Bubble Trouble (2)
AN (This is a review) Last chapter it ended with Sakura, Madison and Kero in Madison's house, making costumes and eating cakes (like in the episode with the Shield Card but without the card). Tori was at work but came back to find Twin Bells flooded with bubbles because of a revenge-set card. One employee (Alon) nearly drowned, and another employee, Jessica, did. The policemen have just discovered her corpse.
Tori stared, opened mouthed. He hadn't known Jessica well – she wasn't in his class – but he had seen her before. She'd always been helpful and smiling (even if she was slightly stupid, the crueller part of his brain added). He looked around, before a policeman tapped him on the shoulder.
"Do you know her?"
"She was my colleague – not well."
"It's always shocking. I don't suppose you know her number?"
"No."
Tori stared at her body. The policeman looked sympathetic.
"May
I have yours? We may need a statement – that girl is being accused
of murder." Tori looked at the spirit, who was probably unaware of
what she had done. He didn't even know when Clow Reed created them
– he'd have to ask Kero. He turned back to the policeman and gave
his number and address, before leaving to go home.
"Madison! Are you OK! Did you hear what happened?" Samantha screamed, panicking.
"We're fine mum, we've been here all day. Why?"
"Oh, Sakura, I'll drive you home – your father must be so worried! Didn't you hear? A girl's been murdered." Sakura and Madison looked astonished. Madison picked up the remote, and the news appeared.
"The young girl accused of murder is being held at Taflig Prison until she has been accused. We cannot state the names of her victims, but apparently one boy was saved by a local policeman, who had arrived too late to save the girl. The murderer has refused to give her name, and if you have any information on her family please contact the number scrolling below. A picture of the girl is appearing on the screen," the reporter was still smiling as a picture appeared. The girl had a mermaid's tale and was wearing a beautiful blue gem necklace with pearls. Her head looked like it was made with bubbles, and Sakura could tell she was a Clow Card on sight. She wondered how the rest of the world would react. Kero, peeking through the pile of rags on the desk was shocked. Bubbles had revealed the existence of the Clow Cards! How would they cope now?
Sakura came home and saw Tori sitting there, white. "Where's Dad?"
"At work."
"Tori? Are you OK? Did you hear what happened to the poor girl? She was mu-"
"YES! I KNOW! YOU AND YOUR CLOW CARDS!" Tori ran out the room, and as soon as he was alone, started to cry.
"What did I do?" Sakura asked Kero, shocked at how weak her brother seemed.
"Didn't he work at the shop?" Sakura thought and then her eyes went wide.
"Oh no! I have to try and do something!"
"There's nothing you can do."
"Can't I wipe his memory?"
Kero shook his head. "No. All you can do is try and stop Bubbles causing any more trouble."
"Bubbles?
Who's that?"
"The Clow Card. She's always so gentle – I
don't know what came over her. Clow Reed used her to give me a
bath, when he didn't have time. He created her for the purpose –
one of the last Cards he created."
"Time! That's it! Tori!" Sakura shouted. Tori looked up at the shout. He couldn't face Sakura.
"Go away, squirt!"
"I know how to save the girl!"
Tori
scrambled down the stairs.
"What? Jessica? How?"
"The Time Card!"
Kero nodded. "That would work! If you do it now, you can reverse Time before this event happened. But how would you capture Bubbles?"
Tori had an idea, "she's probably scared. Why don't you go and talk to her at the prison. I'll cover for you if Dad comes home." Kero looked at Tori, and hoped Sakura wouldn't push. Tori needed some time to think, even if no-one else thought the death never happened. It hadn't made an impact on Sakura, who had no ties to the girl, so she would forget but that would mean Tori would be the only one on Earth who knew she had died.
Sakura wanted to capture Bubbles quickly, and didn't put up an argument. She hadn't realised that the Cards could control forces of nature like that. All the stories about floods and fires and hurricanes came back to her, and she realised that she had a card that could do untold damage.
"Kero, there isn't a hurricane card, is there?" she squeaked
Kero looked at Sakura, who was obviously scared. "No, there isn't. Sakura, we have to capture Bubbles before she harms someone else!"
Sakura nodded. "It was Taflig prison, wasn't it?" she queried. "It'll be hard to get to by myself. I'll call in Madison."
"Madison? Can you pretend that I left something at your house? I need to go to Taflig prison, and you could take me."
"I'm sure the guards wouldn't argue – they aren't very clever – but why?"
"The murderer is a Card, and I have to capture her."
"Sakura you can't, it's far to dangerous!" Madison had no idea what Sakura was thinking, but she couldn't let Sakura, of all people, into danger.
"She won't hurt me, I've got Firey" Sakura said, with fake confidence. "The longer we argue, the more time she has to harm people! I've got a plan, don't worry."
