Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Card Captor Sakura: The Next Quest ❯ Sakura Meets the Moon Queen ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16: Sakura Meets The Moon Queen

~~~~~Tokyo, Japan~~~~~

“Ami-chan! Mina-chan!”

“Usagi-chan! Rei-chan! Mako-chan!”

For the first time in almost a year, all five of the Inner Sailor Senshi finally were back together again. All five girls shrieked out in excitement in an unnaturally high pitch, as they all came together in a tight group hug.

“I've missed you guys.”

“How's everyone doing?”

“What's new with all of you?”

“It's been way too long.”

“It's great to see you guys again.”

To the outside public, the chatter between the five girls sounded like a cluster of undecipherable nonsense, and in reality it probably was, but the girls had their own language. They were all so excited to see each other, the words themselves weren't particularly important, but the mindless chatter worked perfectly well to convey each of their emotions of exhilaration.

Several minutes later, the five girls returned to normal and something at least resembling a civilized conversation began to take place. “Congratulations, Usagi-chan,” began Ami.

“We all knew you and Mamoru-san would get married sooner or later,” added Minako. “But we're glad to be here for the show.”

“Thanks guys!” beamed Usagi as she gave Ami and Minako each a tight hug. “How have you two been?”

“We're good,” answered Minako for the both of them. “Oh, I haven't introduced you yet. This is Duo Maxwell and Kinomoto Sakura. Sakura-san, Duo-kun, this is Tsukino Usagi, Hino Rei, and Kino Makoto.

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” said Sakura politely with a slight bow.

“Pleasure to meet you as well,” responded Makoto. “Ami-chan and Mina-chan have told us a lot about you.”

“I thought you were bringing your boyfriend, Ami-chan?” asked Usagi with a sly grin, causing Ami to blush lightly.

“Not that we aren't excited to meet you as well, Kinomoto-san,” added Rei. “But we were all looking forward to seeing what kind of guy Ami-chan chose to be with.”

“That's ok,” answered Sakura. “I would want to meet Syaoran-kun if I were you as well. And truthfully, not that I am not honored to be at your wedding, Tsukino-san, but I miss my boyfriend too.”

“Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan's boyfriend, Heero-kun, who is also Syaoran's cousin, both had to go back to Hong Kong for family business,” explained Ami.

“Though I don't think either of them would really feel the most comfortable at a social event like this,” commented Duo, inciting a giggle out of Minako, Ami, and Sakura.

“Why is that so funny?” questioned Makoto, who was a little confused since she didn't know either Syaoran or Heero.

“Yuy-kun and Li-kun aren't the most social of people,” said Minako, understating greatly. “Let's just say that if they were here, their faces would make you think you were anywhere but a wedding.”

Neither Makoto or Rei and Usagi still quite grasped how serious Heero and Syaoran always were, but they let it go. “So where are the two of you from?” asked Rei to Sakura and Duo.

“I grew up in Tomoeda,” answered Sakura.

“I'm from, well, all over,” said Duo, not really ever knowing how to answer that question, given his unorthodox life.

“You moved around a lot as a kid?”

“Something like that. I've lived in numerous countries, but most recently I have been staying in the Sanc Kingdom.”

“I've heard of the Sanc Kingdom,” commented Makoto. “It's supposed to be extremely beautiful there.”

“It is,” answered Sakura for Duo. “I went there this past winter, and it is gorgeous. And their leader, Princess Relena, who is about our age actually, is so nice. I can't wait to go back this summer.”

“You got to meet the Princess?” said Usagi in awe.

“Well, Duo-kun and Heero-kun are good friends with Princess Relena, and my father is down there on an archeological dig for the royal family.”

“I'm so envious,” whined Usagi. “I want to meet a Princess.”

“Usagi-chan,” stated Makoto. “You are a princess, remember.”

“Oh yeah,” said Usagi, chuckling sheepishly to herself. “I forgot.”

“As unbelievable as it is,” commented Rei, to which Usagi responded by sticking her tongue out at the young priestess.

“So what do you three do?” asked Duo.

“Usagi and Mamoru-san have been living in the United States where Mamoru studies medicine,” answered Rei. “Mako-chan is studying cooking oversees in Paris, and I've been traveling Japan to learn from all the temple masters.”

“Wow,” said Sakura in awe. “You guys are doing such amazing things.”

“No offense, Sakura-chan,” said Ami. “But you don't exactly have a dull life yourself.”

Sakura smiled sheepishly, knowing Ami was right. “Guess you have a point.”

“Enough of the chit-chat,” interrupted Minako. “I want to see that ring Mamoru-san got you.”

Ami put a hand to her head in embarrassment while all the others laughed at Minako's ditzyness. The just as ditzy Usagi held out her hand proudly to show off the sizable crystal clear rock on her finger. “Isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?”

“It is striking,” commented Ami.

“And big,” added Minako with a smirk. “How did Mamoru-san afford this?”

“I don't know,” answered Usagi, very lightheartedly. “He must love me more than any amount of money I guess.”

While all the rest of the girls ogled Usagi's ring, Sakura stood by strangely quiet. Duo, who was feeling a little out of place as the only guy in the area, was the only one to notice Sakura's uncharacteristic behavior. “What's wrong?” Duo asked quietly so that nobody else would hear.

“Tsukino-san's ring,” answered Sakura, also quietly. “It is surrounded by a weak Clow aura.”

Duo turned toward the future Moon Queen to look at her ring. From what he could tell, it didn't look like anything other than a normal, albeit expensive, piece of jewelry. “Are you sure? None of the other girls seem to notice it.”

“It is very faint, but I am positive it is there,” Sakura answered. “Being the Card Mistress, I am a little more in tune with the aura of Clow Cards than Ami-chan and the other Senshi. They may not be able to distinguish it over the magical aura of Tsukino-san herself.”

“We have to tell them.”

“I know,” sighed Sakura. “But look how happy Tsukino-san is. How can I just ruin that?”

“Everything all right?” came Heero's voice in Sakura's head. “I could feel you were a little uneasy about something.”

“Ami-chan and Mina-san's friend, Tsukino-san, the one who is getting married,” began Sakura. “Her engagement ring is surrounded by a Clow aura and I don't know how to tell her about it.”

“You should discuss it with Ami-san,” said Heero. “She knows her friend better than you do, and may have an idea of how to deal with the situation.”

“But what if the Clow Card causes problems?”

“Does it feel powerful?”

“Can't be sure,” answered Sakura. “It feels as though it is hiding its power, which is why I think none of the Senshi have felt it yet.”

“As long as it is hiding its power, the Clow Card can't be planning to do any mischief,” said Heero. “When someone is staying covert, they are not quite ready to strike.”

“Okay. I'll wait for a chance to talk to Ami-chan about it.”

“Talking to Heero?” came Duo's voice interrupting Sakura's telepathic conversation with Heero.

“Yeah,” said Sakura sheepishly, not realizing she had completely neglected the conversation she had been having with the other Gundam pilot. “Sorry, Duo-kun.”

“That's alright,” Duo answered. “So what did he say?”

“He said to talk to Ami-chan about what to do,” Sakura answered. “So how is Hong Kong?” Sakura asked Heero, finding it a little harder than she expected to hold a pair of completely separate conversations simultaneously.

“Haven't done much but train with Wu-Fei,” answered Heero. “I think they really wanted Li to come back more than me. He's been in session with some of the Elders and his mother for the last two days.”

“I hope he's alright.”

“I'm sure he'll be fine,” answered Heero. “He's strong. My guess is this has to do with his recent magical difficulties and that situation with the Doubt and Control.”

