Last time, Miss Mackenzie returned to Reidenton as Sakura’s new volleyball coach! They discussed the matters involving the gems after she announced their first game that weekend. At the same time, Madison and Kero were urging Li to tell Sakura about his feelings for her, before it was too late.
"I have to wait for the right opportunity, otherwise she'll get scared and possibly hate me for the rest of our lives."
That Saturday, Li gathered his courage and tried to tell Sakura before her game, but didn’t succeed as Ceaira contacted them through Madison’s cell phone, requesting their help as the Jump Gem was on the loose in the park.
“I’m on my way!”
Li raced off to help while Sakura played in the game. When he arrived, he used his lightning attack and the Jump Card against the green kangaroo, while Ceaira used Gravity to prevent it from jumping. The two then combined the Wood Card and Amazon Gem to ensnare it and capture it.
“Let’s get back to the school.”
Upon getting back, the gang watched as Sakura’s team beat the opposition. However, despite this boost of confidence for Sakura after her own victory, is Ceaira’s confidence in herself dropping?
“Welcome to the Museum of Entomology and Arachnology. Please enjoy your visit with us today.”
The tour guide smiled, then walked through the large doors as the group of students followed. It was the day of Ceaira's field trip and since it was all day, their Biology teacher, Mrs. Seamone told the class they were to bring a packed lunch and a bookbag to carry all of the necessary items in. Outside, Ceaira locked her bike against a lamppost then grabbed her black bookbag and headed inside. She adjusted her blue headband, and then ran over to the museum and up the stairs to where Hope, Yuuki, and Kara were waiting. They waved when they saw her approaching, then Kara pointed to her watch. "Are you sure you couldn't have cut it any closer Ceaira?" "Hey, my budgie was picky this morning." "That pet of yours seems to always be picky." "Well, so's your cat Yuuki." "You're right. Come on! We're going to be in trouble if we stand out here for too much longer!" "Right! They already went inside. You're lucky Mrs. Seamone hasn't taken the attendance yet." "Luck is always on my side. I thought you already knew that." Ceaira smiled, then walked inside with her friends close behind.
They joined up with the other students inside as Mrs Seamone went through the checklist of names. She then looked up and placed her clipboard on the near by desk and crossed her arms in front of her. "Okay students, today we will be observing the various insects and arachnids in their natural habitats. However, the poisonous ones have had their fangs and venom removed so they can be handled. I want each student to hold at least one insect and arachnid, then write up a two page report, single spaced, based on five specimens you have chosen today. The assignment is due next Tuesday, so that gives you the weekend to work on it." The entire class nodded, then quieted down as she cleared her throat to continue. "Now then, you will be working in group's of four which you picked yesterday in class. Now off you go."
A great deal of talking suddenly filled the museum as everyone separated into their groups and headed off into different directions. Ceaira, Hope, Kara, and Yuuki walked over to a bench and placed their book bags onto it, then opened them and pulled out their notebooks and pens. Ceaira looked up and over toward her friends as she closed the bookbag and placed it on her back. "So, where to first? How about the praying mantis?" "Nah . . ." "Hey, I got an idea!" "What's that Yuuki?" "Let's check out the tarantula's!" "Yeah! They're so cool!" "What?" Ceaira's purple eyes widened and her smile turned to a frown as the others agreed with Yuuki. "Aren’t tarantula's a kind of sp . . .sp. . .sp . . .spider?" "Well duh!" "Can we p . . .p . . .p . . .p . . .possibly look at some other bugs to start out?" "Come on Ceaira, remember that Mrs. Seamone said to handle at least one insect and one arachnid. We'll fail if we don't go and check out the tarantula's." "I know, but can we maybe go a l. .l. .little lat . .lat . .later?" "Might as well go now." "Come on! Let's get there before Mujaki and his group get there first!" "Okay!" The three girls nodded, then walked off quickly toward the arachnid section, leaving Ceaira by herself. She groaned, then gripped the strap on her bookbag tightly as she slowly followed. "I sooo hate spiders . . ."
