"I don't know who Kero is, but I did ask you out on a date. Are you ready to go?" Toya asked. Sakura stared at the boy on the other side of the doorframe, and felt a wave of despair flow over her. Behind her, she could hear Tomoyo muttering a quiet "Oh my..!" under her breath, and she could swear she heard Li mute an exclamation for joy. Toya looked on as Sakura's face was less than enthusiastic. "Did I... say something wrong?" Abruptly, Sakura's brain kicked back into motion, gears churning frantically to try to find a way out of the situation without alienating her only recently rediscovered brother. "I... can't. Karin canceled all our flights back home, and we're trying to brainstorm ways to get back home to Japan." His face fell slightly at the news, as if he sensed a brush off beneath the excuse. "Oh, well that was rotten of her. That's funny though, I saw her on the way up here and she said she'd see me on the flight home tomorrow." Sakura's face darkened. "She doesn't like us very much." Toya frowned. "Well, I could refuse to go with her in protest, if you like, stick with you and find a way back to Japan..." "Nononono!" Sakura replied a bit too enthusiastically. "I have an idea on how to get home, but I don't want to be responsible for another stranded person. Go on and enjoy the flight back." "So, can we have our date another time?" Toya gave her a small smile. "When you're not so busy maybe?" "Uhhh..." Sakura mentally hit a wall. She didn't want to go on a date with him, that would just be *weird* given their relation, former-relation, whatever. But she didn't want to get rid of him. She wanted to know him. "I... uh... train a lot at Dodon gym. I'm sure we can meet up there sometime." Toya grinned. "I know the place. I'll see you again, Sakura-chan!" He waved in parting, and jogged down the hall exuberantly back down to his room. Sakura let out a quick breath of relief as she shut the door as the butterflies building in her stomach ceased their fluttering of wings. "That was close." <__< BLOSSOMS IN THE SPRING <__< A crossover Improfanfic started by The Eternal Lost Lurker Street Fighter and all related trademarks belong to Capcom. Cardcaptor Sakura and all related trademarks belong to CLAMP, Kodansha. Used without permission. Chapter 14: Sakura's Hard Day's FLIGHT By ColdFury Li glared at her then sideglanced forlornly at Tomoyo. "Yeah, it was." Sakura glared back. "If you want a ride back to Japan, play nice." "..." Tomoyo interrupted the glare-off tactfully. "Sakura-chan, how do you think we can get home?" Sakura grinned. "Easy, I'll just--" "SAKURA!" Kero flew in threw the window, slamming the windows open as he came in. "GAH! The floating plush beast again!" Li glared at it. "You still haven't explained what that is, and how it knows my mom." Li fingered his sword wearily as Kero stuck his tongue out at him. "His name is Kero-chan." Sakura returned a quick glare at Li. "CEREBERUS!" Kero-chan muttered. "... Cereberus? The guardian beast? Is a plush toy?" Li stared at the small figure. "I don't have time for this again. Look, here's a quick summary for you Li. Your memory has been tampered with, as has everyone's. Look deep in yourself, yada yada, and you'll find the answers you seek." Kero-chan eyed Li for a moment before flying over to the table the Clow book was on. "Sakura, do you remember the Push card?" Kero-chan began as he flipped through the pages. "The PUSH? I don't remember any such..." Li started. "I do. It was one of the first I sealed. And while you were gone Kero, I sealed The FOCUS. But even it didn't remember when it was sealed into a card..." Sakura frowned. "I think the temporal realities of my old and new self are causing the cards to shift to reflect my new personality..." "BZZZT!" Kero stopped on the page where the PUSH and the FOCUS cards were stored. "You're merely the Captor, the cards don't embody your spirit. And this is still the same reality, it's just being rewritten on two ends. If the ends don't meet correctly, the universe ends. But if things tie together smoothly..." "Then we're okay." Tomoyo nodded. "... Huh?" Li blinked. "Did Li's mom shed some light on things?" Sakura eyed her small guardian questioningly. "On some