“Truthfully, I'm also a little worried about Ami-chan,” Sakura said. “When Syaoran-kun has any personal issues, he usually becomes distant with everyone close to him. He's too proud to allow anyone else to help or sympathize with him.”

“It's how he was raised. It's in his blood. And it makes you stronger.”

“I just don't want anything to happen to my friends,” said Sakura, a hint of sadness in her thoughts.

“I know,” Heero responded. “But cheer up. Nothing bad has happened yet, and there is nothing saying anything ever will. Besides, you are at a wedding rehearsal. Those things are supposed to be enjoyable times for people like you.”

In Heero's head, he heard Sakura begin to laugh. “We were all just joking about what a damper you and Syaoran-kun would likely put on the party if you were here. But it's fun. Ami-chan and Mina-san's friends are really nice.”

“Then you had better get back to the party,” said Heero. “I don't want to turn you into a bad guest.”

“Okay,” agreed Sakura. “I'll talk to you later tonight?”

“Sure.”

“That's one more advantage of this telepathic link. No need to worry about finding a phone.”

Though she couldn't see it, Sakura was positive Heero was smiling, at least partially, at her joke. “Until tonight.”

“Bye, Heero-kun. I'll say hi to Ami-chan for you.”

“Sorry, Duo-kun,” said Sakura to the Gundam pilot still standing next to her. “I'm back now.”

“No worries,” responded Duo. “I know Heero means a lot to you. And how you did it I'll never know, but he cares about you just as much.” Sakura blushed a dark crimson at Duo's comments about her and Heero. “And besides, it's almost unnatural nowadays to see the two of you apart.”

“I guess between school and Clow Cards and training, we are together a lot.”

“That's the understatement of the century,” commented Minako. “You two are practically joined at the hip.”

Sakura stared down at the ground in embarrassment as all the girls began to lightly giggle. “We don't mean to embarrass you, Sakura-chan,” consoled Ami as she wrapped her arms protectively around the blushing girl. “We just think it's cute.”

Even though she was still feeling embarrassed beyond measure, Sakura's mind was still thinking. Taking advantage of her close proximity to Ami, Sakura whispered very softly in her ear. “When you have a chance, I need to talk to you in private.”

Ami's face contorted slightly at hearing the seriousness in Sakura's voice, but with her back to the others, nobody could tell. Without saying a word, Ami nodded her head just the slightest bit, so that Sakura could feel her saying yes, but it would look like anything but a natural motion to the others.

After Ami finally let go of the Clow Mistress, Sakura put a genuine smile on her face, for despite her current concerns with the Clow Card, she still did love weddings. “I didn't get a chance to say so earlier, but the three of you look very beautiful.”

“Of course!” agreed Rei as she, Usagi, and Makoto each struck a pose. Minako, Sakura, and Ami all laughed at the joking of the three Senshi, but Ami and Minako fully agreed with Sakura's compliment.

Rei was wearing a beautiful close-fitting red thigh length dress, accentuated by her raven hair, bright red lipstick, and black high heals. Makoto had on a dress similar in style to Rei's, but dark green in color. The outfit was complimented by black heels, her signature pink rose earrings, and pale pink lipstick. Usagi's dress was a pure white, just as she felt a bride should be dressed. It was a body hugging and ran down her entire length, stopping just at the top of her white open-toed heels. Her long blonde hair was up in an intricate bun instead of her normal style which had initially prompted her fiancé to call her meatball head.

“You three look gorgeous as well,” replied Makoto, returning the compliment Sakura had given her.

“You too, Maxwell-kun,” added Rei with a joking wink.

Minako and Duo both laughed and struck a pose, while Sakura blushed and looked down at the ground, and Ami hid her head in her hands in embarrassment. Even though only Duo and Minako really enjoyed the compliments, both Sakura and Ami also looked just as amazing.

Duo was dressed relatively simply, just wearing a black suit and shirt, but his demeanor added a little flare to an otherwise normal outfit. Minako's dress was yellow in color, low-cut and stopping just shy of her knees. Her accessories included pair of high heels, bright red lipstick, and a pair of diamond earrings Duo had bought for her. Tomoyo had offered to make Minako a dress for both the wedding and the rehearsal, but the Venus Senshi loved to shop, so had politely declined her offer. She had, however, asked Tomoyo to accompany her to purchase the dresses, weighing the future fashion designer's opinion very heavily on her decisions.

While Minako had decided to buy her dresses herself, Ami and Sakura both happily accepted Tomoyo's offer, though Tomoyo didn't really leave Sakura much of a choice. Since Ami got the invitation to Usagi's wedding months in advance, Tomoyo had plenty of time to create two works of art for the Mercury Senshi. The one she was currently wearing was a shimmering silver satin material, with spaghetti straps and a V-neckline with a one side overlap, bunching on Ami's left. The gown had a matching silver wrap and Ami finished off the outfit with a pair of silver heels and the magic infused diamond necklace Syaoran had given her that never left her neck. For the wedding itself, Tomoyo had designed Ami an elegant, yet sexy, glittering pale blue gown with a plunging halter neckline in front, and even lower cut in the back, with a long slit up one leg. Ami had been hesitant at first because the dress would obviously show a lot of skin, but after trying it on and looking at herself in the mirror, even she had to admit the creation was magnificent. Ami had originally thought Usagi would pick a specific design for bridesmaids dresses for her and the other Senshi, but in the end, Usagi decided to just have each girl pick their own outfit.

Though Tomoyo had a couple months to design and perfect Ami's gowns, she didn't have the same luxury with Sakura's. It was only a couple weeks before the wedding that Syaoran and Heero had been called back to Hong Kong, so Tomoyo didn't find out that Sakura would be going with Ami until that time. Luckily, she was always continually designing new outfits for her favorite model, and was able to fashion two great dresses on the fly. The first, which Sakura was currently wearing, was made of a emerald green jersey fabric. The dress was a curve hugging halter style that tied in the back, leaving Sakura's shoulders and upper back exposed, with an asymmetrical hemline right above her knees. The dress and matching open-toed shoes were the perfect supplement to the Card Mistress' green eyes, with her diamond necklace and pink lipstick being just enough to catch a person's eye. The dress Tomoyo designed for Sakura to wear at the wedding itself was, obviously, pink. However, offsetting the innocence of the pale pink satin fabric, the style of the gown had a deep plunging halter neckline and a fully exposed back. It was a full length slim fitting silhouette with fabric detail at the waistline and a classic flow down Sakura's legs.

“Hey sweetheart,” interrupted a tall, handsome guy with dark black hair and a strong jaw. “It's about time to sit down for dinner.”

“Ok,” answered Usagi as she gave the guy a kiss. “You remember Ami-chan and Mina-chan. And this is Duo Maxwell and Kinomoto Sakura. Kinomoto-san, Maxwell-kun, this is my fiancé, Chiba Mamoru.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” introduced Sakura.

“Congrats,” added Duo.

“Good to meet the both of you as well,” Mamoru replied. “Thank you both for coming. Although I thought I remembered from the guest list that Ami-san was bringing a Li Syaoran.”

“He had to go back to Hong Kong for a while,” answered Ami. “So I brought Sakura-chan.”

“I see,” answered Mamoru. “Well, it is a pleasure to have you here.”

“It is my honor to be here,” Sakura responded with a slight bow of respect. Mamoru smiled slightly at Sakura's politeness before ushering everyone to their correct places for the rest of the rehearsal dinner.