After a few minutes, she caught up to the others who were taking one of the larger tarantula's out of the tank. Yuuki brushed it and giggled when it started walking up her arm. "This thing is tickling me!" "I think it likes you." "You might be right Kara." "Hey you finally caught up to us Ceaira!" Yuuki and Kara turned around to see Ceaira slowly walking over to them. Her face was totally pale and she had a long frown as well. Hope frowned too, then patted her friend on the shoulder. "Something wrong?" "No . .not really . . ." "Then why are you so pale?" "Guess I'm coming down with something." "Maybe. Say, you want to hold the tarantula?" "WHAT!?" Ceaira dropped her backpack and stepped back a few steps, holding her hands in front of her. Once again her eyes widened and she started shaking her head furiously. "No way!" "Why not?" "Tarantula's are . . .poisonous. We shouldn’t handle them!" "Don't you remember what the teacher said about the museum Ceaira?" "Yeah, all the poisonous specimens had the venom and fangs removed, so they're harmless." "Why Ceaira? Are you SCARED of the spiders?" Ceaira gasped, then quickly placed her arms to the sides and began to stutter our an answer. "N . .n . .n . .n . .n . .no, of course not!" "Then here you go!" Yuuki suddenly held out the tarantula to Ceaira, causing her to freeze for a moment, then scream out loud and run down the hall into the restroom. Yuuki, Kara, and Hope stood there for a moment, totally confused and suspicious as they saw Ceaira disappear. "What the heck was that all about?" "Maybe she forgot something back there and it was very important." "Yeah, that has to be it." "I guess so . . ."
Later at lunch, the four decided to eat in the display room where there was a giant fountain full of water spiders, dragon flies, and mosquito's. The others unpacked their lunch, while Ceaira opened her backpack and removed a cheese sandwich. "Time to eat!" The four nodded, then began eating their food. Ceaira drank a mouthful full of her pop, then placed the can onto the ground and smiled. "Now that's good cola!" "Really though." “So Ceaira, why did you freak out so badly earlier?” “What?!” “You know, when we were looking at the tarantula’s.” “Oh . . .umm, promise not to laugh?” “We promise Ceaira.” “This means you as well Yuuki!” “Alright already! So why the spaz attack?” “Well, to tell you the truth . . .I’m afraid of spiders.” “You’re arachnophobic?” “Not exactly Kara, I just can’t stand them. They’re so creepy and dangerous.” “I think they’re cool because they actually help with maintaining the balance of nature.” “How so Hope?” Smiling, Hope placed her dish of noddles down beside her, then pulled out a pamphlet they all received before the beginning of lunch. “Well, spiders eat insects right?” “Yeah . . .” “And flies are annoying little pests who seem to always land on your favorite food and dying in it right?” “Unfortunately yes.” “That’s a gross way of putting it Hope.” “Well it’s true Kara! Any way, spiders eat bugs such as flies and mosquito’s so we don’t become over run with them. If spiders didn’t exist, well . . .we would all be driven to insanity by the never ending buzzing and bloodsucking.” “Good point Hope.” “I still hate spiders.” “We get the idea Ceaira.” “Good!”
Ceaira frowned as she took a bite out of her sandwich, looking over toward the other displays as she chewed the food. Looking around, she began to think to herself as seeing a painted mural of scarabs in the desert cause her to frown. “Hannya . . .”
“Come on Hannya! I wanna show you that flower!” “I’m coming Ceaira!” The two younger girls ran through a forested area near the desert, where it seemed that Ceaira had something to show Hannya. After a few minutes of running, the two slowed down as they saw a flower with sparkling blue petals. Walking up to it, Ceaira kneeled down in front of it, while Hannya did the same beside her. “Isn’t it beautiful Hannya?” “Wow, you were right! It’s the most beautiful flower I’ve ever seen.” “I told you it was a good idea to come here!” Ceaira smiled as she reached out toward the flower, knowing she felt a power coming from it. As the two kneeled there, a small black scarab, with a strange gold colored design on the shell, was slowly crawling through the grass toward them. Hannya’s expression became puzzled as she studied the petals, while Ceaira looked at it carefully. “Say Cea, do you sense something?” “It’s the flower’s energy. I think it’s a mystic flower, like our magic is sort of.” “Right, that makes sense.” Hannya nodded, then reached out to touch the petals of the flower. Suddenly, the scarab leaped out from the grass and attached itself to Hannya’s neck, sinking it’s teeth in deeply. She screamed out, then swatted the bug away with her hand. Ceaira jumped up out of instinct and slammed her foot down onto it, allowing her to kill it. “Ceaira . . .” Hannya’s eyes suddenly started to close as she swayed from side to side. “HANNYA!” Screaming out in terror, Ceaira rushed over to her older sister as she fell over to the side onto the ground.
