CardCaptor Sakura Remastered Episode 1-9 (10)

Sunday (December 17th)
CardCaptor Sakura Remastered 9 (10)
“Ninja girl?” Sakura remarks, tapping Nina’s jet black uniform. “Look who’s talking!” (taps Sakura’s costume) “Trying to get on Saint whoever’s bad side by mimicking her?”

“It’s a look for stealthy magic making.” Tomoyo said, defending her pride and her design as she did, “It’s based on Saint Tail’s outfit but without the stereotype skirt and hat. I went for black shorts with barely noticeable pockets for the Clow cards, a trim black top with a pocket for the staff key, and this night vision visor (that Sakura is wearing) for the dark museum. I also had a visor made for Kero---” (pointing at Kero) “---to complete the look.”

“Very nice. I’m sorry then, my bad. I didn‘t know we were required to take up a fashion statement while robbing a museum. What was I thinking…” Nina mock apologizes, “Well, let’s get this show on the road.”

Kero - “Right. There’s Clow cards inside and I want to seal them before this so called Saint Mesa arrives.”

“If she arrives.” Eliza points out. “The calling card might have been a hoax. If I reflected on Saint Tail, as Tomoyo just brought up, I thought the entire series revolved around her sending calling cards to her rival (not to her victim)… so, then, if we put that towards Saint Mesa why did she suddenly alert Misho of the impending theft if even Saint Tail had never done that before?”

“She can’t send a calling card to someone she doesn’t have, remember Asuka Jr. was her love interest and, well, Saint Mesa doesn’t have a cop or detective as a love interest.”

“Oh, right Nina, my bad (as it were).”

“There were two Saint Tails? Pheww?”

“Never mind, later Sakura---” Nina takes a deep breath as she returns her focus from Sakura to the task at hand, “Alright, let’s do it.”

* * * * * *

The set-up was sweet and simple.
Since Misho wanted Sakura’s help to remove the Clow cards from the museum, she left a large opening in the museum’s security grid for Sakura to walk through and into the museum. From there Nina would lead the group to the place where the card was and seal the card.

Without Shadow though she would have the seal the card close up, but Misho thought of that too. As they entered they picked up something Misho called a “Null Sound Generator” (a device which created a sphere of silence). Sakura just had to use the device on the painting and catch it from outside the sphere (Silence, being inside the sphere, wouldn’t hear Sakura until it was too late). Now that all in all was well enough, but they also had to deal with Saint Mesa who was either on the way or already there, but Sakura had no doubts that they could do this just fine and both capture the cards and deal with Saint Mesa if they had to.

Now all they had to do was work their way from the rear security station to the place where the painting hung in the west wing of the museum. It was about that time that Nina’s commlink went off. Keiko (sitting in on this job as Sakura’s remote eyes and ears) was calling in. “What is it, Keiko? I thought we agreed to---”

“You want this or should I shut off and let it be a surprise for you?“

“Alright, I want it, I want it. What is it?“

“Well since you growled so nicely like your doing ME the favor -- there’s another pair of people in the museum. Just came in a minute ago from another dead hole in the security grid. One singular, one pair. The pair seems to be Saint Mesa and… oh dammit what’s she doing here…” (silence) “Anyway I put them on your sensors so you should be able to track them. As for the singular one? That has me totally stumped.” Tomoyo speaks up through her link, “Whose closer, Keiko? Saint Mesa or the singular?”

“The singular, but Saint Mesa is right behind that one probably following. But that doesn’t matter as much as the fact that they‘re both headed your way.”

“I see---” (Sakura motions for everyone to stop) “---we’re taking cover and waiting for them to arrive. Maybe scare them off or something.”

“Well, good luck.”

Everyone takes cover behind an exhibit and waits. Time slowly passes--- Two minutes of hiding and waiting later and the singular intruder enters the room. Obscured by shadows the figure slowly creeps into the center of the room looking about warily. “So, what do we do with our mystery guest?” Nina asks.

Kero - “We could scare it. Give it a shock so it leaves us alone, then we’ll---” Somebody grabs the figure from behind and heft it up, walking into the light with it struggling. “Or we could just grab her for questioning. And it’s a her because I can feel it through her--”

“LET GO!!” ‘she’ apparently didn’t like being gripped by Eliza, and decided to do something about it by slamming her head back into Eliza’s chest knocking her off stride. The two stumble into a nearby water exhibit just as it triggers (shooting fountains of water).

Eliza - “EEK!!”

Girl - “YEOW!! COLD!! COLD!!”