~~~~~Tokyo, Japan~~~~~

“So I'll see you both in the morning?” Usagi asked Ami and Sakura in front of their hotel room.

“We'll be there bright and early,” answered Ami with a smile.

“It was wonderful seeing you again, Ami-san,” added Mamoru. “And it was a pleasure to meet you, Kinomoto-san.”

“The honor was all mine,” Sakura replied.

“Goodnight, both of you,” said Ami.

“Goodnight.” Usagi gave both Ami and Sakura a big hug as they said goodnight and she and Mamoru left to head down the hall to their own room.

Ami and Sakura had originally been situated on the same floor as Minako and Duo, but unbeknownst to them, Heero and Syaoran had upgraded their reservations to one of the nicest rooms on the upper floors of the hotel, so now they were located just down the hall from the extraordinarily expensive suite Usagi and Mamoru had splurged to get for their wedding. At first, the two girls had been a little upset with the guys for wasting the extra money, but before long they accepted that it was just the two of them being sweet, and started to enjoy the experience. The room itself was not only spacious, but beautiful and elegant. It was split into two rooms, one with a soft and spacious king size bed the two girls were sharing, and the other with a pair of couches and other entertainment amenities.

“I love this bed!” exclaimed Sakura as she jumped onto the soft mattress, landing on her back while still dressed in the elegant gown Tomoyo had designed for her.

Ami laughed at Sakura's innocent charm as she watched the beautiful girl spread out and sink into the comfortable bedspread. “You should change out of that dress first, Sakura-chan,” commented Ami as she walked toward the closet and began pulling her own masterpiece off her smooth shoulders and slipping it down her body to hang it up. “You don't want to ruin it.”

“I know,” answered Sakura as she got off the bed and walked over to the closet where Ami was diligently hanging up her gown. “I can't wait to see the other girls' reactions when they see you in your dress tomorrow.” Ami's deep crimson blush of embarrassment traveled throughout her entire face, and even reddened her neck and shoulders. And to make matters worse, her embarrassment deepened further when Sakura laughed and wrapped her arms around her upper chest and gave her a tight hug. Normally a hug from Sakura wouldn't embarrass the Mercury Princess even the slightest, however, due to the style of her dress, Ami had been unable to wear a bra underneath and taking off the garment to hang it up left the girl currently naked from the waist up.

“Umm,” stuttered Ami. “Sakura-chan…”

Sakura only giggled in response and gave Ami a friendly kiss on the cheek before grabbing her pajamas and skipping to the bathroom to change. Ami could only stare in shock and confusion at the back of the playful Card Mistress as she disappeared behind the closed door. She stared for several moments are the closed door before turning back toward the closet and fingering her dress for tomorrow. Without really thinking, she pulled it out from the closet and held it up against her body in front of the mirror. “I wonder if Syaoran-kun would like it…” Ami whispered to herself.

“I'd bet my life on it,” came Sakura's voice quietly in the Mercury Princess' ear. Ami yelped at the surprise, completely unaware that she had been staring in the mirror so long. She quickly realized she still had not yet redressed, and hurriedly hung the dress back up and grabbed a towel out of the closet to cover herself. “I never realized you liked walking around naked so much.”

Ami's entire body blushed an almost unnaturally deep shade of red, causing Sakura to laugh uncontrollably in amusement as she gave Ami another hug before jumping back onto the soft hotel bed, now dressed in her pink silk pajamas. Ami took the opportunity to grab her nightgown and pull it over her head before slowly walking over to the bed and shyly sitting at the corner with her arms in her lap. Sakura continued to giggle as she crawled across the spacious bed and wrapped her arms around Ami's neck, and rested her head on her shoulder. “You're way to beautiful to be so shy,” Sakura said quietly since she was so close to the girl's ear. “But it is definitely a shame that Syaoran-kun left before you could show him the dress you are wearing tomorrow.”

“Are you sure it isn't too revealing?” Ami asked as she placed her own hands on Sakura's arms. “I just don't ever wear things quite so mature.”

“Don't worry, Ami-chan,” consoled Sakura. “You know as well as I do how great you look in that dress. Besides, between your intelligence, your kindness, your caring, and your beauty, you are easily one of the most perfect girls anyone could ever hope to meet.”

“Thanks, Sakura-chan.”

“Plus, there aren't that many girls who like walking around topless.”

Ami blushed for the umpteenth time that night as Sakura broke out in a fit of laughter, grasping Ami in a tighter friendly hug. Eventually, after overcoming her embarrassment, Ami too began to laugh along with Sakura, knowing the Card Mistress was only joking around. As the girls continued to laugh and giggle, they fell backward onto the spacious bed. After both laughing to their hearts content, the two girls laid silently on their backs on the bed, catching their breath. Lying in the silence finally brought a memory back to Ami's mind. “Weren't you saying something earlier about needing to talk to me in private?”

Sakura paused momentarily, the thought of the Clow Card in Usagi's ring temporarily having fled her mind. “I almost forgot,” answered Sakura after a moment. “There is something I need to discuss with you, but I'm not really sure how to tell you.”

“What is it? Is it something serious?”

“It has to do with the new Clow Cards,” Sakura explained.

“The Clow Cards?” repeated Ami. “Did you find another one? Or did Heero-kun tell you about one? Does it have something to do with Syaoran-kun…”

Sakura put a finger gently on Ami's mouth to stop her from her continual spouting of different ideas as the Senshi's mind created more and more possible situations. “Syaoran-kun is fine. It is actually your first guess. I found another one.”

“Really? Where?” Sakura only paused in response, prompting Ami to continue. “Sakura-chan?”

“Tsukino-san's ring…” Sakura finally said, quietly.

“What about Usagi-chan's ring?”

“It's a Clow Card.”

Ami's eyes went wide in shock. “Are you sure?”

Sakura slowly nodded her head. “I wish I was wrong. But I'm positive.”

“But I didn't feel anything. And Usagi-chan has a lot of magical power, so she should have felt it too.” In truth, Ami knew Sakura wouldn't lie about something like this, but she was grasping at any straw she could find that might mean Sakura was mistaken.