things. On the end of the universe thing, she just kinda shrugged and wished me luck." Kero-chan sweatdropped slightly as he remembered Li's mom thinking thoughtfully for a few minutes as if she was carefully deducing an answer, then simply responding with a shrug. "Then what did she..." "Bring the key, Sakura." Sakura joined Kero at the Clow Book and pull out the wand. "Key which hides the powers of the Dark.. reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under our contract.. Release!" Sakura held the wand out before her. Kero-chan began to glow as he intoned a new chant solemnly. "By the power of Clow Reed, I wipe away the changes, I wipe away the guises, I wipe away the face! Clow Cards! REVEAL!" The wand glowed in Sakura's hands, and the two cards laid out before them shimmered brightly. The PUSH transformed into The MOVE, and the FOCUS revealed itself to be The SILENT. "What..." Sakura gasped. "Someone is mucking with the nature of the cards. They got their hands on these two cards... and changed them. I don't know who, I don't know why... and I don't know how. But if we don't stop them Sakura, there's no telling how much damage they could wreak." Kero-chan looked upon Sakura solemnly. "They're messing with the basic forces of the Clow Card's magic... if they transform the wrong card, an unspeakable horror could be unleashed on the world." Li stared at the book as he temporarily forgot to hate Sakura. "They have to be stopped." Kero-chan closed the book slowly and nodded. "So.... did you win?" He looked at Sakura with hopeful and cheerful plushie eyes. Sakura sweatdropped. "Annooo...." Tomoyo saved Sakura from answering. "You have a way to get us home, Sakura-chan?" With a grateful smile, Sakura nodded at her friend. "I think so, let me just find a phone..." ***** "Yahooie! I am just so glad to see you again, Friend Ken!" Dan cried manly tears as he, Tomoyo, Li, & Sakura rode in the private plane of fighter- millionaire Ken Masters. "It's been awhile Dan. I hear you finally beat Sagat, and are running a dojo now." Ken grinned. "Good job! I bet your father would be proud." "Dan & Ken trained together with Ryu for awhile, but their sensei kicked Dan out because he was set on defeating Sagat. But Dan's a pretty good guy, and when he finally beat Sagat, he decided to go into semi-retirement and help train others." Sakura whispered to Tomoyo's ear. "I see..." Tomoyo nodded and leaned in closer to Sakura. "*ahem*." Li glared at them from his seat facing them in the conference style cabin of the plane. Sakura blushed and sat straight up, and Tomoyo giggled softly. "Thanks again, Ken! I don't know what we'd have done without your help." Sakura changed the subject quickly. "Hey, don't mention it. I owe you big-time Sakura, if you ever need anything else, just call. And I'm keeping an ear open about Ryu too, still." Ken winked at her. "You're some fighter. I think he'd like to meet you." Sakura's eyes glazed over at the compliment, and temporarily lost touch with reality as the rest of the cabin sweatdropped. "I had no idea that the Ken Masters, millionaire, and Ken Masters street fighter were the same person. That's a remarkable amount of drive." Li remarked. "Hey, not all of us Americans are as lazy as you people think." Ken grinned to let Li know he was just playing with his remark. "Oh, that reminds me Dan... one of my friends is going to be dropping by Dodon gym tomorrow to challenge you." "A challenge! A friend of yours must be a stalwart fighter indeed! Who is it? Ryu? Guile? Cody?" Dan grinned a manly grin of future victory. "Who could have such skill, such drive, that they would risk challenging the mighty Dan Hibiki?" "Johnny Cage." Ken answered. "..." Dan replied. "Johnny Cage? The ACTOR? Is he going to do his own stunts this time?" Li scoffed. "Hey, Johnny is a great fighter, you better watch out Dan, you might have your hands full. I'll be cheering for you though." Ken brushed some hair out of his face causally and leaned back in his seat. "Hmph. As the leader of a gym, people come and challenge me from time to time, almost as if they expect some sort of badge that will help them gain entrance into the Street Fighter tournaments, or more likely in this