicked when I talked to her on the street yesterday afternoon.” “I know. Li wouldn’t tell me what he was doing yesterday either. They must be in on something.” “Oh well, we can figure it out. How are the kimono’s coming?” “I’m almost finished Sakura’s, then I’m totally done.” “Cool! Well, Li and I need to train now so I’ll let you go, okay?” “No problem. Talk to you this Saturday!” “See ya!”
      Hanging up the phone, Madison lifted up the kimono and smiled, relieved that it was finally finished. Hanging from the sides of it was a dark green ribbon for around the waist. She then looked over to the other kimono’s laying across the couch. One was green with cherry blossoms, another was yellow with red flames, one was purple with pink hearts. She smiled as she added the pink kimono to the collection, wiping a touch of sweat from off her forehead. “Finally, they’re all finished!”
      Suddenly, her attention was caught at the doorway into the room by one of the maids. She cleared her throat and entered. “Miss Taylor? There is a package for you at the door.” “Okay, thanks Diana.” Madison smiled, then straightened out her hair as she headed out of the room and down a flight of stairs into the main hallway. On the floor in front of the door, was a large box marked “Fragile.” Madison’s curiosity was aroused, for she wondered who would send her such a large fragile package. Walking up to the crate, she noticed a small card. She then removed it and opened it up to read what was written inside. “Let’s see . . .‘Dear Madison, I wish I could be there on Valentine’s Day with you, for I miss you greatly. I’ve cared a great deal about you ever since you first showed me around Reidenton a while ago, and my heart was depressed upon the day I left. Please accept this token of my emotions until I can find my way to you. Yours sincerely, Eriol Hiiragizawa.’ Oh wow, that is so sweet! I gotta see what’s in the box!”
      Getting totally excited, Madison ran off briefly, then hurried back in with a stool and a letter opener. Climbing onto the stool, she ran the letter across the flaps of the box and opened them, then placed the letter opener on the ground. Opening the flaps, she looked inside to see a single red rose. “Oh wow! That is so sweet of him!” Suddenly, as her face turned from happiness to confusion, she slowly looked back into the large box. “But why would he send a box this big to hold one rose?” Curiosity took over her thoughts, causing her to start rooting around through the newspapers used to protect the rose inside the box. Just then, she removed a piece to reveal a hand, which caused her to scream out loud. Just then, Eriol popped out from underneath the newspapers, extremely concerned from Madison’s cry of shock. He managed to grab her shoulders just before she fell off of the stool, giving him total relief. “Whew! That was close! You okay Madison?” “What? Eriol?!”
      Giving his trademark smile, Eriol nodded as he tipped the box over, allowing himself to leap out before it hit the floor. After landing on his feet, he rose up and turned around to face the video photographer as she stood on the stool in shock. “Umm, you okay Madison?” “I . . .I . . .I can’t believe it’s you!” “Well it’s me.”
      Without any kind of warning, Madison rushed over to Eriol and wrapped her arms around his neck, then started to cry. Eriol was caught off guard, but upon realizing what happened, he too felt his emotions changing as he wrapped his arms around Madison and held her tightly, slowly rocking her back and forth. “But, how on earth did you get here Eriol?!” “Thank Sakura. She and Li arranged this for you and for Meilin. They flew myself in, plus Dominic Kasaki.” “Dominic Kasaki!? Meilin’s boyfriend!? Giving a nod, Eriol flashed his smile once again which caused Madison to blush. She then narrowed her eyes and looked toward Eriol before clenching a fist. “I am going to get Sakura and Li for not telling me you were coming! And . . .”
      Before Eriol could defend his fellow magicians and state why Madison was not informed, he let out a winded gasp as he had a video camera shoved into his chest. Upon grabbing it, he looked toward Madison who now had the same evil glint in her eyes. “You’re going to tape the entire thing!” “But why? Why do you want me to videotape you hurting your best friend and my cousin?” “Because I obviously can’t! I’ll be too busy mutilating them to work a camera!” Eriol blinked, then started to laugh at Madison’s thirst for revenge. As he chuckled, Madison couldn’t help but laugh as well.