“Ceaira? Are you home in there?” Finally showing some signs of reaction, Ceaira gasped and blinked numerous times before realizing she was still at the museum. Looking around, she saw that Hope, Yuuki, and Kara looked pretty worried. “Are you okay?” “What’s wrong?” “It’s nothing . . .I was just thinking about scarabs . . .you know they’re an African bug right?” “Yeah, that’s true. Have you even seen one Ceaira?” “Yeah, once . . .a long time ago . . .” Ceaira closed her eyes and frowned to herself as she ate another piece of her sandwich, then sighed to herself sadly. Hope, Yuuki, and Kara looked at each other, then frowned as they looked back toward the now silent Ceaira.
“Misuteri?” Aquilia was singing in a song bird like voice as she flew around the kitchen, waiting for a new batch of cupcakes. Misuteri was standing at the oven, cooking some spaghetti in one pot, and sauce in another pot. Landing on his shoulder, Aquilia shifted her feet back and forth until she was comfortable, then turned toward Misuteri’s face and smiled. “Are the cupcakes finished yet? I’m hungry!” “As soon as they are ready Aquilia, AND as soon as Ceaira gets home from her field trip. I’m a little worried about her going on this one though.” “Why is that Misuteri?” “She suffers from a very mild arachnophobia.” “What is that?” “Arachnophobia is when one is afraid of spiders. She doesn’t necessarily panic and become paranoid, she just gets very nervous around them. Sometimes she runs away just so she doesn’t get too afraid.” “Hmm, I always wondered what she was afraid of, because everyone has some fear. I’m afraid of cats.” “Well Aquilia, that’s logical. Cats are higher in the food chain than birds.” “Not all birds are lower than cats Misuteri.”
The two laughed, when suddenly the door opened and closed. Ceaira slowly walked past the doorway of the kitchen and began heading upstairs without a word. After hearing the door to her room close, Aquilia and Misuteri looked at each other worryingly, then the small bird flew up and out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Hovering in front of the door, she tapped her beak against it. “Ceaira? Are you okay? Usually you say hi to me and then you hug your father.” “Oh? Sorry, guess I forgot to . . .” “Can I at least come in?” “Sure . . .” Aquilia smiled, then landed on the doorknob after it was turned. As the door opened, Ceaira walked back over to her desk and sat down. Aquilia frowned as she looked over to the night stand to see the statue slowly turning as it played its music. “Talk to me Ceaira, what’s wrong?” Remaining silent for a moment, Ceaira stared into space until she finally buried her face in her arms and began crying. Aquilia flew up off of the doorknob, then over toward Ceaira to land on the desk. Looking to the side, she saw what Ceaira was crying about. Sitting on the desk was a picture of Ceaira and Hannya at a younger age during Halloween. They were both wearing their battle costumes passed down through the family. “Ceaira . . .you still blame yourself for Hannya’s death . . .don’t you?” Ceaira slowly lifted her head and nodded, letting Aquilia see her tear filled eyes. “If it wasn’t for me dragging Hannya out there that day to see that flower . . .she wouldn’t have been poisoned by the scarab. . .” Aquilia frowned, then walked over to Ceaira. Lifting a wing, she dried some of Ceaira’s tears and smiled. “Ceaira, it wasn’t your fault. You had been there beforehand and there weren’t scarabs. You can’t hold yourself responsible for the misfortune of anyone.” “Why not?” “Because of the fact that it will. . .umm . . .well . . .”
As Aquilia tried to get herself out of her little predicament, Ceaira’s cell phone began to ring. Sighing to herself, she reached over, picked it up, and pressed a button to answer it. “Hello? Ceaira speaking.” “Hey there. How’s it going?” “Oh hi Tori!” Ceaira’s face suddenly lit up with joy as she jumped up from the desk and walked over to the window. “How are you?” “I’m fine. You busy?” “Nah, just got home from the field trip. Why?” “Well I was going to go get some ice cream. You wanna make an afternoon out of it?” “Sure! Fifteen minutes sound ok?” “Great! See you later Ceaira.” “Bye Tori.”
Ceaira then pressed the button on the phone, allowing a smile to appear on her face. She then dropped the phone down on the desk and rushed over to her closet. “Aquilia, will you help me pick out something to wear?” “Let me guess, you’re going to see Tori?” “Well duh!” “Well, at least you’ve cheered up.” Ceaira then came out and held up in front of her, a red shirt and blue denim skirt. “How about this?” “Perfect!” “Thanks Aquilia!” Ceaira smiled, then raced back into the closet to change. “I’ll be at Sakura’s visiting Kero, okay?” “Okay Aquilia. Have a good time!” Smiling the entire time, Ceaira emerged from the closet wearing the selected clothing, then grabbed her purse as she rushed out of the room. Aquilia giggled, then jumped out of the window and took flight toward Sakura’s house.