“I'm sorry, Ami-chan,” Sakura said. “But I'm positive Tsukino-san's ring is a Clow Card. It is hiding it's power, so I was barely able to detect it, and that is probably the reason you and the other Sailor Senshi have been unable to detect it.”

Ami's face clearly sunk as the reality of Sakura's information set in. “How do I explain this to Usagi-chan?”

“I was worried about the same thing,” responded Sakura. “That is why Heero-kun said to talk to you first. Tsukino-san is your friend, so I believe she will appreciate it more if it comes from you.”

“She loves Mamoru-san so much. It is going to kill her to find out that her ring is a Clow Card.”

“There is a possibility that the ring itself is not a Clow Card. It could just be a Card hiding itself in or around the ring.”

“You really think so?” asked Ami hopefully.

“With the Clow Cards, anything is possible,” Sakura answered with a smile.

“Be careful, Sakura,” Heero's voice echoed in Sakura's head. “Lying to her to get her hopes up will not help the situation.”

“Well, it is possible…”

“Sakura-chan.”

“I know,” answered Sakura with a mental sigh, knowing she would never be able to fool Heero since her emotions would easily give her away. “Ami-chan,” Sakura said aloud, her fake smile disappearing from her face. “I shouldn't be getting your hopes up. The truth is that I'm positive the ring itself is the Clow Card. I'm sorry I lied before, but I just didn't want to hurt either you or Tsukino-san.”

“I know, Sakura-chan,” Ami said. “In truth, I think I knew you were just trying to make me feel better, I just wanted to believe it so much.”

“Then I guess we were both doing pretty much the same thing.”

“It would seem so.” Ami paused. “So how is Heero-kun? I assume you were talking telepathically with him sometime earlier in the day.”

“He's doing well,” answered Sakura with a smile, much preferring to talk about happy things instead of Usagi's Clow Card ring. “He said he's been mostly training with his Gundam pilot friend.”

“And Syaoran-kun…?”

“Mmm… Heero-kun said Syaoran-kun has been in session with the Li Clan Elders for the past two days. That doesn't necessarily mean anything bad is happening to him, but Heero-kun doesn't really know what is going on.”

“I wish I could talk with him,” Ami said. “When I tried calling earlier, Li Yelan-sama said he was in the middle of training, and would tell him I had called when he was finished.”

“Then maybe he'll call any minute,” suggested Sakura, hopefully.

Ami's face dropped a little. “That was two days ago. I know Li-sama wouldn't lie to me, so either he is still training, or he chose not to call.”

“I'm sure he would call as soon as he was able,” consoled Sakura, as she scooted over on the bed to give Ami a hug. “Heero-kun did say Syaoran-kun was talking with the Elders for the past two days. It didn't occur to me earlier, but it wouldn't surprise me if that meant literally all day for two days.”

“They really do that?”

Sakura nodded. “Definitely. Syaoran-kun told me once when he was younger, his teachers made him meditate for five straight days for mental training. He wasn't even allowed to eat or drink during that time.”

“I knew Syaoran-kun trained hard as a kid, but I had no idea just how tough it must have been.”

“According to Meilin-chan, after Syaoran-kun's father passed away, he didn't really have a childhood. Meilin-chan was pretty much his only friend, and he spent his entire days either in school or in training.”

“I never really realized how little I know about Syaoran-kun.”

“He doesn't really like to talk about himself much,” Sakura said. “Almost everything I know about him I learned from Meilin-chan. But I wouldn't worry. When Syaoran-kun is ready to talk about himself, I'm certain he'll go straight to you.”

“Thanks, Sakura-chan,” answered Ami with a bright smile. “You are a really good friend.” Sakura smiled in response and the two girls shared a long, friendly, hug.

“So what do you want to do about Tsukino-san's ring?” Sakura asked, bringing the conversation back to the situation at hand.

“I don't know,” Ami said sadly. “I wish there was some way of capturing the Clow Card without Usagi-chan ever knowing.”

“Maybe there is,” suggested Sakura. “We could sneak into their room and capture it without them noticing.”

“But they would notice when Usagi-chan wakes up without her ring,” Ami pointed out.

“That's true,” conceded Sakura. “But maybe we can replace it somehow as well?”

“How would we do that?”

“If we can manage to capture the Clow Card, eventually we can get Heero-kun to transform the card and then he should be able to get it to return to the same form.”

“But even if we can do all that, we still can't just leave the Clow Card as Usagi-chan's ring forever.”

“We can take it now and then tell Tsukino-san the truth tomorrow,” suggested Sakura. “It should be easier for her to understand the situation after we have captured the Card.”

“Perhaps,” agreed Ami. “Otherwise, Usagi-chan will probably not want to hear the truth. But how are we going to sneak into their room and capture the Clow Card without them noticing?”

Sakura placed her finger on her chin, realizing she hadn't thought her plan all the way through, and attempting to discern a method of stealthily capturing the Clow Card. “The easiest way would be to use the Sleep on them, but given the magical levels of both Tsukino-san and Chiba-san, I doubt it has enough power to work. I wish we had Heero-kun's Remove Card, but he took all his Cards with him to Hong Kong.”

“Sorry, Sakura-chan,” came Heero's voice in Sakura's head, although it sounded a little out of breath, making Sakura believe Heero was likely training, so she decided not to bother responding.

“What about the Move Card in your deck?” suggested Ami. “That has similar powers to the Remove Card.”

“It might work. But the Move is not very powerful, and I am not sure it can move a Clow Card.”

“Well, there is always the old-fashioned way,” Ami said. “We sneak into their room, and we `borrow' it without either of them waking up. Although, truthfully, I don't really like the idea of breaking into their room and stealing Usagi-chan's ring.”

“Neither do I. But sometimes strategies like that become necessary,” Sakura pointed out, remembering her slight law infringements she committed as a child when capturing Clow Cards like Watery and Silent.

“Do you have any ideas on how to sneak into their room without being detected?”

Her previous thoughts about the Silent Card brought a few new ideas to Sakura's head. “I think we can use a couple Clow Cards to mask our presence, keeping Tsukino-san and Chiba-san from waking up. We can use the Silent to make certain they won't hear us, Dark so they won't see us, Shadow to take the ring so Tsukino-san can't feel us, and the Time to keep anyone else from interrupting.”

“That sounds like a lot of Cards being used at once,” commented Ami. “Are you sure you have enough energy to use all those and capture the new Clow Card?”

“That's a good point,” admitted Sakura, who hadn't considered that she was going to have to fight and capture the new Clow Card. “Especially since Dark and Time are so powerful.”

“Maybe we can do this without the Dark and Time Cards,” Ami suggested. “If we just make sure to hide in a dark spot in the room, we won't need the Dark, and just hope that since it is late that nobody will be disturbing Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san, we can forgo using the Time Card too. That way you would only have to use Silent and Shadow.”

“And Lock,” Sakura added. “I just realized we have to get into the room somehow too, and we don't have Heero-kun to open the door for us.”