      Later, everyone met over at Madison’s house. The entire gang went up to Madison’s room, where they could have a private conversation. Madison and Eriol sat together in the couch along with Li. Sakura sat on Madison’s bed, while Meilin sat on the floor with Dominic keeping his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He had shoulder length blond hair and green eyes. “Okay you two, why didn’t you tell us about this little plan of yours?” “Well Meilin, we wanted it to be a surprise. You and Madison helped us so much in the Clow Card and Sakura Card quests, even without special powers or abilities. We wanted to say thanks for a long time, but we didn’t know how.” “So Sakura and I called up Dominic and Eriol, and asked if they wanted to visit for a week or two. Eriol came with Nakuru and Suppi because they wanted to come back and visit.” “So where are all of you staying?” “My house.” “WHAT?!”
      Sakura suddenly shrank into the cushions of the couch as Madison freaked out, putting her hands in front of herself for protection. Dominic quickly leaned over and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Hey, give Sakura a break. It was her father who offered for us to stay at her house, with Tori having his own apartment and with the extra guestroom. That, and she has the most room without giving away the surprise.”
      Sitting back down, Madison breathed a sigh of frustration, but then smiled as she looked around at everyone. “Well, the good thing is everyone’s together for Valentine’s Day.” “Just like a CardCaptor Gang reunion.” “Not really Sakura. Not without Ceaira, Aquilia, and Yue. By the way Eriol, Julian knows about Yue now.” “He does? When did he find out this?” “When we captured the Fly Gem, about a month before Meilin came back.” “How very interesting.”
      As Eriol grinned, everyone laughed nervously, except Dominic. He had no idea who Eriol was exactly, while the others remembered what happened each time Eriol grinned that way. As the smile disappeared, everyone breathed a sigh of relief which only made him curious. “What was that for?” “Simple. Every time you smiled or grinned like that, you’d be using your magic and causing trouble! We’ve all come to know not to trust it.” “What exactly do you mean? I thought Sakura and Li were the only magicians.” “Well, long ago when we were all in the 5th grade, Eriol transferred to our school and appeared to be normal-” “I didn’t trust him right away.” “Li! Anyways, he started causing trouble for all of us, such as transforming the piano . . .” “Or turning Sakura’s bear into a Godzilla bear . . .” “Or making snowmen attack us . . .” “Or-” “Okay! I get the idea. What was the point of it all?” “I knew the Clow Card’s were losing power. Seeing as I was Clow Reed’s reincarnation and the previous master, I couldn’t let the spirits die. So I did all those things so Sakura would be able to discover her Star Power, allowing her to transform the cards into Sakura Cards.” “Oh, I see!”
      Everyone laughed, then Sakura looked at her watched and panicked. She then jumped up off the couch and grabbed her backpack. “Everyone, it’s 4:30! We have to get home for supper!” “Seriously?” “Bummer!” “Dad’s going to worry where the three of us are! We’re all still going to go to the festival tomorrow night?” “Of course! But do Eriol, Dominic, and Nakuru have kimono’s?” “Sure do Madison. Remember, Li and Sakura had everything planned before our arrival remember? We brought our kimono’s with us, so everything’s set.” “Awesome! So everyone meet here at 5 PM tomorrow, and we’ll go to the festival from there.” “Okay. See ya later Madison!” Smiling, everyone then waved as Sakura, Li, Meilin, Dominic, and Eriol left the room, leaving Madison by herself. As the door closed, and when she knew no one could hear her, she leaped into the air and let out a joyful cry.
      As the entire gang walked home, Sakura couldn’t help but giggle uncontrollably, which made everyone suspicious. “Sakura, have you been eating a ton of sugar again?” “I think the Sweet Card got into her food.” “It did not! I’m just totally excited because you, Eriol, are finally going to be with Madison!” “I see. So she’s just all childish like.” “She’s acting like Madison.” “This is very frightening.” “Knock it off everyone. Let’s get home and get ready for tomorrow night. It’s the festival and a big night for all!" As Sakura laughed proudly, everyone laughed nervously for she never seem to act that way in the past. After it all died down, everyone smiled and headed back to their homes, to prepare for the next night.