Later, Ceaira walked into the surprisingly crowded ice cream store, and saw Tori sitting by the window. She waved to him as he did the same, then she walked over to the table and sat down across from him. “How are you Tori?” “Pretty good. How’s everything?” “Good.” “You looks great.” Ceaira suddenly smiled and blushed at the same time, causing Tori to chuckle. He calmed down, then stood up and pointed to the counter. “What do you want for ice cream?” “Umm, one scoop of chocolate ice cream on a cone?” “Okay. Be right back.”
As Tori walked over to the counter, Ceaira sighed to herself and turned to stare out the window. She frowned and closed her eyes, then turned back a few minutes later to take her ice cream from Tori. “Thanks. You want me to give you the money for my ice cream?” “Nah, don’t worry about it.” “Okay.” Tori smiled, then began eating from a small strawberry sundae as Ceaira slowly ate away at her ice cream cone. “So how was your field trip?” “I don’t want to talk about it really . . .” “How come? You okay?” “No . . .” Closing her eyes, she lowered the cone from her mouth and looked at Tori. She sensed his aura was emitting a glow of concern for her. She smiled, then looked at him as she slowly rotated the cone in her hand. “Well, there was one part of the trip I really didn’t enjoy . . .” “What was that?” “The spiders . . .I sort of suffer from a mild arachnophobia according to my doctor.” “Seriously?” “Yeah. Simply put when I see a spider, I freak and run away.” “That’s bad. I don’t suffer from phobia’s . . .but I’ve always been afraid of seeing everyone around me disappear for any reason . . .I don’t like being alone sometimes.” “Same here. I’m glad to have my budgie when my dad goes away on trips and stuff.” “Pet’s are nice to have, and I really like that budgie of yours. What did you say it’s name was?” “Her name is Aquilia. She’s a tropical breed.” “Wow.” “I know a lot about birds as I do about archeology.” “You seem to know a lot for someone who’s seventeen Ceaira.” “So?” “So that’s pretty cool.” “Cool!”
Later, after finishing their orders and talking about the usual topics, Ceaira and Tori left the ice cream shop and began heading down the street toward the Avalon residence. “So you only live with your father?” “Yeah. When I was little my mother died, and my sister died a few years ago.” “How did that happen?” “Well, Mikomi, my mom, died in a . . .car accident.” “What about your sister?” “Hannya died in her sleep when I was thirteen.” “How?” “Scarab bite. The doctors assumed the poison took out her heart.” “I’m so sorry that happen . . .” “It’s okay. They didn’t deserve to die though . . .especially Hannya. She had a great future to look forward too and because of that stupid scarab, she will never get to see it.” “These things happen Ceaira . . .they can’t be helped.” “I know . . .but why did it have to happen to them . . .if it wasn’t for me then they would be alive.” “Hold it Ceaira!”
The two suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, and had a stare off which lasted for a few moments. Tori then frowned, and placed his hands on her should to shake her gently. “Don’t even say that! What makes you think it was your fault?!” After he stopped shaking her, he could hear her sobbing as she lifted her head and showed her tear filled eyes. “It was Tori! My mom died trying to save me from getting hit by a car, and Hannya died because I wanted to show her that stupid flower! If it wasn’t for me, both of them would still be alive!” Tori’s face changed totally, showing a great deal of sorrow as the tears escaped Ceaira’s eyes. She then moved forward and buried her face in his shirt as she cried for her relatives. “It’s all my fault . . .” “Ceaira . . .” Tori frowned then wrapped his around her, slowly rocking back and forth to try and calm her down. “It’s okay. Things like this can’t be predicted Ceaira. You’ve got to realize that their death’s weren’t your fault.” “I know . . .but it’s so hard to . . .especially when seeing that I was involved. Mom trying to save me, and showing Hannya that flower . . .” “I don’t think they want you to be sad forever. And I don’t think they want you to blame yourself for something that you wouldn’t have been able to stop.” “I guess so . . .” Ceaira pulled away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve as she managed a smile. Tori began feeling better, but then she turned around. “I’m gonna go home, if that’s okay with you. My dad must have supper almost ready, and he’ll worry if I am late.” “Sure.” “I’ll see you this weekend?” “Okay.” Smiling, Ceaira hugged Tori tightly, then began walking away. Watching her for a moment, Tori frowned then began walking in the other direction.