“Good point. I had forgotten about that.”

“But either way, using those three Cards should be simple, since none of them are overly powerful anyway.”

“Okay. Then we should probably change, since if Usagi-chan wakes up, I think they will probably see us considering we are wearing pink and light blue.”

Sakura giggled lightly, realizing that her own shimmering satin pink pajamas and Ami's silk light blue nightgown would be easily distinguishable with even the most minimal light. “We should also wait a little before going, just to make certain they have already gone to sleep, because me and Heero-kun always stay up for a while, and since Tsukino-san and Chiba-san are getting married, they might be doing more, umm, personal things.” By the time Sakura was finished with her explanation, both she and Ami were blushing profusely, picturing things in their head they wish they weren't, and both wishing Sakura hadn't bothered explaining herself.

“Go…Good thinking,” Ami finally managed to stammer. “We'll wait for another hour.”

About an hour and a half later, the two girls were finally ready to embark on their thievery journey. It had been a little more difficult than they had imagined to find clothing to wear for the stealth mission, both wishing a little that Tomoyo had been there with her never-ending supply of clothing. In the end, Sakura had to borrow a dark green sweater from Ami since she didn't have any dark colored tops to go with her dark blue skirt, and Ami was wearing a pair of Sakura's blue shorts to go along with her own midnight blue top. Both of them knew that Tomoyo would have a fit if they saw them, since neither of them was matching very well, but figured they weren't going to a fashion show, so it shouldn't matter too much. Luckily, both girls had thought to each bring a pair of regular shoes, for neither one was keen on the idea of sneaking around in their fancy heals they brought to go with their dresses for the wedding.

Both keeping an eye out for any people in the hallways, Sakura and Ami quietly slipped out of their own room, and down the hall to the suite occupied by Usagi and Mamoru. Sakura called forth the Lock Card, which quickly made its way through the electronic lock in the hotel door, allowing the Card Captor to quietly click the door open. Once inside the room, Sakura released the Silent Card, and Ami and herself found a dark corner to hide.

Ami turned toward Sakura and started to speak, but stopped when she noticed no words were coming out of her mouth. She knew Sakura had released the Silent Card so that no sounds would be made, but having never seen the Card in action, she hadn't realized that it would mute her own speech as well. To overcome the small problem, Ami pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, at which she noticed Sakura was surprised Ami even had with her, and began writing a note so that she and Sakura could communicate.

`So how exactly are we going to get the ring?'

Handing the paper and pen over to Sakura, the Card Mistress read the note and wrote her own response. `Depends. Do you see it?'

Ami read Sakura's question and began scanning the room hoping Usagi had taken the ring off her finger to sleep. Unfortunately, Ami quickly caught sight of the large diamond on Usagi's ring finger. `It's on Usagi's finger.'

Sakura read the remark and turned to find the ring herself, easily spotting it on the Moon Queen's hand, which laid draped off the side of the bed. Instead of writing a response to tell Ami what she was planning, Sakura pulled out the Shadow Card and showed it to her. It was clear that Ami was still confused at what Sakura was planning, so Sakura motioned for Ami to just sit and watch, and she would see what Sakura meant.

Sakura called forth the Shadow Card, and using the low glow from the moonlight coming through the window, Sakura proceeded to have the Shadow carefully wrap itself around the ring, and gently slide it off the sleeping Princess' finger. Once the ring was safely off Usagi's finger, the Shadow brought it to its Mistress and Sakura and Ami quickly and quietly left the room.

“How did you know you could do that?” Ami questioned, once the two were outside and the effects of the Silent had been removed.

“I had to do a similar maneuver when capturing the Silent back in elementary school,” Sakura answered as she stared at the ring she had just stolen from Ami's friend. “I feel kind of bad taking this.”

“I know,” Ami responded. “I do too. So lets just figure out how to capture this Clow Card so we can put this all behind us.”

“Right. I Sakura, Mistress of the Cards Command You. Return to Your True Form. Clow Card!”

At the command of the Card Mistress, the new Clow Card, which had been hiding its power, suddenly came to life. The ring flashed a bright white, before changing from the inanimate form into a person shaped figure that was sparkling and translucent. The magical energy waves emanating from Sakura's wand attempted to capture the Clow Card and force it back into Card form, however, without having done it any damage, the Card was reluctant to change back.

“I guess we have to fight it first,” stated Sakura, seeing that her attempt at a quick capture had failed.

Ami nodded and grasped her transformation wand. “Mercury Crystal Power, Make-Up!” In a flash, Ami transformed into Sailor Mercury and moved into a fighting stance, ready for the battle. The Card, which was apparently angry at being disturbed, didn't give either Ami or Sakura a chance to attack, as it suddenly sent a spray of diamond shards at the two girls. As the girls moved to evade the attack, they realized too late that fighting in the confined space of a hotel hallway gave them too few options, as they both ran into the walls as they did their back flips. The error of not realizing the effects of being in the confined space proved costly, as Sakura was struck by three of the diamond shards, leaving deep scrapes on her upper left leg, and Ami was hit by a pair on her right forearm. Both girls winced at the pain, but didn't cry out, but quickly stepped backward to put some distance between themselves and their attacker.

“We can't fight in here,” stated Sakura. “There's not enough room.”

“You're right,” agreed Ami. “We've got to lure it out of here and into the open.”

“Let's split up. You head down the stairs, and I'll use the Fly Card and go out the window. Hopefully it will follow one of us outside where we can fight more effectively.”

“Ok,” Ami answered with a nod. “I'll see you on the ground.” Ami turned and quickly shot through the door and into the stairwell, making her way down from the upper floors. Had Ami been in her normal form as opposed to being Sailor Mercury, she would likely have taken the elevator, for she currently had about twenty flights of stairs to speed down.

Meanwhile, back on the twenty-second floor, Sakura was having a few more problems then she was expecting. Right after Ami had disappeared, the Clow Card had decided to start attacking again. This time, however, Sakura took into account the enclosed hallway, and had called the Shield to protect herself. Unfortunately, this time the Clow Card didn't stop at only a single attack, and continued the barrage of diamond shards. Sakura knew her shield wouldn't last forever, but didn't know where she could run to. There was no way she was going to be able to make it to the stairwell before the Clow Card's attacks would reach her, and there was also no way she could make it to the window with the attacking Card directly in her path. Sakura looked around in all directions, until finally an idea occurred to her. Calling forth the Sword Card while still within her protective barrier, Sakura made four clean slices right through the floor of the hallway, and dropped down to the floor below. As her Shield Card returned to her deck, Sakura saw the diamond shards fly by overhead, and knowing she had to act quickly, Sakura called forth the Fly and sped her way down the hall and straight at the outside window. Again using the power of the Sword Card, Sakura sliced her way through the wall and hovered in the air outside. She looked downward, and was a little surprised to already see Ami waiting downstairs, her visor engaged, and scanning the area.