     “OOH! Look at all the pretty things!” Nakuru let out a joyful laugh as she looked around at all the sights, wearing her ruby colored kimono with an emerald colored butterfly pattern. Eriol sported a black kimono with gold colored sun symbols, while Dominic wore a grey kimono with lotus flowers as the pattern. Sakura carried a fairly large bag with her, but when asked what was inside, she would refuse to give an answer. As the celebration was in full swing the next night, everyone walked into the grounds, sporting their kimono’s and grabbing a lot of attention and admiration from other people celebrating. “Wow, look at their kimono’s!” “They look great!” “Where do you think they bought them?” “I want one!”
      Not being to help but blush from all the compliments, Madison covered her face with her paper fan, causing Eriol to chuckle. “Everyone seems to love your kimono’s Madison.” “It seems so.” “They’re so comfortable Madison! Thank you so much for making them for us!” “No problem Meilin. It beats buying them right?”
      At the front of the group, Sakura and Li laughed to themselves as everyone talked and blushed, then nodded to each other as everyone kept looking around. “This is so cool! I never thought the plan would go so well!” “Yeah. Now we just got to make sure Eriol and Madison decide to hook up. Meilin and Dominic I’m not worried about.” “How do you think we’ll get them to officially become boyfriend and girlfriend Li?” “I have no clue.”
      Some time later, everyone was at a booth buying candy apples. As Sakura took hers, she suddenly gasped as she saw who was working at the booth. “Tori?!” “Yeah Squirt, another new job. Don’t even ask because you ask every time.” “It’s just that I never see you at the same job twice!” Tori couldn’t help but laugh, but then glared as his line of sight managed to find Li. He leaned in toward Sakura and pointed toward him, still glaring. “What’s the brat doing here?” “He’s with us Tori! Get over it. We’re all friends now.” “Whatever you say . . .”
      Letting out a frustrated sigh, Tori turned back to the apples and grabbed another. As he passed it out, he suddenly freaked and nearly dropped the apple as Nakuru was the one to receive it. “N . . .N . . NAKURU!?” “Hey Tori. What’s up?” After a pause, Tori simply blinked and became baffled, wondering why Nakuru didn’t go crazy or try to hug him. He recovered from the shock, then coughed as he smiled nervously. “So . . .what brings you to Reidenton?” “Just visiting, wanted to see everyone again.” “Okay . . .does this mean you’re gonna . . .attack me?” “Nope! I’ve grown up and matured. I got the hint a while back, and now I’ve realized I like someone else.” “Really? Who’s that?” “Like I’m gonna tell!”
      As the two chatted like old friends, Sakura and Li smirked as they decided to carry out the final stage in their plan. Turning to Eriol and Madison, they managed to cover up their sinister expressions. “Say, I got a fun idea! How about we all split up to have some fun?” “What do you mean Sakura?” “What she means is, we’ll go find the best place possible for everyone to watch the fireworks. Meilin and Dominic, how about you two go play some games of chance?” “Sure. We can try to win cute stuffed animals!” “I’d rather win many prizes for you Meilin.” Smiling, the two Chinese romantics then walked off toward the games area of the festival. Sakura and Li then ran off in another direction, leaving Eriol and Madison totally by themselves, totally confounded. “Eriol, do you think those two are up to something? I think they’re trying to get us together.” “I believe you’re right. We taught them well in the ways of matchmaking.” “Really though, considering we’ve been trying to pair them up for a year now.” Both nodded and laughed, then walked off, hand in hand, to go enjoy some of the rides the festival had to offer.
      Some time later, Sakura and Li found themselves standing by the river, wondering how they got so far off the pathway to the fireworks hill. Looking around, both noticed the many fireflies floating around in the air and on the water. “Wow . . .this is so neat! It’s exactly like the Glow Card!”
