Card Captors: Heroes saga

Card Captors: Heroes Saga
Sleeplessness in Readington
by SSJ04 Mewtwo

Legalities & Warnings

You know the deal by now. As far as I know the nightmare card is mine, but if there's another one floating around on the net then that means that this card is not mine.

***

The middle of the week usually brought talk of what most of the students have planned for the weekend. Today, however, when Sakura comes into homeroom she finds most of the students either had their heads down on their desks or they were trying to keep themselves awake. It was as if the entire class had trouble sleeping last night. She comes over to the five and sees that they had a rough night as well.
"Morning guys," Sakura greets cheerfully.
"How can you be so damn chipper, Avalon?" Meilin asks irritation evident in her voice.
"How could the entire class be so sleep deprived?" Sakura asks.
"It's not just our class, most of the students that Josh and me passed on our way here were in the same state." Wulf says with his head laying on his arms.
"I can only surmise that everyone in this school including the teachers had the same experience we did. We have all had a nightmare that was so terrible that it forced us to wake up and stay awake. The only one that hasn't been effected is you, Sakura." Josh explains trying to think up a better substitute for caffeine.
"How...?" Sakura starts to ask, but Lee cuts her off.
"That damned stuffed animal might be able to answer this. It's a good chance that Sian has released one of the rouge cards." Sakura nods and the group tries to make it through the day.

***

Kero was enjoying himself as he continued to try and make it to the final level until the door is opened and Sakura walks in with the others dragging their feet in. Seeing that this was going to be important, Kero pauses the game and turns to the group.
"Please tell me that the rest of you just had a long night." Kero says knowing what could be coming.
"Fat chance stuffed animal. Most of the entire town had nightmares last night. Now, tell me that this isn't the work of one of the rouge cards." Lee says glaring at the guardian beast. Kero sighs and realizes that he better not underestimate Sian again.
"Since Sian couldn't do such a spell without being detected, this is the work of the nightmare card. This one is just as hard to sense as the dream card, but it delves into the fears and dark memories of a person and cranks them up ten fold. During the creation of the dream card, a dark twin of the card manifested itself. To keep this darker spirit from wreaking havoc, it was turned into a card as well, but never was integrated into the final deck." Kero explains.
"Ok, but why wasn't Sakura effected?" Lee asks.
"I believe that the dream card is protecting Sakura. It has always been able to counter nightmare's influence."
"So, how do we stop it?" Sakura asks.
"Dream should be able to track it down, but I'm concerned about what to do when we find it. Destroying it would take too much of your power, Sakura. That's what Sian would probably want you to do. Drain yourself so that he could take you out while the rest of you are zombies and can't come to help. Turning it into a star card might be the better solution, although I fear for the next one in line for the cards. The other advantage is that we could also ask it whether or not Sian has the other rouge cards as well." Kero says looking at Sakura to see which course of action she would take.
"I'll transform it." Sakura says quietly.
"Now wait a minute, Sakura. Your powers were strained when you were transforming the cards. Transforming a rouge card might be more of a drain on you." Lee says concerned for her evident in his voice.
"We've got no choice, Lee. That card is terrorizing everyone in this town. Kero, would it be possible to extend the dream card's protection to others?"
"Hm, yes, but two should be the limit. Anymore, and you run the risk of straining yourself before you have a chance to transform the nightmare card." Kero answers wondering what she was planning.
"Madison, Meilin, care to spend the night?" Sakura asks and the two girls nod.
"Thanks Sakura, now I won't have anymore nightmares about the fight card breaking every bone in my body." Meilin says gratefully.
"Yeah, and I won't have nightmares about fabric and cameras trying to kill me." Madison adds and Meilin rolls her eyes at her.
"Well, that leaves us going to my place. Aunt Matilda was going to strengthen the wards over the house to stop the magical source of the nightmares from effecting us."
"Unless the card decides to hang around your place Wulf you should be all right." Kero says and the boys leave.