case, simply respect. I will meet his challenge, and prove my mighty strength." Dan crossed his arms. "Of course, you'll all be there to cheer me on, right?" Ken thought for a moment. "Sure, I can stick around for tomorrow. Should be fun." "I'll be there, Dan!" Sakura grinned. "Beat him for the honor of us self taught fighters!" "Then I'll be there, taping!" Tomoyo slyly neglected to mention WHOM she would be taping. "Then I'll be there." Li glanced at Tomoyo wistfully for a moment. "Never know what type of trouble you might get into." "Yosh! Then it's decided! Johnny Cage! Prepare to meet your doom!" Dan flexed his forearm. "For Honor! For Dodon Gym! For Self Taught Fighters! And for... OYAJI!!!" Ken threw his head back and laughed gleefully. "Dan, you never change." ***** "Sir, you summoned me?" A young girl bowed in front of her dark master. "Yes, Decapre. It is time for us to finish with this foolish matter. My patience grows thin, and I think the simplest way to handle things at this point would be my own involvement. Since you are the only soldier whose powers are enhanced by the Clow, and I am utilizing the Clow for my own purposes, we shall go to see this 'Captor' the cards so loathe. I wish to meet her." Bison grinned evilly in the darkness. "Let us prepare." ***** Another pair of people prepared rode in a very different type of aircraft than the one Ken Masters owned. One was a blonde haired man in his late twenties with a gruff face that told tales of many bloody battles and personal loss. The other was the picturesque face of Asian beauty, her hair in a tight bun and wearing a modified gymnasts outfit. Her eyes were clouded with thought, and apprehension. "Yo, you ready?" The American accented voice startled the young woman. "It's... it's been so long." She looked into the eyes of her friend, one of the only people who understood her loss. "We can finally avenge them, both of them." "We'll do it. Bison will pay for his crimes." The crew cut man pointed to the large American flag tattooed onto his biceps. "Crimes against the USA, the world, and especially against us." The Asian girl let a small smile break the corners of her frown. "You're right." Together, they flew with a full squadron of US Apache Helicopters flanking either side of them, each loaded to the brim with personnel and weapons across the landscapes of a small Southeastern Asian country that few people could place on the map. The secrets this small country held would astonish even the residents. ***** "GADOUKEN!" Johnny Cage stumbled back into the ropes, after an explosive collision with Dan Hibiki's very own fireball at pointblank range. The fact that this was the only range such a collision could occur was even more embarrassing to the fighter. "It's not over yet, Dan!" "HA! The mighty Dan Hibiki is not even working up a sweat!" Dan stayed near the center of the ring, waiting for Johnny to recover and attack again. "Everyone always says I'm a joke! They say that I'm nothing but a phony with a stuntman and wires. But I trained for YEARS! I'm going to work my way up the Street Fighter tournament and prove to the WORLD that I'm #1!" Johnny Cage crossed his arms, and raised his chin at Dan in disdain. "I'm not gonna let you, or anyone else, stop me!" This of course, was not a wise tactical move, as Dan took the advantage of Johnny's non-stance and leapt in with a flying triple kick that left the actor staggered. "He's not doing very well." Sakura noted from the ringside. "Hmph. If those two would stop shouting at each other long enough to fight, this would be over quickly." Li snorted in disgust. "These two don't know anything about fighting." Tomoyo watched the action in the ring casually. "They do seem to taunt a lot." The crowd was sparse. It was late at night, and most of Dan's students had sauntered out for the night, none taking this challenge all that seriously. Ken hadn't appeared so it was only the three of them watching the fight. Well, them and Kero-chan. But he was busy inspecting the female locker room for anything suspicious. "Well that's Dan's style... you expect it from him. It's almost... an art." Sakura paused, trying to put words to her thoughts. "Johnny though, he's just