“I wish I could convince myself that it wasn’t my fault, but there’s so many pieces of evidence right in front of my face, that show that my presence was involved.” She sighed to herself, then turned a corner as she began walking down an alleyway. After walking half way in, she stopped and leaned her back against the wall and crossed her arms. “Why must my past plague me . . .”
Sighing to herself, she didn’t seem to notice a pair of glowing, bright blue eyes glaring at her from the shadows of the alley. There was a sudden chime, which caused Ceaira to jump forward and turn sharply. Looking into the darkness, she noticed the blue eyes glaring at her with great hatred. “Who are you?!” “Poor GemCaptor, you need to relax. I am simply a figment of your imagination.” “Figment? Wait a minute . . .are you the Illusion Gem?” “Yes I am, and you are a very intelligent captor.”
Suddenly, a woman stepped out from the shadows with an evil grin on her face. She wore a black slitted dress with black gloves. Her hair and eyes were black as well with elven ears sticking out from within the hair, and her skin was a pale green. In her left hand she held a metallic triangle instrument, and in her right hand she held a small metal cylinder. Stopping, she let the triangle swing slowly as Ceaira reached up for her pendant. “This should be interesting. I finally get to face off against the GemCaptor.” Ceaira became nervous, for she knew what Illusion was capable of from what Sakura told her about it’s card counterpart. Grabbing the pendant, she placed her hands together to conceal it from view. She then closed her eyes and began her incantation. “Lock of Kayo . . .Key of Syona . . .forces of good . . .surrender the bow . . .surrender the might . . .so I may fight!” A blue light appeared, causing her to open her eyes. She pulled her hands apart and the blue arrow rose upward. It then became engulfed in a sphere of light blue energy. Streams of the same energy appeared then flowed into the pendant, which then began to morph. Ceaira then leaped up and stopped in front of the finished product of the metamorphosis; her crossbow. She grabbed it then fell back toward the ground.
Landing, she pointed the crossbow at Illusion and placed her finger on the trigger. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot you with my magic!” “And interrupt my fun? Oh please . . .” Illusion smiled, then lifted her left hand up. Holding the triangle in front of her face, she looked through to see Ceaira still pointing her crossbow. “Let’s see what makes you scream.” She smiled, then gently tapped the metal cylinder against the triangle, causing it to ring. The entire alley became engulfed in a strange blue and black light, which caused Ceaira to lower her crossbow and step backwards. As she wondered what was going on, she suddenly heard a faint sound. Turning around, she suddenly screamed as a giant tarantula slowly walked toward her. “NO! NOT THAT!” Ceaira fell backwards onto the ground, then completely froze from fear. “SOMEONE HELP ME!”
“So what did you get for number 12 Li?” “I got 31.” “Strange . . .I got 279.” “What? Geez Sakura, you’re way off. Here, I’ll show you where you went wrong.” Li leaned over and looked over Sakura’s notes while Madison sat on the floor finishing a new battle costume. On the desk, Kero and Aquilia were having a conversation which had subjects varying from the Kayo Gems and Sakura Cards, to cupcakes and pudding. Both of them were snacking on their favorite food while the others enjoyed a plate of cookies. “So I forgot to divide by 9?” “Looks that way. Take your answer and divide it by nine. You should get 31.” “Okay. How I hate math.” “How I hate English class.” The two laughed, followed by Madison as she stood up from the ground. She held up the costume in front of her and smiled. “How do you like your new costume Sakura?” “It looks great!” “What do you think Li?” “It’s okay.” “Hey! Be a little more enthusiastic!” “How can I Madison? I’m not into battle costumes or clothes or any of that girl stuff.” “Girl stuff eh?” “That’s right Sakura. Can we please finish this homework so we have a free weekend?” “Okay Li.”
Aquilia suddenly gasped, then her eyes narrowed as she was talking to Kero. Frowning, she leaped into the air and flew over to a nearby window, where she landed on the sill and looked out hard at the city. Sakura, Madison and Li frowned, totally curious as to why she was looking out the window. “Are you okay Aquilia?” “No Li . . .there’s a Kayo Gem out there somewhere. We have to find it.” “Can you tell which one it is?” “No. It must be one of the more elusive gems.” “Just great . . .” “Let’s get going.” “Okay.” The four nodded to each other, then Aquilia flew out the window followed by Kero. The other three ran out the door, then down the stairs toward the front door.