***

'Damn it! Three laughing and talking girls in this house will drive me crazy! I need to sleep and study and neither of those things will get done here!' Tori thinks as he packs his things and heads for Julian's place to try and get some studying done and hopefully some sleep as well. 'If that's how it would be like to have more than one sister then I'm glad I've only got one sibling. One is bad enough, but three would be too much.' Tori comes down stairs and sees his father in the kitchen cleaning the dishes. "Dad! I'm going to Julian's to study. Is it all right if I stay the night?" Tori asks from the living room.
"Go on Tori, I knew you wouldn't want to stay with three girls in the house." Aiden Avalon says and Tori shoots out the door.
Meanwhile, the three girls were up in Sakura's room not knowing about Tori's irritation with them.
"Ok Meilin, tell the truth. Why are you so eager to fight Wulf?" Madison asks. Kero winces from where he is playing his game.
'Clow, you don't know how hard it is to be a guardian beast in this century. It's also hard to have a fourteen year old girl as the mistress of the cards.' Kero thinks as he frantically tries to defeat the level he was in.
"If you think I'm doing it just to spend some time alone with him...," Meilin tries to say in a threatening way but Madison cuts her off.
"You can't say that he's not attractive, Meilin."
"She's right, Meilin. I've seen Rita staring at Wulf with a dreamy look in her eyes." Sakura says getting into the conversation.
"Not you too Avalon! I'm just defending my pride as a fighter and nothing else." Meilin states firmly.
"Yeah right," Madison shoots back.
"Ok, then what are you going to do about a certain glasses wearing, super genius who seems to be crushing hard on you and he hasn't even been here a week." Meilin retorts smirking.
"I don't know what you're even talking about." Madison says feigning innocents.
"Oh c'mon Madison, you had to have seen the way Josh was ogling you when Kero explained about Sian to us." Sakura says now turning on her friend.
"It's obvious that none of the guys in our school interest you, so why not see where something with Josh takes you." Meilin suggests.
"Maybe...,I don't know...,if it'll work or not," Madison tentatively states now letting the facts sink in.

***

"I think that it might have been a mistake coming here. All that food that is in my system is demanding of me to sleep." Josh says as he, Lee, and Wulf are up in Wulf's room.
"One thing about my aunt, you'll never starve under her roof." Wulf states stretching across his bed.
"We can't go to sleep,. We've got to stay up until Sakura and the girls start to make their move on the nightmare card." Lee says feeling the same as the other two boys.
"Hm, then I guess we'll have to talk to keep ourselves awake." Josh says trying not to fall asleep.
"You were certainly gazing at Madison yesterday, Josh." Wulf says knowing that this would get a rise out of him.
"I wasn't ogling her if that's what you mean, Wulf Drumhilde." Josh says blushing.
"You're behaving exactly like I was before I confessed to Sakura. I'm not blushing anymore, but I still gaze at her while she's not looking." Lee says seeing that this would be the topic of the night.
"The only reason that she knows that I'm alive is because I'm helping with Sian." Josh says with his head down.
"Don't count yourself out just yet, Josh. from what I've seen she's not seeing anyone that goes to our school." Wulf says lightly stretching his body in order to keep himself active.
"I've been hear for four years, and she's never shown any interest in any of the boys at school. I had believed the rumors that she and Sakura were in a relationship. Fortunately, that wasn't the case." Lee says trying to help his new friend.
"She's just so perfect," Josh says getting a far away look in his eyes.
"You ought to hear her sing. She's good." Lee adds.
"I hope she'd consider me as at least a potential boyfriend. Now, why are you so eager to fight Meilin?" Josh asks Wulf.
"I want to see how much of a fighting spirit she's got." he answers cooly.
"Why don't I believe that?" Josh asks looking right at Wulf.
"then why do you think I'm fighting her?" Wulf shoots back.
"I've known you off and on for quite a while now, and I no for a fact that you've been looking for one type of girl, Wulf." Josh responds.
"What sort of a girl is he looking for?" Lee asks.
"Let's just say that Meilin would fit the bill perfectly." Josh answers smiling at Wulf who was beginning to get a little uncomfortable.
"You've got no proof of that, Josh." Wulf retorts.
"Ok, I hypothesize that by the time the weekend is over the two of you will be a couple." Josh says now with confidence back in his voice.
"Be careful, she can be clingy at times." Lee teases now getting into it.
"Don't make me get off of this bed, Shaoran." Wulf says with mock anger in his voice.
"He won't get off of his bed, Lee. He's got to save his strength for Meilin." Josh says smirking.
"He better not get distracted or Meilin might beat him." Lee says and Wulf growls at them both.

***

The blue butterfly form of the dream card was waiting and watching out of her mistress's window. Then she feels it, the subtle magic of her twin sister. She flutters over towards her sleeping mistress. Feeling the card's activity, Sakura wakes up and rubs her eyes.
"Is it your sister?" Sakura asks.
"Yes," dream, now in her other form, says. Sakura wakes up Madison and Meilin and the girls sneak out of the house.

***

"I...,don't...,know...,how...,long...,I...,can...,stay...,awake...." Josh says getting close to falling into a deep sleep. Lee's head snaps in attention as he feels Sakura's movements.
"It's time." Lee says and with a tired genius in tow, he and Wulf head out.
"How in the world are you still on your feet, Wulf?" Josh asks now starting to get his second wind.
"It's part of the training." Wulf simply answers.