mouthing off. He's got some skill, but he doesn't seem to have much in the way of wits to apply them." Li, however, had stopped paying attention to Sakura. "Wait..." His eyes narrowed as he looked at the ring. "Do you feel...?" Sakura cocked her head at Li. "Hooooe??" Then she too, felt a nagging feeling, and her head swiveled back at the ring. "What in the..." "You... you think this is over? I'll decide when it's over!" Johnny straightened himself, and began to glow softly. "Ano?" Dan paused, assuming a more defensive position. "New technique?" The Saikyo master queried his adversary. "You could say that." Johnny grinned and leapt into the air. And stayed there. "Whaaa...?" Dan stared at Johnny openmouthed. "HA!" Johnny flew in a downward arc with a kick aimed squarely at Dan's chest. The pink one managed to roll out of the way in the nick of time. "You can't beat me like this!" "?! The Mighty Dan can defeat you no matter what tricks you use! ORA ORA ORA ORRAA!!" Dan taunted at the floating Cage. "Mistake." Li muttered. Cage landed a kick squarely at Dan's chest with his full momentum behind it. Dan flew out of the ring and landed in some training equipment. He struggled to remove himself from the equipment. "Now... to finish him." Cage grinned. "If I beat you, then I'll get some respect. I won't be known as a..." "FAKE!" Sakura leapt in front of Dan's still struggling form. "You're nothing but a fraud, Johnny Cage!" "Ano?" Dan's head poked up from underneath a weigh bench. "A fraud?" "Remember the spirit that possessed you in Hong Kong, Dan? And the one that possessed Ken a while back? Johnny's using one of those to defeat you!" Sakura pulled out her key and invoked it to full size. "Don't worry though, I'll get rid of his cheat!" "Arigato!" Dan's head disappeared as he tried to extricate himself from the tangle of equipment. "You..!!" Johnny seethed. "I found this card, and I'm using it how I like!" "Sakura!" Kero-chan flew out of the locker room. "He's using the Flight card! You can beat it!" "You have to catch me first!" Johnny turned to fly out the nearest window. "SPIRIT OF THUNDER! HEED MY CALL!" Li pointed his sword at Johnny, who narrowly avoided the bolt of electricity that arced out at him. "Two of you eh? I'll..." Johnny began. "Oh no you don't!" Sakura pulled a card out and activated it with the wand. "Move card!" Sakura teleported above Johnny's head before the hapless actor could realize what was happening. Cradling her hands together as she fell toward him, she released one of her powerful point blank fireballs just before she collided with the actor. "HADOUKEN!" "Wha-?" Johnny was smashed from above by the fireball, and landed heavily onto the padded mats on the floor. Sakura managed to land gracefully, wand already poised to strike the blow. As Johnny struggled to stand, Sakura swung. "RETURN TO THE FORM YOU WERE DESTINED TO BE! CLOW CARD!" A flash of light shot out from Johnny, but the card quickly materialized, landing in Sakura's hand. "Yosh!" She flashed a 'v' sign at Tomoyo, who of course had filmed from the moment that Sakura had stepped in front of Dan. "Yahooie! The mighty Dan is free to try to help you... eh?" Dan blinked. "Er... good job Sakura! I'm proud of you. You'll have to explain this spirit business to me one day, though..." Sakura sweatdropped slightly, with a slight blush on her cheeks. "Ehehehe." Johnny struggled to regain his feet. "I just wanted... to be the best." A tear trickled down his cheek from behind his sunglasses. "I know the feeling." Sakura offered him a hand up, which he accepted after a moment of surprise. "Look Johnny, you have skill.. you just need to fight more. You're too used to choreographed moves and stunts. You need to be able to dodge, move, and get into the flow of the fight. Do that, and you won't NEED to earn respect... you'll have it." Johnny smiled. "Y-You're right! Thanks Sakura! Man, there's more to you than panty flashes after all!" A vein popped up on Sakura's forehead. "Hmph. Good work... Captor." Li crossed his arms. "You wouldn't have been able to catch him if I hadn't distracted him though." "Ehehe. Er... thanks, Li." Sakura sighed. "Maybe we should try to work together more often." "Agreed!" Tomoyo