Ceaira lifted her crossbow and fired three arrows at the tarantula’s head, but it didn’t flinch. Instead, it rushed forward to try and strike her with it’s fangs. She jumped up to her feet, then threw a gem up into the air. “Jump Gem, shatter and dispel!” Shooting it, a pair of small white wings appeared on her shoes after the gem was shattered. She then hunched down and leaped up into the air, just missing the tarantula’s fangs. She then tossed out another gem, which she shot. “Firey!” The energy which appeared afterward formed a firebird, which soared into the sky and then dove down toward the spider. However to Ceaira’s shock, Firey passed right through the spider and collided with the ground, causing it to disperse and reform into the Firey Gem. Ceaira’s eyes widen as she became greatly horrified. “What happened?! Why did Firey pass through the tarantula?!” As she worried, the tarantula pointed it’s head upward toward her, and shot out a thick string of webbing. She became wrapped in it nearly completely when it collided with her, leaving only her head and feet free to move. Slamming down onto the ground, she screamed out in terror as the spider approached her.
“DASH CARD! SWORD CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!”
Suddenly from out of no where, Sakura appeared and sped over toward Ceaira. She swung her sword, which sliced through the webbing. Li leaped down from the roof of one of the buildings and used the opportunity to pull the rest of the webbing off of Ceaira. “Are you okay Ceaira?” “I’m fine. . .but that spider . . .” “It’s just an illusion Ceaira! It can’t hurt you!” “Does this webbing look like an illusion?! That spider is real!” Li frowned, then stood up to face off against the tarantula. Holding the sword in front of him, his Chinese robes flapped in the breeze. “I’ll take care of it. Now . . .” Throwing out an Ofuda, he closed his eyes and twirled around his sword. Sakura watched from behind the spider, dawned in a battle costume which was a giant pink bow on her head, plus a pink shirt with blue overalls. She wore kimono style sandals on her feet and there was a giant bow on the lower back area of her shirt. Ceaira suddenly gasped when she saw Sakura, then quickly turned to Li and waved her arms at him. “No! Don’t!” “Element . . . Fire!” A stream of fire shot out and at the tarantula, but it simply passed through and headed for Sakura. “Oh no! Sakura!” Sakura gasped, but then twirled her wand as she threw out one of her cards and slammed it with her sword. “Jump Card, release!” Tiny wings appeared on her feet and she leaped into the air, just barely missing the stream of fire. Upon her landing Li smiled when he realized Sakura was alright, and wiped the sweat from his forehead, while Ceaira got up from off the ground. “How are we going to beat this thing if we can’t even hit it?!”
Just then, the three spun around as they heard the snickering of the Illusion Gem’s form. Still holding the triangle in front of her face, she slowly turned a little until Sakura was seem through the object. “More playmates for their own fears I see, and they are CardCaptors! Let’s see what the Clow Mistress fears . . .” Hitting the metal against the triangle, the sam blue and black light engulfed the alleyway, only Ceaira and Li seemed to be engulfed in it as well while Sakura remained unaffected. As she became curious, her eyes suddenly widened and she screamed out in pure terror. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Li gasped when he saw five unknown ghosts appear, and slowly head for Sakura with bony arms and hands stretched out at her. “Sakura . . .come with us . . .” “NO! GET AWAY!” Totally taken over by fear, Sakura began swinging her sword at the spirits, but it didn’t seem to help for the ghosts continued to advance. “SAKURA!” Li panicked, then rushed forward just as Illusion tapped the triangle again once Li was inside of it. “Now let’s reveal the foe of terror which plagues the Clow Reed descendant.” The strange light appeared again, only this time Li was the only one not affected. Skidding to a stop his eyes widened as he found himself falling over the edge of a cliff. Grabbing the ledge, he maintained a tight grip as he tried not to look down at the jagged spikes below.
Ceaira stepped back slowly from the spider, gripping her crossbow tightly as she didn’t know what to do. “I’ve got to think of something . . .or else we’re all history! But the illusions can’t be beaten . . .” “CEAIRA!”