“Look out!” Sakura heard the echo from Ami's warning just in time to zip out of the way as she saw the Clow Card falling right past her and landing with a loud thump on the hard concrete ground below. Sakura looked back up toward the hotel's upper floors and saw a gaping hole one floor above her own clean cut square exit, and could only assume the Clow Card had figured out that she had escaped outdoors and had simply jumped through the wall after her. When she looked back down, Sakura noticed Ami had gotten into a fighting stance, indicating the Clow Card was still unharmed. Before she got a chance to fly back down to assist, Sakura saw Ami form one of her Mercury water attacks. She wasn't positive since it was her first time seeing the attack from above, but Sakura thought it was Ami's Mercury Aqua Mirage. Sakura watched the attack impact directly on center mass of the Clow Card and surround it completely in water, and was about to fly down to congratulate her Senshi friend, when suddenly the ball of water surrounding the it exploded to reveal a completely unharmed Clow Card.

Seeing Ami taking a few steps back from the Clow Card, Sakura could only assume that it truly was just as undamaged as it appeared from above. Thinking that maybe the Card had a natural defense from water, Sakura pulled out her Firey to see if it had any more luck. Upon release, the powerful fire entity shot through the air and engulfed the entire area surrounding the new Clow Card. Unfortunately, the fire element turned out to be just as fruitless against the new enemy as Sailor Mercury's attack.

“Any ideas?” asked Sakura after landing next to Ami on the ground.

“Not really,” Ami responded. “I can't get a good read on any weaknesses.”

“Maybe we can be of assistance!” called out a voice from way up above the heads of Sakura and Ami.

Ami and Sakura both looked upwards toward the higher floors of the hotel. “Sailor Moon! Tuxedo Mask!” exclaimed Sailor Mercury.

“And don't forget about us!”

Ami and Sakura shifted their gaze downward toward the main entrance of the hotel to see Minako, Makoto, and Rei, along with Duo, all in Senshi form. “Venus! Mars! Jupiter! You are all here!”

“Looks like we are just in time,” commented a calm voice from behind Sakura and Ami.

Ami and Sakura both shot their heads around to see where the new voice had come from. Sakura looked on in slight confusion, not recognizing any of the four apparent Senshi standing next to the pair of cars on the side of the street. “Uranus! Neptune! Pluto! Saturn!” exclaimed Ami, answering Sakura's question before she even had a chance to ask it.

“So the whole gang is back together again,” commented Sailor Neptune.

“What are you guys doing here?” asked Ami in confusion. “I didn't think you would be arriving until the wedding tomorrow.”

“Hotaru-chan wanted to stay in the fancy hotel,” answered Sailor Uranus as she messed with the blushing younger Senshi's hair. Even though Hotaru was already in high school, Michiru, Setsuna, and especially Haruka, still sometimes treated her like she was still a little girl.

While Ami and Sakura were distracted by the arrival of all the other Sailor Senshi, the Clow Card did not do the same. Instead, apparently sensing that the newcomers to the area were all enemies, the Clow Card unleashed yet another attack. The new assault was very similar to its first, only this time the diamond shards were shot in all directions instead of linearly. Fortunately, given the distance everyone was away from the Card, by the time the shards were near to the heroes, they had dispersed far enough apart that Sakura and the Senshi could all dodge easily.

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo mask jumped down from their elevated position on the upper floors of the hotel, to land near Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, who had all taken up fighting stances after hopping in different directions to avoid the diamond shards. The Outer Senshi didn't bother dodging, as Saturn used her Silence Wall to block the incoming attacks. It would have probably been much simpler for the girls to simply dodge the attack, but Hotaru knew how much Haruka valued her sports car, and decided to protect it. “Good job, Saturn,” commented Haruka, praising the girl for protecting her automobile.

“So what are we fighting?” Sailor Neptune asked Mercury, surprising the Senshi genius a bit with how stealthily she had snuck up next to her.

“It's a magical entity called a Clow Card,” answered Ami.

“Most of the Clow Cards aren't evil or inherently bad,” added Sakura. “They simply have a tendency to cause mischief.”

“So what do we do with it?”

“Normally it is a matter of defeating it either physically or magically,” responded Sakura. “But this Clow Card seems to be very resistant to magic, and neither of us are very overpowering in terms of physical combat.”

“Then you two can take a break, and we'll take care of it from here,” commented Jupiter, who had ended up near Ami, Sakura, and Michiru's position after dodging the various diamond shard attacks sent her way by the Clow Card. Makoto gave a confident grin to her Senshi allies and turned toward the Clow Card to finally go on the offensive. “All right you big… whatever you are,” Jupiter taunted as she smacked her fist into her palm. “It's time for me to introduce myself.”

Jupiter charged head-on at the Clow Card. On the short path between herself and her enemy, Jupiter had to nimbly dodge a few more diamond shards, but made it to her target easily enough. She began her assault with a roundhouse kick to the Clow Card's head, and followed it up with a series of punches to the face and midsection of the magical entity. Unfortunately, punching the Clow Card was like punching a boulder. While it made no move to fight back or block, it still stood unmoving despite the powerful strikes the Earth Senshi was unloading on its form.

Seeing the ineffectiveness of her assault, Jupiter took single hop back, and looked on in confusion at her enemy. She was thinking of trying to attack again, but before she had a chance, in an unexpectedly fast move, the Clow Card was in front of her, and knocked her through the air toward Ami and Sakura, with a powerful uppercut punch to the torso.

“Jupiter!” exclaimed Mercury as she ran toward her friend who was being held by Duo while grasping her torso in pain after the Gundam pilot managed to catch her before she could land on the hard asphalt ground.

“Oww,” coughed out Makoto. “Yeah, physical attacks don't work so well. The thing is harder than a boulder.”

“That's because I think it is made of diamond,” answered Mercury. “The hardest material on the planet.”

“So if magic doesn't work, and it is so physically tough,” commented Duo. “How do we beat it?”

“We do whatever we can think of,” answered Michiru as she looked over at Haruka and Setsuna and gave them a nod. “Deep Submerge!”

“World Shaking!”

“Dead Scream.”

The powerful turquoise, yellow, and pink energy balls created by the three Outer Senshi spiraled around each other and impacted with a massive explosion directly on the form of the Clow Card. The entire area was lit up by the multicolored energy explosion, and when the dust settled, a gaping crater replaced the area the Clow Card was previously occupying.

“Did we get it?” asked Uranus when she saw nothing at the blast point of the attacks.

“I don't see,” began Pluto, until suddenly a loud crash was heard and the Clow Card pulled itself out from under a pile of rubble that was created by the Outer Senshi attacks. “Never mind. It looks like it's still relatively undamaged.”

“Guess now it's our turn,” stated Sailor Moon. “Moon Gorgeous Meditation!”

“Mars Flame Sniper!”

“Venus Love and Beauty Shock!”

As Rei's fire arrow and Minako's chain of hearts spiraled around Usagi's Moon Kaleidoscope attack, the trio of energies flew straight at the Clow Card, impacting with another explosion, very similar to the one caused by the Outer Senshi attacks. Knowing from previous experience not to celebrate too quickly, the three girls waited to see if their strike had any more effect on the Clow Card than the previous attacks. Unfortunately, their doubt turned out to be verified, as the Clow Card was indeed undamaged by the attack.