Nina - “Or we could just give her a cold bath slash shower and freak everyone out---”
(as Nina turns she is bowled over by a frantic Saint Mesa who runs full steam ahead through the hallway into her, knocking both girls out). Sakura looks over the two of them, sweat dropping, “It went so much easier the first time around.”

* * * * * *

It takes a few minutes to get Eliza/girl (Mimi) dried off. It takes a few more minutes to get Saint Mesa and Nina back on their feet, what with Keiko (another Keiko) in the room staring at them oddly. “Ah thought y’u were bushwhackin’ her! I---” (“Saint Mesa” blushes) “---sorta jumped the gun on that one didn‘t I, f’rgot everythang and just came running through like a runaway locomotive out on the flats---” (frustrated) “DAMMIT IT’S NOT MY FAULT! I HAVENT DONE THIS BEFORE SO I SORTA LOST MY---” (sighs) “---cool.”

Sakura smiles, “I know the feeling.”

The other Keiko motions to all in the room, “I’m guessing we’re all here for the same thing.”

“But probably not for the same reason.” Nina surmises, “Care to tell us your side of it, other Keiko?”

“Other Keiko? What…“ (sighs) “Oh. Her.“ (looks up and waves at camera) “Hi, sister.“

“Sister?“ Nina said dumbfounded, but Keiko apparently didn’t catch on as she went on about why she was there. “The painting belongs to Mesa because I brought it for her as a wedding gift so we’re here to get it back.“ she said without much elaboration, only for the other girl (Mimi) to jump up from her spot and yell “It’s my father’s painting! He’s the one who did it for my wedding to Crystal and she stole it! It belongs to me and my lover!”

Nina - “That’s nice and all, and as much as watching dysfunctional people bitch about the most interesting things we’re just here for our own thing. Now all you two weird people have to do is figure out who gets the painting back while we work in peace and everything will be fine again.”

And thus Nina brought up the point of the whole trip. The matter of the Clow cards.
Eliza ends up being the one to ask the obvious as Sakura and company separate themselves from the arguing pair of Saint Mesa and Mimi, “I’m going to take it that it’s a no-no to let Saint Mesa and her argumentitive friend there take the painting with the Clow cards in it until we seal it, right? Let alone we shouldn’t be exposing them to the existence of the cards while we‘re at it.”

Nina nods her head in the affirmative, “Right. We have to catch the cards without them knowing about the cards…” (looks at them) “…and since they’re occupied let’s do it while they’re arguing the specifics of who owns what.”

Easier said than done. As they entered the hallway Sakura removed the device from her pocket (the null device) and motioned for a diversion. Quickly Nina “tripped” and fell into Saint Mesa, who fell in turn into Mimi, who fell to the ground in a large heap with the other two entangled which quickly triggered another arguement. Nina did everything she could to keep the two from getting up (not so hard as fists began to fly with Nina in the middle) as Sakura went to work. She quickly threw out the device which attached itself to the wall next to the painting generating a silent bubble around itself and the painting. That being done all she had to do was seal the cards. As quietly as possible, Sakura quickly held the key out towards the silenced painting, “Key of the star, with powers burning bright, reveal the staff and shine your light--- release.”

As the staff grew Sakura held it out and at the painting. “Clow card return to your power confined, Silence card.” (with a quick slam Sakura hit’s the wand down over a Ham-ham--- and nothing happens.) “What?” (Sakura looks at the painting oddly, but still nothing was happening, everything was the same as before.) “Clow card return to your power confined, Silence card.” (she picks another Ham-ham and does it again. Still nothing.)
Saint Mesa pops up behind her, “Let’s grab it and---” Saint Mesa stops, “What is this they painted over my pai-- wait, is the painting moving?” Before Sakura can respond she finds herself and everyone else outside, staring through the glass doors at the painting.
Saint Mesa takes off back to the door with Mimi right behind her, right into the museum the two chased each other madly as the other Keiko watched, “What are you two doing…” she sighed to herself bitterly.

“I don’t get it.” Sakura whispered, “I did it and nothing happened!”

“Must be the Toon card’s doing.” (everyone turns to Kero who’s talking) “It must be focusing the cards into one image on the painting. That means you have to know exactly which one of those gerbils hide the cards.”

“They’re hamsters, no gerbils.” Nina points out, “Which ones did you try so far?”

Sakura - “The one in the middle and the one with the workman’s hat.”
Nina looks at the painting and nods her head, “That’d be Hamtaro & Boss. 2 down, only another dozen or more Ham-hams to go. Got any favorites for the next---”

Saint Mesa runs into the room, and tries to just grap the painting by force as Mimi also grabs it in turn. All it accomplishes is the fact that this tug-of-war trick makes Silence pissy at both women, sending them outside again.
“W-w-what happened?!?” Saint Mesa griped, running back inside again with Mimi in hot pursuit once again.
“She’s stubborn, ain‘t she.” Nina notes, her eyes going over to Keiko as she shrugs and says “That’s what she is, the girl that just has to be on top.”