She suddenly gasped when she heard her name being called out to her, so she looked up toward the roof to see Keroberos and Aquilia waving their arms and wings at her, while Madison video taped the entire battle. “Ceaira! You have to take out Illusion in order to save Li and Sakura!” “But how Aquilia!?” “You have to strike fear in Illusion’s heart! It takes fear to counteract fear in her case!” “So What do I do?!” “Nightmare loves showing the fears of the victim! It may just work against Illusion!” “Okay, I’ll give it a try!” Ceaira clenched her teeth, then went into a battle stance as she opened the slot on her crossbow. Taking out a gem, she turned toward Illusion and narrowed her eyes. “You’re going down Illusion!”
Ceaira gripped a gem in her left hand, to reveal it’s image to be the cloaked man holding a staff with both hands, surrounded by a strange black smoke . She then lowered the arm to the ground, then lifted it quickly as she tossed the gem above her head. She then held out her crossbow and left arm out in front of her and went into a spin as a sparkling dark grey energy surrounded her. “Nightmare Gem . . .invade Illusion’s heart and reveal her greatest fear!” She then pointed the crossbow up to the sky and held out her left arm to the side and quickly opened her eyes to see the gem reaching it’s vertical peak. “Nightmare Gem! Shatter and dispel!”She pulled the trigger of the crossbow and a arrow flew up, followed by all the energy which surrounded her before. They both collided with the front of the gem, causing it to shatter into a sparkling dark grey light.
The light slowly transformed into a black smoke, which increased in size and created a mist like atmosphere as it completely engulfed the alley. Illusion looked around the area, a bit puzzled by Ceaira’s choice for a gem to use, but then turned toward her and began snickering devilishly. “Pitiful GemCaptor, do you really expect that to work?!” Snickering, she began to approach Ceaira. Raising her hand, her fingernails extended until they were a foot long. Becoming terrified, Ceaira slowly backed up until she found herself trapped against a wall. Looking to the side, she saw Sakura huddling in fear from the ghosts as they pulled at her battle costume, then she saw Li who was still hanging by his fingers from the cliff. Some rocks broke away, but he grabbed another section as the broken rocks fell toward the ground, shattering once they collided with the rocky spikes. Looking back toward Illusion, Ceaira closed her eyes tightly and clenched her teeth as she feared the worst. “This can’t be how it ends . . .”
Suddenly Illusion stopped in her tracks and screamed out as her eyes widened. Stumbling backwards, she dropped down to the ground and screamed as she grabbed both sides of her head with her hands. Ceaira looked at her with curiosity, then walked over to her slowly. “Illusion . . .” As she approached her, Illusion suddenly looked up at Ceaira, and screamed out again. Jumping off of the ground, Illusion backed up until she was against the wall. “No! Get away from me Sabaki!” “Sabaki?! Who’s that?” “The person standing behind you GemCaptor! She’s come to get me!” “What?” Ceaira slowly turned around, but found no one there. She thought for a minute, then realized that Nightmare’s power had finally seeped into her heart. Taking up her crossbow, she held it in front of her face and locked Illusion in as the target. “Illusion, let me seal you now.” “ANYTHING! JUST DON’T LET SABAKI GET ME!” “Okay, just calm down.” Placing her finger on the trigger, she made sure Illusion was the target before shooting the arrow of white light. “Illusion Gem! Return to your power confined!” The arrow soared with great speed, then bursted into it’s light as it collided with Illusion. After the metamorphosis, the energy shrank until the gem took shape. Dropping to the ground, it bounced up and over to Ceaira who grabbed it with her left hand. As she studied the image of the elf woman holding the triangular talisman, the ghosts which were pulling at Sakura vanished into thin air, while the cliff Li was hanging from vanished, leaving him standing on the ground of the alley. Ceaira looked toward the two and smiled, the placed the gem inside the crossbow slot right before it returned to it’s pendant form. “You did it Ceaira!” “Yeah, you beat Illusion!” “I guess I did. But believe it or not, Illusion helped me to realize something very important about myself.” “Really? What’s that?”
Suddenly the three looked up to see Aquilia flying down toward them. As she landed on Ceaira’s shoulder, Keroberos slowly flew down and landed, allowing Madison to jump off of his back. “What did you realize?” “Well Madison . . .despite the spider, I didn’t totally freeze from fear, and I was able to fight back. Normally, someone who suffers from a phobia can’t do anything. This might mean that I don’t fear spiders as badly as I thought.” “That’s totally awesome Ceaira!” “Yeah. That gives me an idea of something I now have to do tomorrow.” “Really? What’s that?” “I’m going to have to see if my theory is right, but this time I have to see if I can face a real spider.” “Which means . . .” “I’m going back to the museum. And my friends are coming with me to be the official witnesses.” “Alright Ceaira!” Everyone cheered, while Ceaira smiled. However, when she looked away from the group, her smile became a frown as she looked down at the ground. “I may have possibly conquered my fear, but I may never be able forget what happened . . .mom, Hannya . . .I’m so sorry that I caused both of you to die . . .” She sighed, then turned back to the others and slowly walked away toward her home with Aquilia on her shoulders. The others watched, then turned around to head back to Sakura’s house.