***

The three girls follow the dream card as it leads them to where the nightmare card was working its magic. Then it stops and the three girls stop and gasp at what they see. Dressed in black, flowing robes was the exact double of the dream card.
"Nightmare card!" Sakura calls out. Hearing its name, the card turns to look at the mistress of the cards. Sakura's fears come to the forefront as she stairs in to those cold, black eyes.
"So, my sister led you to me. Now, what will you do?" nightmare asks glaring at her wondering why her sister was protecting the mistress from her effects.
"You don't need to do this. You don't have to listen to Sian." Sakura says trying to reason with the rouge card.
"Sian has given me an outlet to inflict the same pain that my creator inflicted on me." the card says and turns to the other two girls and they vanish.
"What did you do to them!?" Sakura shouts at nightmare.
"They are now living their nightmares. Now, you'll have to destroy me on your own."
"I'm not here to destroy you. I came to bring you back home." Sakura says feeling the pain of the card. "Come home and I promise you'll never be alone again."
The card's shock was seen clearly on her face. "You would accept a card whose true nature is darkness?"
"Sister, you and I both know that we are two sides of the same coin. One can't have dreams without having a nightmare or two. Sian reed is just using you to get to Sakura. Come home and join your real family." Dream says to her sister. Nightmare closes her eyes as she tries to block the tears pooling in her eyes.
"I will come." nightmare says and Sakura looks thoughtful as she holds her staff. The normal incantation didn't feel right for a rouge card that was working for Sian. Then the words came to her.
"Nightmare card, renounce your dark master and draw your strength from my light." she says touching nightmare with her staff and the card returns to card form. This time, however, it now shown pink instead of fiery red. Sakura starts to topple to the ground, but someone catches her from behind her.
"Sorry I'm late." Lee says steadying Sakura.
"It's okay, you've always been there to catch me." Sakura says exhausted.
"Are you all right, Madison?" Josh says coming over to Madison who had reappeared after the card had been transformed. Instead of responding, Madison lightly clings to Josh who blushes at the contact.
"You look like hell." Wulf comments seeing a sweaty Meilin. "We can put off our little sparring match..."
"Oh no you don't! I'll be at your place Saturday." Meilin says, but both her and Wulf have to duck spells that were thrown at their heads.
"You heroes appear to be worn out. What's the matter? Have you had bad dreams?" Leo taunts.
"Are you working for Sian?" Keroberos, now in his true form, growls out.
"Well, I bet you're proud of your mistress. She showed compassion to a rouge card and now it is on her side." Leo says tauntingly.
"Answer the question! Are you working for Sian Reed or not." Lee demands still supporting Sakura.
"Maybe, or maybe I'm working alone." Leo says still smirking.
"I doubt that. I also doubt that your real name is Leo." Wulf says readying his hammer(1).
"You're right, Drumhilde, but I'm not going to give out my real name. Just like I'm not going to give out whether or not I am working for Sian Reed." he says and then attacks. The vampire charges at what he thinks are the weakest targets, Madison and Josh. Unfortunately for Leo, he had the misfortune to crash into an electrified force field. The vampire did an impression of a mosquito being caught by a bug zapper and falls down to the ground. "damn little vermin. You'll pay for that." he rasps getting to his feet, but he has to dodge Wulf's attack.
'You fool! Get the hell out of their before Drumhilde uses the blade part of that hammer!' Sian telepathically says. Being obedient to his master, Leo teleports away just before Wulf tries to make another attack.
"Madison, Meilin, are you all right?" Sakura asks slightly regaining strength.
"I'll be all right after a full night's sleep." Meilin replies coming towards Sakura.
"Same here," Madison manages to say as she still was clinging to the sleep deprived genius.

***

"You were a fool to charge at Karthing like that." Sigma-Black says to Akurax.
"I didn't think that the boy would be able to put a shield up in time." Akurax responds checking over his damages.
"Sigma, it's your turn. Drumhilde and that female fighter will be having a sparring match in a couple of days. They'll be worn out after their activities, so take advantage." Sian says to the Soviet.
"This is what I've been waiting on." he says and the mechanical eye in his right socket glows red.

***

Stay tuned for "Wills of Steal".

1. Wulf's battle hammer, introduced in "Upgrade", is his weapon of choice. Josh was the one to make it for him and it was given a hidden blade in "Deceptions" in order to combat Susie. Both of the parts are in the first and third arcs respectively of whiteshirt's story.