grinned and waved from behind the camera. "Right." Li snorted and began to walk off, but then stopped. He peered up toward the ceiling apprehensively. "That's...." Kero-chan followed his gaze. "Another clow card!" ***** Toya wandered the street in front of Dodon Gym. "Here's the place. I hope Sakura's here. Maybe we'll finally get to..." The large explosion emanating from the roof of the building knocked Toya to the ground, surprising him. "Sakura!" ********************** LEAVE IT TO KERO-CHAN! ********************** "Hello everyone! What a suspenseful ending! What could happen next?" Kero appeared on the screen. "I did more than usual, but I still could have a larger role, at least *I* think so... but on to business." "Today, we'll take a look at the sexy Chinese woman in the Apache helicopter!" Kero-chan pointed to a screen slowly closing in on the young woman. "*PSYCHO-CRUSHER!*" A large blue flame engulfed Kero-chan, who went flying off screen. "This chapter is not yet over! So says... BISON!" ********************** LEAVE IT TO... Part 2 of the Chapter? ********************** The explosion ripped everyone off their feet but Li and Sakura. Both shielded their faces from debris as the large explosion ripped through the roof of Dodon Gym. "What in the world..." Sakura coughed out over the smoke. "Her!" Li glared at the figure who dropped down from the hole in the ceiling, landing gracefully on the floor in front of the pair. She wore a form fitting black jumpsuit, and had her blonde hair tied back in pigtails that draped behind the featureless mask which she wore. "My master calls for your defeat." "Master?" Kero-chan blinked. "I don't know who she's talking about, but she has a Clow Card!" "The SHADOW card." Li seethed as he drew his sword. "I'll handle this one, Sakura." He gave her a strained look. Sakura started to protest, then nodded. "Agreed." The girl smirked, then assumed a defensive position. Li ran forward, his sword cocked in one hand. "THUNDER! HEAR MY CALL!" Lightening arced into his sword, and Decapre leapt to the right as he pointed the sword at her. Letting the spell dispel harmlessly within the sword, Li launched a spinning kick at Decapre's still moving form, his feint successful. The blow glanced off Decapre's upper arm, but she definitely felt its strong impact. "Hmph." She backflipped as Li followed up with a slash with his sword, and pointed at Li dramatically. "Li! Look out!" Kero-chan hollered. "She's using the shadows!" A shadow leapt from the ground and charged at Li. He dodged to the side, twisting so that his sword sliced the shadow in two, temporarily confusing it. He glanced around him, and saw other shadows approaching him. "Not so fast." Li leapt over another attacking shadow, bringing his sword over his head for as he approached Decapre's position. The startled Shadowloo fighter dodged to the right as Li's sword clanged against the ground. "Eager to die, boy?" "HADOUKEN!" A blue fireball quickly dissolved a shadow approaching Li's back. "HYA!" A flying autograph sliced another in twine, while green orb of ki blasted into yet another Shadow. Li glanced at his back, and nodded at the three fighters supporting him. "Thanks." Decapre saw her opening and charged him. She ran forward in an attempt to get a hold on him and finish the fight quickly, but Li heard her footsteps, and quickly parried to the side, tripping Decapre as her momentum carried her forward. She tumbled to the ground. Before she could even roll onto her back she felt a sword point pressing lightly yet firmly into her spine. "Sakura." "RETURN TO THE FORM YOU WERE DESTINED TO BE! CLOW CARD!" Sakura waved the wand at the girl, and the card appeared at the tip of contact, as the girl struggled visibly from its release. "N-no! I will not fail my master!" She struggled to maintain her will of control over the card, but the magic of Sakura's wand proved too strong and she simply passed out in failure. The SHADOW card materialized, yet instead of floating toward Sakura as usual, landed in Li's hand this once. "Finally." Li allowed himself a small smile. "Huh?" Sakura blinked. Kero sighed. "The person who defeats the card, is the one who gets to keep the card. Li defeated