      I saw this in my dream . . .” As the many fireflies floated around, Sakura and Madison were breathless with amazement as they wore kimono’s. It was when they were ten and at another festival as well. “Could it be a Clow Card?” “Yeah. It has to be.” Sakura nodded, then removed her Clow Key from around her neck and began chanting. “Key of Clow, power of magic, power of light. Surrender the Wand, the force ignite! Release!” As the key took shape, she watched the fireflies then raised her staff. “Return to your power confined! Clow Card!” As the card’s form took shape, it floated down into her hand and materialized. The name then appeared at the bottom to reveal that it was the Glow Card. “It was the Glow Card!” “How neat. So all it does is make firefly like things?” “Looks that it Madison, but it helped to create the best night of my life!”
      “I remember that card, neither of us sensed it at all.” “It was weird, but it was still a neat card. It’s even helped us once.” Li nodded, then looked back out onto the water. He sighed, knowing this was the best opportunity he would get for telling Sakura his true feelings. Thinking about it caused him to blush, but he was thankful Sakura couldn’t see it. “Listen Sakura, there’s something I have to tell you. Something I’ve been trying to tell you for quite a while now . . .” “What’s that Li?” Tilting her head to the side, Sakura could only wonder what he was talking about. Li then turned to her, and cleared his throat. “Sakura . . . I . . .” “Tee hee!”
      Just then, the two heard an unusual giggling. As the two looked around, trying to figure out what it was, a large ball of light floated above them and hovered, watching the two. It then decided to float down and land on Li’s head. The light disappeared, revealing a small pixie resembling the Glow Card’s form, only she was dominated by a silverish colour. She then leaned forward and over the front of Li’s head until she was right in his eyesight. “Hello there!” “Yikes! What’s this on my head!?”
      Li then started waving his arm around his head as he held his sword in his other hand, causing the small pixie to duck and weave every few seconds. However, she didn’t seem threatened as she continued to giggle. She flew up off of his head and over to Sakura’s, then landed and created another firefly like energy sphere which floated up into the sky. Sakura could only help but giggle. “Li, why are you trying to hurt her?” “I’m not! She just surprised me. What is she anyway?” As the two asked each other questions, the small pixie could not help but giggle once again. She then caused what appeared to be a tiny wand, to materialize in her hand. She then waved it around and created many more glowing spheres of silver energy. “You two, very clueless, but it’s understandable. You’re not GemCaptors like Ceaira. I’m the Glow Gem!”
      Sakura and Li both gasped, and looked again to the top of her head as Glow giggled and stood up, taking a bow. She then created another energy sphere which floated up into the night sky. Sakura smiled and clapped as Glow leaped down from her head and onto her open hand. “So, where is Ceaira?” “We honestly don’t know. Probably at home.” “Darn. I wanted her to come so I could be sealed. I want friends and I want to make people happy. I have no desire to hurt or destroy her.” “You’re the odd gem then. Every other gem we’ve faced up to this point has wanted Ceaira dead. Why do they?” “Well, I think it’s because most of the gems enjoy their current freedom, and that Ceaira is a threat to it. So they figure that by eliminating her, they’ll have freedom forever. But there are a few gems like me who don’t care, or want Ceaira to find and seal us. However, we’re afraid to come out into the open because we fear the other gems will try to hurt us for wanting to join forces with the GemCaptor.”
      Glow nodded, then frowned as she looked at the two. Upon looking at Li, she smiled and hopped over into his hand. “Now I know Ceaira isn’t here, but I need to revert to my gem form. I’m losing energy, but one of you must claim me until the time comes when Ceaira can reclaim all of the gems. So I shall pick you.” Li was shocked as Glow pointed her wand at him. “Why me?” “Because you have yet to claim a gem. Besides I’m a gem all about fair play and I think it’s fair that you have a gem too.” Giggling once again, Glow held her hands together in front of her as she looked up at Li with a very impressive puppy face. Li groaned, turning away from the pixie but he could still feel the expression practically dig deep into his skin. Sakura laughed at the sight of it all, and Li finally decided he couldn’t take anymore. He turned back to the pixie and nodded. “Okay, I’ll hold onto your gem form until Ceaira can claim you.” “Thank you. Now raise your sword and say ‘Return to your power confined!’” “Very well.”