“Nothing seems to work,” Sailor Moon commented.

“Ami-chan, you said that you think the Clow Card is made of diamond, right?” asked Sakura.

“Right,” confirmed Ami with a nod.

“How is diamond normally cut?”

“If I'm not mistaken, it's cut using a diamond tipped saw,” answered Ami. “So basically it is cutting diamond with diamond.”

“So then it is possible to cut a diamond, just not easy,” verified Sakura as she pulled out one of her Sakura Cards. “Sword!” Upon release of the Sword Card, Sakura's wand transformed into a mystical fencing sword. Newly armed, Sakura, who still has the wings provided from the power of the Fly Card attached to her back, flew straight at the Clow Card with sword raised above her head, ready to strike. Unexpectedly, however, when Sakura struck at the large torso region of the Clow Card, it dodged. The move surprised the Clow Mistress, who had assumed that the Card would just take this attack the same way as all the others. However, Sakura didn't panic. While she didn't often train with weapons when she practiced her martial arts with Syaoran and Heero, the training did increase her mental awareness during battle, and as a result, Sakura kept her head and followed up her missed attack with another. The follow-up sideways slash was also dodged by the Clow Card, as was her third diagonal strike. Sakura paused for a moment after her third attempted attack to regain her stance and think of a new strategy. At first she couldn't think of anything, but after a while an idea popped into her head. Pulling out a Sakura Card that she never thought she would use in battle, the Clow Mistress took a couple hops backwards to put a little distance between herself and the Clow Card. “Flower!”

Though Sakura was too busy to notice, all the Senshi each raised an eyebrow in confusion as to why Sakura was releasing a dense cloud of flower petals. Ami, who happened to be closest to Sakura, was about to ask what Sakura was thinking, when the girl suddenly disappeared into the cloud of flowers. “What is going on?” Ami heard Minako asking from behind her.

“I don't know what she's thinking,” Ami answered honestly.

“It's a diversion,” Duo answered for her. “A tactic she probably picked up from Heero. The Clow Card was too agile for her to land a strike, so she is using the flowers to mask her approach and allow her to attack before the enemy has a chance to dodge.”

“Think it will work?” Ami asked.

“We'll find out soon enough,” replied Duo. “Although, considering the power of the enemy, even if the tactic works, there is no certainty that her strikes will even do any damage.”

With both Sakura and the Clow Card enemy encompassed in the cloud of beautiful pink flower petals, all Duo and the Senshi could do was watch and wait. For the most part the entire area was deathly quiet, minus the occasional clang that the others could only assume was the sound of Sakura's sword striking against the diamond hard exterior of the Clow Card.

“Do you think she's doing any damage?” asked Makoto to nobody in particular.

Before anyone had a chance to answer, the cloud of flowers exploded outward and through the disappearing magical petals, Sakura, surrounded by a protective bubble apparently created by the Shield, came flying through the air before doing a flip and smoothly landing in a crouching position.

Rei, who happened to be the closest to where Sakura landed, ran over to the smaller girl to make certain she was alright. “You okay?” asked the Fire Senshi as she held out a hand to help Sakura back to her feet.

“I'm okay,” answered Sakura as she took Sailor Mars' outstretched hand and popped up to her feet. “I was able to use the Flower Card to mask my approach and land a few strikes, but it didn't seem to do anything.”

“Actually,” interrupted Ami, who had her Mercury visor over her eyes and was inspecting the enemy. “The Clow Card now has a number of small fractures all over its body.”

“Cracks that weren't there before?” asked Neptune for clarification.

“Definitely,” replied Mercury. “Before, the Clow Card had a completely flawless exterior. Now, I count exactly nine small cracks, and fifteen scuffs and scratches.”

“Then let's see if we can finish the job Kinomoto-san started,” stated Sailor Moon as she got into a battle position and prepared an attack. “Ready guys?”

“Ready,” answered all eight other Senshi as they followed their leader's example and got into attack positions themselves, while Sakura and Duo stepped back to stay out of the way.

“Moon Gorgeous Meditation!”

“Jupiter Oak Evolution!”

“Mars Flame Sniper!”

“World Shaking!”

“Deep Submerge!”

“Dead Scream.”

“Silence Glaive Surprise!”

“Venus Love and Beauty Shock!”

“Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!”

The nine attacks from the nine different directions all impacted within seconds of each other, the resulting explosion increasing in size with each strike. Sakura could only awe at the combined power of the Senshi attacks, finally truly understanding why the Li Elders made such a big deal about them. She was especially surprised at the power created by Sailor Saturn, who was easily the youngest of the Senshi. In truth, the power of Sailor Saturn worried her a little, for it didn't quite feel as positive as the energy coming from all the other Senshi. It was not an evil feeling power, but was more like a neutral, indiscriminating power that could easily be used for either good or evil. Given what she knew about the Senshi, Sakura didn't want to jump to any type of conclusions about the girl, but still made a mental note to ask Ami about the situation when she got a chance.

Bringing her attention back to the Clow Card, Sakura saw that the dust had almost settled and she would soon find out if they had finally defeated the Clow Card. She had a good feeling, as she could no longer feel the power of the Clow Card, but had recently learned not to misjudge this particular enemy. Holding her breath, much like the other Senshi, Sakura waited and waited, until she finally saw instead of a hulking diamond Clow Card, a small black back piece of paper was lying in the small crater formed by the combined power of the Sailor Senshi.

“What happened to it?” asked Sailor Mars as she looked around the area for the missing enemy.

“We got it,” answered Ami as she walked over and picked up the new Clow Card. “This is what we were fighting against,” she explained as she held up the new Diamond Card for the other Senshi to see.

“This?” asked Mars rhetorically as she picked the Clow Card from Mercury's hand to take a closer look at it. “How can something so small cause so much trouble?”

“The card form of the Clow Cards are their dormant form,” answered Sakura as she walked up to Ami and Rei. “What we were fighting is the true form of this particular Clow Card.”

“And how many of these Clow Cards are there?” asked Sailor Uranus as she, Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, and the remaining Inner Senshi all came over to join Sakura and the others.

“I'm not entirely certain,” answered Sakura. “There were fifty-two, well fifty-three if you count the Void, original Clow Cards. This particular card is from what we have been calling a second deck of Clow Cards. They were created unintentionally from excess energy from the creation of the original deck of Clow Cards. So far we have captured I believe twenty-two, right Ami-chan?”

“We've captured now twenty-one, and the twenty-second is the Heal,” answered Ami.

“That's right,” said Sakura. “Anyway, we don't know exactly how many more of these new Clow Cards are left because it is not a one-to-one ratio.”

“What are these pictures on the card's face?” asked Neptune.

“These are images of the Bubbles, the Sand, and the Sweet Cards,” answered Sakura.

“So that means this single card is made with the power of three of the regular Clow Cards?” asked Jupiter for clarification.