the card, you just sealed it. SoIguessthecardishis." Li searched the unconscious form. "Hey! My Derivitor!" Li proudly held up his instrument of card detection. "Hoe?" Sakura tilted her head at the strange object. "I'll explain later." Kero-chan said. "Why wait? I came all the way here to meet you all, and find out the purpose of that device. The preliminary show was interesting, but I do think that leaving without accomplishing my main objectives would be quite a disappointment." Bison, donned in his traditional red dictator garb, floated in from the ceiling using his mighty Psycho Power. "YOU!" Dan gasped. "BISON!" "B-Bison?" Sakura blanched. Tomoyo filmed his entrance, but turned her head to Sakura. "Who?" Li's eyes narrowed. "I've never heard of him either, yet he too possesses a Clow card." "I've never seen him. I've heard rumors... an evil dictator who runs an international Crime Syndicate. He takes interest in the Street Fighter tournaments and fighters who cross him... disappear." Sakura gulped. "He's bad news." "Oh my." Toya's eyes narrowed as he crouched in the shadows near the entranceway. He'd rushed in after the explosion, yet the situation had seemed in hand. He was about to sneak himself back out again when this fellow entered. He got a strange feeling from him, though. ***** Ken Masters sighed as he walked down the street to Dodon Gym. "Really, Ms. Kanzuki, you don't need to escort me to the gym. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." "Ohohoho! But I insist Mr. Masters! After our... rough start a few weeks back, I feel I need to extend the Kanzuki hand of friendship." Karin smiled smugly. "Besides, I wish to see this challenge you spoke of." "It's probably over by now, we were late getting out of that meeting." Ken sighed. "At least we can find out who won. This is the place... I think." Karin sweatdropped. "It didn't look this... exploded last time I was here." Ken blinked. "What in the..." His eyes narrowed, and he felt a familiar presence he didn't like one bit. "It can't be!" He quickly ran toward the entrance. Nonplussed, Karin quickly picked up after him. "What in the world are you talking about?" ***** "I don't care what kind of syndicate you run, or who you are." Li held up the Shadow card. "I'm a Captor, and you are possessed by a Clow card. That makes it simple." Sakura edged closer to Li as the others spread out apprehensively. "Li... be careful!" "Your caution is wise, young lady. But too late. If you won't explain yourselves to me, I suppose I can wait awhile. But can you?" Bison began to glow of a dark aura, and the sensation of magic hit both Sakura and Li like a brick. "Oh no... that's..." Kero-chan flew towards the pair. "Li! Sakura! Look out! It's the..." A dark blast of energy enveloped the two Captors. The energy encompassed them for just a few moments. When the energy vanished, however, so did they with it. "SAKURA! LI!" Tomoyo screamed. ***** "Wh... where am I? Tomoyo? Dan? Where is everyone?" Sakura floated in the darkness, unsure of where she suddenly found herself. "Sakura?" "Li!" Sakura reached out in the darkness and grabbed hold of his shoulder. "Where are we?" "I think we've been... trapped... within the Darkness of the DARK card." Li sighed. "We're doomed." "Wh-- what?" Sakura's face paled, albeit unseen to anyone. "You mean?" "We're stuck. Bison has us." Li let out another breath. "I've failed again." ***** "SAKURA! LET HER GO YOU--" Kero-chan flew at Bison, who idly backhanded the plushie into a wall. "Please. At least be worth my time." Bison snorted. "OYAJI!!!" "SHADOW KICK!" The two masters of verbal assault launched themselves bodily at the overlord, but were just as summarily dismissed with a display of psycho power mixed with the power of the darkness card. "Child's play. Can no one..." "HYA!" Toya's foot clipped Bison in the chin, causing the large man to backpedal two steps. "I don't know who you are, but you are going to PAY for what you did to Sakura!" "Who in blazes..? Boy, you've just sealed your own fate." Bison grinned. "The girl and boy are fine, for now. But you... you shall be the first to die." "BISON!" Ken slammed the door open, followed by a puzzled Karin. "What're YOU doing