      Li nodded, then lifted his sword and held it in front of him. He then placed his middle and index fingers on the blade as it became illuminated. “Glow Gem, return to your power confined!” A blast of lightning then shot forward and surrounded Glow, causing her to become illuminated in her silver aura. Before she disappeared however, she gave a simple nod and smiled. A moment later, Li found the gem form laying in his hand. He turned it over to see that written on the back was an “L”. “There goes another gem that Ceaira won’t be able to claim . . .I’m so depressed for her.” “I know what you mean Li. She’s going to be upset. Now she’s lost three.” Frowning, Sakura looked back toward the pathway which would take them back to the festival. She then took Li’s arm and forced a smile. “Come on, let’s go see how the others are doing. After all, we have to see if ‘Operation: Eriol x Madison’ worked, right?” “Come on Sakura, you know it’ll work. They’ve defiantly have feelings for each other.” This caused Li to smile as well. He then nodded, and walked with Sakura back to the festival.
      Later that night, everyone was gathered on the hill for the festival’s finale. Anticipation hung in the air, as the fireworks were always a no-miss occasion. After Sakura and Li had finally found their way to the hill, they had picked a large area underneath a large willow tree. While Li guarded the spot, Sakura had gone off and gathered everyone, including Tori. Once everyone had arrived, they sat under the tree and awaited for the arrival of the sky’s colorful explosions. “So Meilin, what did you two do?” “Well, we played some games, and he won me this stuffed rabbit here. Then we got some cotton candy.” “Don’t tell Kero you had cotton candy. He’ll freak.” “What you and Eriol, Madison?” “We went on some rides.” “And?” “And . . .Eriol said he wants to be my boyfriend.” “What did you say?” “What do you think I said Sakura?! Yes of course!” “Yay!”
      Sakura cheered out loud for joy at Madison’s new found relationship, which caused Madison herself to blush and hide her face behind her paper fan once more. Before anyone could say anything else, an explosion of red and blue colors appeared in the sky. Everyone gasped and looked upward as the fireworks had begun. More colors then appeared, which included green, yellow, and pink, plus other designs and patterns like sparklers, comets, and firecrackers. As everyone watched, Eriol turned to Madison and slid his arm around her waist. “So are you glad I came back?” “What do you think Eriol?” “I think you’re happy.” “Yeah, and I have Sakura and Li to thank for it. They were the ones who got you here after all, and gave you a place to stay too.” “So do you still plan to seek revenge?” “Not anymore. I’m too happy to try.”
      Chuckling, Eriol gently pulled Madison over to him and she hugged him as she rested her head on his shoulder. He then smiled, knowing he had found his perfect girl. As the fireworks continued, he turned his face toward her and leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. She gasped from the surprise, then blushed a deep shade of red as she blinked numerous times. “Something wrong Madison?” “No . . . .nothing’s wrong. I was just caught off guard by that.” “I’m so sorry Madison. I should of asked first.” “It’s okay. I . . .actually liked it.” “Seriously?” “Yes.”
      Eriol smiled, causing a hint of blush to appear on his face as well. He then placed a hand on Madison’s shoulder and leaned in closer, closing his eyes in the process. Madison then closed her eyes just as Eriol kissed her. However, it only lasted a couple of seconds as a voice rose which said a phrase that either of the two expected to hear. “I have seriously got to get this moment on video tape!” Madison then pulled away and looked over to see Sakura holding a video camera to her face, while Li snapped a picture with his camera. The two blushed, and Madison became fuelled with revenge. “I’ll get you for that Sakura!” “Oh really? So when you video tape me it’s okay, but when I go and video tape you it’s not okay? I don’t think that’s very fair Madison.” “I think it’s very fair!”
      With that, Madison jumped up off the ground and chased after Sakura, who knew it would happen so she took off right away. Eriol was knocked over from the entire situation, and he laid on his back for a few minutes before sitting up. He then turned to Li and snickered. “Looks like the roles have reversed tonight.” “Looks that way. How long do you think Sakura can keep ahead of my Madison?” “Umm . . .considering she’s a CardCaptor, probably a while.” “I hope Madison calms down soon.” The two chuckled, then continued to watch the fireworks with the rest of the gang as Sakura continued to flee from the persistent Madison. “GIVE ME THAT VIDEO SAKURA, RIGHT NOW!”