"OK…" said Madison, beaten by the idea of more people dying.
Thirty minutes later, they were both at Taflig prison, having told the guards that Sakura was a cousin of Bubbles and they wanted to tell the police. Sakura felt thankful that the guards would forget, as they queried her rudely about her "cousin's" insanity. They jumped out and looked around the reception area. No-one was around, but they saw the door to the cells.
"What do we do now?" Madison whispered. Sakura grabbed her staff. If it was a key… She changed her staff into the key it came in.
"When will you change it back?"
"As soon
as I can. But it may…" Sakura shoved it into the door, and was
thankful when it opened."
"It's a skeleton key," Kero told
her helpfully. "Clow Reed used to have a large key ring, but they
kept tangling, so he put all the keys in the world into that staff."
"Thanks for telling me now!" Sakura replied, not really annoyed. She and Madison crept into the cells. Sakura stopped and started her incantation to change the staff, hoping nobody saw the glowing circle. She decided she need it on hand for Bubbles, who was obviously vicious, and that they already had seen magic. Luckily they found where Bubbles was quickly. Kero flew behind them, but as soon as Bubbles saw Kero, she was furious.
"You animal! I refuse, I don't want to be captured just to WASH YOU! Clow Reed never noticed me thanks to you and it'll be the same with the new Cardcaptor and I. Refuse!!" Kero looked aghast as the stream of anger rose. Bubbles subconsciously filled her cell with pink bubbles, straining with bubbly tentacles to reach Kero. Sakura grabbed him and went out of reach.
"Bubbles, if you don't like washing, what do you like?" she said cautiously. Her staff was behind her back, and she was slowly taking Firey out of her pocket, ready to use.
"Popping!"
"Popping?" Madison asked. She went slightly closer to Bubbles, her hands in an unthreatening position.
"Yes! I want to be played with! Clow Reed always played with the big Cards, he never cared about me!" Bubbles started to cry, unsurprising big bubbles. Madison decided to take a gamble, knowing Sakura's and Kero's lack of empathy.
"If you allow Sakura to capture you, we will play Popping with you."
"How often?"
"Every month," Sakura said, realising how clever it was of Madison to do that, but unwilling to play such a childish game to often. Only babies chased bubbles!
"Alright." Bubbles sulked slightly, but went to the bars of the cell.
"Return to your power confined! BUBBLES CARD!"
The spirit dissolved as it turned into the Card form. Sakura was going to open the cage, when the card turned on it's side and flew into her hands.
"Make sure you sign it before you turn back time, Sakura." Sakura nodded.
"Kero?"
"Yes?"
"Can I stop Madison being affected by the Time card?"
"Yes. If you ask Time to do so, it will. But I suggest you go home first, before turning back the hours."
Sakura went home, and Madison went to her house too. She had dinner before going straight to bed as she was tired from the excitement of the last few hours. She would have used Time before dinner but Kero warned her to eat a lot. "I don't just eat chocolate because I like it. Being magical takes a lot of energy, Sakura, and the big Cards like Time or Return take even more energy."
After dinner, she went to her room. She got ready for bed (grudgingly, she admitted it was easier to not have Kero in her room), and called Kero in. Tori came in too.
"Squirt?"
"Yeh?" Sakura resisted the urge to yell. She knew her brother had suffered today.
"Will it work?" Tori said. Sakura didn't know whether to be annoyed or sympathetic and pouted slightly.
"Key of Clow
Power of Magic
Power of Light
Surrender the wand
The force ignite
RELEASE!"
The staff grew in her hands, just as it had before. She felt the euphoria of power, before squashing it. "Time!" she called, throwing the card in the air like a frisbee. She was slightly quiet, aware of her father downstairs. Time appeared before her.
"Please turn back 24 hours, but not for me, Madison, Kero or Tori," she asked. Tori bit his lip, and wished she had forgotten to include him. However, Time nodded and started turned his hour-glass a few times. Sakura grabbed Tori because of the dizzy feeling. In Madison's house, Madison almost fell over as the sensation of everything rushing past washed over her. It was over quickly, and Madison assumed that Sakura had used the Time card. She checked her calendar, that she had ticked off before the feeling hit. It was the night before the accident. She smiled to herself. She may have to re-sew the costume but at least she saw Sakura two nights in a row!
Sakura, Kero and Tori went to bed when the Time card finished and went back into his card. Sakura picked up her four cards – Firey, Glow, Time and now Bubbles, and put them away neatly. Tomorrow may be yesterday, but it would be a much calmer day!
AN It may be a while before I write again (not that I'm very good at updating) because I can't decide on the next card. I want some more attack cards, really. Hmm… I have an idea…
Any suggestions welcome! Especially about Li Shaoron (spelling?) and Meilin. Please review!