here?" "Mr. Masters... it's been awhile." Bison grinned. "Still second best, I see." Ken's eyes narrowed. "You're mine." Bison swept Toya to the side with a quick motion of his meaty forearm, shoving the boy to the ground with its force. "Please." Ken launched himself at Bison while Karin moved to the fallen Toya. "I know you... I defeated you the other day..." Karin eyed him. "What happened here?" "That bastard..." Toya glared at Bison, who was idly absorbing or dodging most of Ken's blows. "He killed Sakura and her friend! In cold blood!" "He... WHAT?" Karin glared at Bison. "Sakura... was MINE TO DEFEAT! MINE I TELL YOU!" Karin gestured, and a large orb flew out and slammed into Bison's back, staggering him just as Ken launched into a flaming uppercut. Bison stumbled back but remained upright. Grinning, he wiped a trickle of blood from his chin. In the background, Dan and Johnny managed to recover themselves enough to begin approaching Bison. Toya too, was on his feet. Bison laughed. "Very nice. Come. I'll take you all on, without the help of any magic." With that, the five assembled fighters charged the dictator of Shadowloo. ***** "DAMNIT! He got away again!" Chun-Li slammed her fist into the nearby wall. Guile put a beefy hand on her shoulder. "Don't fret it Chun-Li. We've arrested dozens of his men, and in minutes a missile strike is going to smash his headquarters into the ground, along with all his dirty secrets. He'll be next." Chun-Li took a breath. "You're right... but..." "Come on, dinner's on me tonight." Guile gestured toward the waiting helicopter. "'Sides, we don't want to be here when the fireworks start." ***** "There has to be a way out!" Sakura said frantically. "We can use one of the cards?" "Which one? Move only works short distances... mirror, illusion, fight, they're all useless here. Shadow might be able to draw power from him, but while we're here it's useless." Li sighed. "We're stuck until we're let out." "That is a very futile attitude, young one." An astral image of Rose appeared. "There is always hope." "You!" Sakura covered her eyes as they adjusted to the sudden light. "How are you...?" "Bison and I possess the same soul, two sides of a coin. To defeat one of us, you must defeat both of us. Listen to me. Tonight is not the end of things, but merely the beginning. Yet the greater threat may not yet be revealed. Or perhaps it stands before you. Nothing is clear." Rose waved her hands in a wide gesture. "Everyone has a destiny, finding it is up to each and every one of us." Li rolled his eyes. "Are you going to do anything useful, or are you just here to talk a lot?" Rose smiled slyly. "Yes." With that, Rose began to glow of an almost holy light, so bright that neither Li or Sakura could stand to keep their eyes open. ***** Bison knocked Ken away, while simultaneously engulfing Karin in a burst of Psycho Power driven flame. She crumpled to the ground, slightly singed, next to the prone form of Johnny Cage. Toya leapt onto Bison's back, and attempted to get a strangle hold around the large man's throat, but Bison merely picked him off and slammed him into the ground. Bison shook his head. "No challenge." "Then try me on for size." His cape billowing outward as he twirled to see who was behind him, Bison glared. "YOU! But I trapped you within the magic..." "Of the DARK, Yeah I know. We got better." Li grinned. "You won't. SHADOW!" Li gestured with this sword, summoning the power of the Clow card. "What do you mean to... GAAAHH!!" Bison stumbled back as shadowy forms began to spring forth from within his body and pelter his body with blows. "H- how?" "You hold the darkness inside of you, and the Shadow card taps that darkness." Li grinned. "You're not very good at this yet. Your turn, Sakura!" "Okay!" Bison struggled to turn as he heard the voice behind him. "Y-you too?!" "SHIIINKUUU-HADOUKEN!" Sakura shoved her palms forward and a magically charged fireball literally rocketed at Bison, slamming into him, and knocking him into the nearby wall. Bison's vision reeled at the impact. His foe, was doing almost as badly though. Sakura swayed slightly from the sudden drain on her stamina. "I-... I'm still not used to doing that." Li ran up and supported