      On the other side of town, Aquilia was watching the fireworks happily from Ceaira’s bedroom window. She marvelled at the colors of the explosions, then sighed to herself in depression. “Man, Ceaira went out with Yuuki, Kara, and Hope tonight, Misuteri went to the museum, and both of them forgot to leave me a cupcake. What a night . . .” Frowning, she then turned to the TV in Ceaira’s room and smiled, knowing her favorite movie was on tonight. She jumped into the air and unfolded her wings, but something was wrong. She felt a sharp pain surge through her muscles, which caused her to cry out and fall toward the bed. Upon landing, she laid still for a few moments before sitting up. She then looked at her wings and frowned. “Odd, that has never happened before . . .I’m very worried about this.” She frowned once again, then looked toward the window and sighed. “I must be . . .running out of time. Star Gem . . .where can you be? I need your strength . . .” She then turned away from the window and used her beak to press the buttons on the remote control, allowing the television to turn on as her movie began to play.

End of Episode Seventeen

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Next Time on CardCaptors!

      Next time, the dream of the mysterious winged being continues to fill Ceaira’s sleep as the day of the new semester finally arrives. After arriving, Miss Mackenzie, the new math teacher, makes an announcement to the class.
      “We have two new students joining us today from Madrid, which is the capitol of Spain.”
      Marietta and Anastasia Gonzales are then introduced to the class, but Miss Mackenzie seems to be giving Anastasia an odd expression. Later on when the two go over to Ceaira’s house, Aquilia seems to become suspicious toward Marietta.
      “What is this I’m sensing?”
      Why does suspicion seem to surround Marietta and Anastasia Gonzales? And what happens when the Light Gem appears? Find out next time in Episode Eighteen: Arcane Faces!

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The Kayo Gems

     “Each gem that is captured has a mystical seal . . .a new mystifying gem today we shall reveal . . .”
      The Kayo box is dark blue with the image of a golden eagle on the lid. It suddenly flipped opened and tipped over, causing all the gems inside to spill out onto the ground. they all bounced around, but one landed and spun around on one side. it then fell over into it’s flat side to reveal the image to be a pocket watch attached to a brass chain.
     “Time Gem!”
      Madison’s watch glows in a yellow energy as a strange mist engulfs the area, causing the already young captors to reduce in age once more. After realizing what was going on, Ceaira tells Madison to take off the watch and throw it against the wall. The mist floats up from the destroyed timekeeper, and Ceaira, Sakura, Li, and Meilin hold the crossbow together as an arrow is fired to seal the energy. The Time Gem is then shown again before bursting into a bright yellow light.

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Aquilia Chat


     “Hi ya Gem lovers! It’s once again time for Aquilia Chat and today’s segment talks about something a bit different. That’s right, we’re gonna check out the homes of Dominic, and Eriol & company!”
      Aquilia then grabbed a pointer, and pulled down a split screen map of Hong Kong and England. She then pointed to Hong Kong.
     “This is a popular place for characters to come from in this show. The Showron’s, the Rae’s, the Kasaki’s and the Syona’s all come from Hong Kong. It seems this place is bustling with magical people.”
      Giving a smile, Aquilia then flew over to the lens of the camera and leaned in close.
     “And now, take a look at this!”
      Pointing to the map again, it is revealed that she is pointing to England. She smiled and continues her explanation.
     “Jolly old England is where Eriol, Nakuru, and Suppi call home. England is a large place, and home of the world’s royalty. Anyway, Eriol lived here for his entire life, except that one year in the 5th grade when he came to Reidenton and helped Sakura transform all the cards. Cool eh?”
      As the map is put away, Aquilia giggles as she pulls out an electric guitar. She then turns to the camera as she adjusts the strings.
     “So as you can see, not all the characters are from Reidenton. Heck, I’d say the majority of the CardCaptors Gang are Chinese! Sakura, Madison, and Julian seem to be the only native city dwellers there, while everyone else is international. That’s neat, and that’s all for today. See ya!”
      Waving her wing to everyone, she then started playing some good rock & roll music as the scene fades out.

Go To Episode 18

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