“That is the theory.”

“What about power?” asked Mamoru. “Is each of these new cards equal in power to its original counterpart?”

“No,” Sakura replied. “Each individual new Clow Card has more energy than the original power from which it was created.”

“But more importantly,” interrupted Usagi, who along with the other Senshi had all changed back to normal form. “What happened to my ring!?”

“Oh yeah,” said Ami as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head. “Well, it was actually the Clow Card. So technically your ring is in Mako-chan's hand right now.”

“But I don't want an engagement card,” whined Usagi. “I want my ring back.”

“I'm sorry,” said Ami. “But Heero-kun is the Master of this deck, so until he changes this card, it's not usable.”

“There's nothing you can do?” Usagi asked as she stared at the new Diamond Clow Card.

“Well, I do have an idea,” said Sakura softly. “But it's a long shot, so I really don't want to get your hopes up.”

“I'd appreciate anything you can do, Kinomoto-san,” pleaded Usagi. “I just really love that ring.”

“What are you planning, Sakura-san?” asked Minako.

“Well, I was able to use one of Heero-kun's Clow Cards after it was changed, so I was thinking that possibly I can change one to his name myself.”

“I guess that makes sense,” agreed Minako.

“I'll take any chance I can get,” Usagi added as she passed the Diamond Card to Sakura.

“Card Created by Clow,” began Sakura as the Diamond Card began to glow. “Discard Your Old Form and be Reborn, Under the Name Heero, Your New Master.” For a few seconds, the Clow Card continued to glow the slight white, apparently not changing. However, just when Sakura thought she had failed, the Diamond Card flashed with a bright energy, causing everyone to turn they eyes away. After giving their eyes a chance to readjust from the shock, Sakura and the Senshi all looked back at the Clow Card, which was no longer glowing, to find that picture was now of a large, clear gem, the borders had changed, and Sakura had indeed transformed the Diamond Card into a Heero Card.

“Did it work?” asked Usagi, who was pretty sure Sakura had done something considering the Clow Card looked so different.

“Amazingly, it did,” Sakura answered. “Create a new ring for Tsukino-san. Diamond!” The Diamond Card glowed a dim opaque white, and suddenly the same ring the Diamond Card had previously been, materialized on Usagi's ring finger.

Squealing with delight, Usagi gave Sakura a tight hug of thanks, now that her ring was back. “Thank you so much, Kinomoto-san. I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't get it back.”

“Of course, Tsukino-san,” answered Sakura. “The Clow Cards are my responsibility and making up for the trouble it has caused you is the least I can do.”

“It was not your fault in any way,” stated Mamoru. “I was the one who bought the ring, remember.”

“Your own magical energy was probably drawn to the magical energy being emitted from the Clow Card,” explained Sakura.

“You seem to know a lot about this type of stuff,” commented Setsuna.

“Syaoran-kun, Eriol-kun, and Kero-chan taught me a lot,” Sakura responded. “I'm sorry, but I don't think I ever got your name.”

“My apologies. My name is Meiou Setsuna. This is Tenou Haruka and Michiru Kaiou. And this,” continued Setsuna as she gently played with Hotaru's hair. “This is Tomoe Hotaru.”

“It's good to meet you. My name is Kinomoto Sakura.”

“No offense,” interrupted Usagi. “But can we wait until the day after tomorrow to discuss stuff. I'm getting married in the morning and I want all of you to be awake.”

Everyone present laughed at Usagi's joke, but considering the time, they all understood where the comments came from. “You're right, Usagi-chan,” agreed Ami. “Let's all get some sleep and we can continue this tomorrow night or the next day after Usagi's time in the light.”

“Okay,” said Makoto. “We'll see you all in the morning.”

“Do you have rooms in the hotel?” asked Sakura to Setsuna, Haruka, Kaiou, and Hotaru.

“We made reservations,” answered Kaiou. “We just need to check in.”

“Okay. Then we'll see you all tomorrow morning.”

“Good night everyone.”

~~~~~Tokyo, Japan Four Days Later~~~~~

“Heero-kun! Syaoran-kun!” called out Sakura, as Heero and Syaoran exited the car after arriving back from the airport after their trip to Hong Kong. “I missed you.” Sakura, Ami, Duo, and Minako had all arrived back at the dorm after their trip to Usagi and Mamoru's wedding a couple days earlier. The ceremony had been very beautiful, with Ami and the other Senshi each giving a short speech of congratulations during the reception following the ceremony, and Sakura actually catching the bouquet Usagi threw to finish off the night.

“I missed you too, Sakura-chan,” answered Heero as he returned the kiss that Sakura initiated as she gave him a tight hug of greeting, although she was careful to avoid his injury. Heero's arm was still in a sling after it turned out that he had snapped a ligament in his shoulder after his fight with Syaoran about a month back.

“So how was the wedding?” asked Syaoran to Ami and Sakura after the Mercury Princess gave him a quick kiss after more casually following Sakura down the front steps of the dorm building.

“It was great!” answered Sakura before Ami could say anything.

“The ceremony was very beautiful,” Ami added. “And it was great seeing Usagi-chan and the others again.”

“How is Meilin-chan doing?” questioned Sakura. “And Li-sama?”

“Mother is well,” Syaoran answered. “And Meilin says she misses all of you.”

“We all miss her too. I can't wait to get another chance to see her.”

“So I hear you captured and actually changed another Clow Card while we were gone,” mentioned Syaoran, changing the subject.

“Yup!” answered Sakura proudly as she pulled out the Diamond Card. Sakura had told Heero all about the encounter, capture, and transformation of the Diamond Card through their telepathic link that same night the whole thing had happened. Heero had then mentioned the event to Syaoran, but as expected didn't bother to divulge much in terms of details, and Syaoran, figuring Sakura and Ami would tell him about it soon enough, didn't see it necessary to ask.

Sakura handed Heero the new Clow Card to put with his others, but when she was watching him put it with his others in his Deck she noticed something. Heero always kept his personal Clow Cards organized for easy access, with the already changed cards in front and the unchanged cards behind. The secondary organization was alphabetical, so when Heero was flipping to where Diamond would be placed, Sakura realized he was about to place it right in between the Control Card and the Doubt Card. Oddly enough, it appeared as though the two cards had been transformed by Heero. “You transformed the Control and the Doubt?” questioned Sakura.

Heero nodded. “The Elders wanted both Li and myself to work on our mental defenses,” Heero explained. “I transformed both the Control and the Doubt so that we could do just that.”

“Did you make any progress?” asked Ami.

“Some,” Syaoran responded. “We are going to continue the training here.”

“And that is going to be safe?”

“With the Control and the Doubt now under my control,” Heero responded. “It is completely safe and there is nothing to worry about.”

“Just don't get carried away,” mentioned Sakura. “I don't know if we could stop you if both of you fall under Clow Card control.”

“You doubtfully would be able to stop us,” agreed Syaoran. “But we are in complete control, so there is no need to worry about that situation. But anyway, why don't you girls tell us more about your week.”