her. "Just hold on for a little longer. We have to seal that card! Hurry!" The shadows originating from Bison's body were now pinning him to the ground. Not that he was putting up a struggle yet. "RETURN TO THE FORM THAT YOU WERE DESTINED TO BE!" Sakura stood over Bison with Li's help, holding the wand over her head. "CLOW CARD!" The wand slammed into Bison's form, and dark energy surged from Bison to swirl all around them. "NOOOO!!" Bison bellowed in protest. The dark swirls coalesced into a card momentarily, but only for the briefest of moments. It flickered out of existence almost as fast as it flicked into it. "Hoe?" Sakura stared down at the lack of card. Li's brow furrowed. "It's... gone. Literally. I don't sense it." He glanced back at Karin's form. "But I do sense something different..." Sakura didn't notice his gaze, however, as she was noting that with the Dark expelled from Bison's body, the Shadows holding him lost their power source as well, and quickly dissipated. Bison stood angrily, his eyes glowing with power. "You may have killed one source of my power, but I still possess my Psycho drive! And it is MORE than enough to allow me the pleasure of YOUR DEATHS!" Bison glowered at the two. ***** Meanwhile, a United States lead special peace keeping force of bomber aircraft descended on Shadowloo, and showed the world a new meaning of the word 'Boom'. ***** Bison staggered, the glow abruptly leaving his eyes. "My Psycho drive... w-what's wrong?" Sakura blinked. "Hoe?" Johnny struggled to his feet near the door and looked outside at the odd lights coming through the doorframe. "Uh, guys... anyone order a swat team?" "What?" Everyone glanced at the door as Johnny held it open, allowing for the entrance of a dozen Japanese SWAT police officers. "Quick! Arrest him!" Sakura pointed at where Bison... had been. "huh?" "He's gone!" Toya slammed his fist into his palm. "Damnit! ....ow." "Toya?" Sakura blinked. "You're hurt!" "Eheh. That guy was pretty tough." Toya scratched his head, then grimaced at the effort. "EVERYONE! OUT OF THE BUILDING! THIS IS THE POLICE..." SWAT members who were momentarily put off looking for the mystery figure that the girl had tried to point to, quickly escorted them all out of the building, making further conversation moot for the night. Tomoyo did have the sense of mind to pick a certain plushie up off the floor, however. ***** Somewhere, not too terribly far away, Rose lay on the floor of her home, still. Two powerful Clow Cards struggled for dominance over their shared host, while Rose herself lay still and slumbering. ***** Bison stood before the Giant Crater Formerly Known as Shadowloo (as the nearby official United Nations sign claimed) aghast. "My empire... my power... RUINED! You'll pay... I'll find a way... and then you'll ALL PAY! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Bison eyed the crater again. "...eventually." *********** Author's Notes: Whooo! What a ride! I like BitS. I did what I thought had to be done to get the story back on track and hopefully SKIPLESS! (Yay! Skipless!) But here's my hopes for the future: 1.) I hope Bison stays away for awhile. Give him time to rebuild, if at all. He was kinda a rogue influence on the story. Back to more episode of the week- ish type stuff with slow build to something 'new and not SFA3 *OR* CCS or some weird crossover' would be preferable. But do what you want. ^_^ 2.) Please don't bring back Johnny, Guile, or Chun-Li for more than a guest spot unless you really really have a good idea. I didn't intend to add them as characters. Johnny's just the wacky guest star, and Guile & Chun-Li were good fits for neutering Bison for a little while. 3.) If you bring the MK Mythos into this, I'll feel much guilt. Johnny's just a wacky guest star, not my attempt to bring in Shang Tsung or anyone. But these are just my hopes now. Do what you feel is right, and maybe you'll prove me wrong. This is Improfanfic! Improvise! (And Special Thanks to Ardweden for being super special patient with slacker me ^^; And Smlee for bouncing boardness, and Delfina & Phoebe for being good CCS sources. And Cham for knowing where Shadowloo was generally located) --ColdFury 2/10/01 v1.0 (write REVIEWS!!!)