The next day, Ceaira, Hope, Kara, and Yuuki traveled over to the museum. Yuuki had a look of curiosity on her face as they walked past the grasshoppers and butterflies. “So why did you bring us here Ceaira?” “I want to conquer my fear, but I need your help.” “You’re actually going to go through with this?” “Well, yeah. I realized some things in life are worse than spiders.” “We’re proud of you Ceaira.” “Thanks.” Taking a deep breath, Ceaira released it as they stopped in front of the tarantula case. Kara leaned over and picked up one of the eight legged arachnids, then held it out to Ceaira. “The moment of truth.” “Right.” Ceaira closed her eyes, then held out her hand toward her friend. Kara smiled, then placed the spider in her hands just as Yuuki was seem placing a large rubber spider on her opposite shoulder. Opening her eyes, Ceaira looked down at the tarantula, then started laughing as she allowed it to crawl up her arms. “Oh my god! I’m actually handling a spider! And I’m not nervous anymore!” “That’s so awesome Ceaira!” Hope smiled as she watched Ceaira’s victory. Giggling, Ceaira began petting the tarantula as she looked toward the three. “I guess I’ve conquered my fear!” “That’s great Ceaira, because that means you won’t freak out at the spider that’s on your shoulder.” “Huh?”
Her face suddenly changed to show she was nervous as she slowly looked over toward her shoulder. As she looked at the rubber spider, she screamed out in terror as the museum was shown from the outside. “YUUKI!” “What did I do wrong? I simply couldn’t resist!”
As you all know, Julian is the character who is as well Yue. However, Julian does not know about this. In the next episode, Julian begins suspecting Sakura and the others after thinking about all of his memory lapses.
“When is the right time to tell him about Yue?”
Later that night, the Fly Gem appears, causing the gang to chase after it. During the battle, Yue suddenly gets hit and so he transforms back into Julian.
“Uh oh . . .”
Can the gang get themselves out of this situation and capture Fly? Find out next time in Episode Twelve: Gliding On the Wings of Truth!
“Each gem that is captured has a mystical seal . . .a new mystifying gem today we shall reveal . . .”
The Kayo box is dark blue with the image of a golden eagle on the lid. It suddenly flipped opened and tipped over, causing all the gems inside to spill out onto the ground. They all bounced around, but one landed and spun around on one side. it then fell over into it’s flat side to reveal the image to be a being representing a golden angel holding a crescent moon boomerang.
“Lunar Gem!”
During a battle, Ceaira is slammed into a wall by the form of the Cloud Gem. When she awakens, a light emits from within her heart and takes the shape of Lunar’s form. She then uses her boomerang and takes out Cloud. Ceaira and Lunar then shake hands before being sealed. The Lunar Gem is then shown again before bursting into a whitish yellow light.
“Hey there Card fans! Kero’s corner is back! Thanks goes out to Aquilia for filling in. And now, today’s segment!”
Kero then turns on the small TV to show Sakura grabbing her Star Wand after it is formed, then of her twirling it around her.
“Today, I’m gonna talk about the Star Wand used by Sakura!”
He then changes the channel to show a picture of the wand resting against a wall.
“When Sakura got her second chance in Yue’s Judgment a long time ago, her Star power created this wand. It’s way more powerful then the Sealing Wand and it helped to focus her energy when creating the Sakura Cards.”
Kero smiled then flies closer until his face is almost right up again the camera lens.
“And now, check out this!”
He changes the channel once again to show the Star Key.
“When not being used, the Star Wand is kept as a pendant which resembles the top of the wand. The bottom is in the shape of a key. Pretty cool I think.”
Now sitting at a tiny computer, Kero is seen typing an email to Suppi in England. He stops for a moment, then turns toward the camera.
“If it weren’t for Miss Mackenzie’s bell, everyone would have forgotten about the Clow Cards and none of this would be happening now. It would defiantly be rough for Sakura because of the bond everyone shares with each other and the cards. Until next time, see ya!”
He waves then continues typing the email as the scene fades out.