Nina - “…you mean it that way, don’t you…”

Keiko - “Don’t ask if you already know what I mean.”

Nina - “…whatever, enough of her---” (Nina motions back to the painting) “---pick a Ham-ham. Any Ham-ham… before the crazy women return.”

“It must be one that isn’t so obvious. Something you might overlook.”

Sakura looks at the painting as a frown forms on her face, “But which one, Tomoyo! There’s over a dozen of them!”

Tomoyo - “Maybe we have to watch which one doesn’t move, that might be a dead---”

Saint Mesa runs back into the room and tries to throw a “borrowed” cloth over it, only to get sent back outside (cloth over her head) again by a less than impressed Silence. With her temper almost gone, Saint Mesa runs over to the glass doors and kicks them in, the lock breaking and glass rattling (yet not breaking in turn) as she runs right back towards the painting with Mimi getting there at the same time. Once again both women are sent directly outside when they tried to grab the painting again.

“I saw all the hamsters move that time.” Tomoyo noted, to which Nina said. “She’s right, they’re all moving. It’s hopeless. Perhaps---” (Nina sighs as she looks over at Saint Mesa as she gets sent outside again) “---do you mind? We‘re working here.”

“---I---I--- THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!!” she screams, her fake “western“ mumbling gone as she turns red in a pure all out rage. “Something tells me I better check on this. Hold that thought.” Nina takes out her cellphone and makes a call. After a few seconds the line picks up. “W-what---”

“Caught you at a bad time, Keiko?”

“Nah, just catching on my sleep… Eve and I already had fun and we’re just tired… what’s up?”

“Off the record… and damn you since Sakura and Tomoyo were supposed to break in the SakuraMobile THAT way…” (Sakura - “NINA!!”) “…uh, do you know what’s up with this Saint Mesa and her lover who looks like you?”

“Why me? How should I know?”

Saint Mesa - “STOP IT!! STOP IT!! I HATE THIS!!”

Nina - “Oh, I don’t know, maybe you should know because Saint Mesa is having a nervous breakdown while other you is standing there so quietly it’s almost scary how quiet she is! I mean talk about being completely out of character. Want to explain WHY?”

“---uh---”

Nina - “You do know why, don’t you---”

“Well--- off the record?”

Nina - “Off the record.”
Keiko clears her throat before continuing, “That might be because “Keiko” is… well… she’s my little sister Reiko and… she’s kinda abit like me but not so much.“

“So she’s your “good” twin then.“ Nina remaks, to which Keiko mutters “Gimme a break.“

“She sticks it out on the Central Hub, I stay on Terra the Dream Moon of the Earth and we love it when we stay so far apart from each other. Family reunions ain‘t our thing as you probably have guessed already.”

Nina - “So I guessed. What about Saint Mesa?”

“They’re from the Mesa Valley, a place for Western culture lovers. She works at a dude ranch and Reiko is a Judgment on the Central Hub. They’re “married” and that’s it.”

Nina - “Please don’t tell me that’s that because…“ (clickt) “…THAT WON’T HELP NOW DAMMIT!! I---” (blinks) “---hello? HELLO?!?” (shuts off phone) “She hung up on me!!!” (screams to no one in particular)

Tomoyo - “Aren’t we worried about the guards finding us?”

Eliza - “A friend is handling that---”

* * * * * *

Twelve biirus later and the guards were drunk as heck. She shakes her head and pouts, “Sometimes I think biiru is my only friend in the world---”

“I hear you.”

“Amen to that. Let’s go down to the nearby 7-11 and get more. I’m walking!”
She nods her head vigorously, “Yeah! Responsible people don’t drive! They walk the neighborhoods and skinny dip in total strangers pools! Yeah!!”

* * * * * *

Eliza - “…couldn’t that have been rewritten? That still made zero sense even if we know who’s in the scene because we…“ (muffled voice)

Nina - “Don’t jinx the only good thing about this moment. Let’s bask in it and enjoy…“ (looks back at Saint Tail) “---so what do we do with her? The real Keiko was about as vague as ever about what we’re supposed to do with her other than letting her be “on top” and I don’t think we want to see THAT right now!“ (blinks) “Me, sure, but I’m always ready to see that anytime so that’s no big surprise, but still… Sakura. Sakura?” (looks at the grim face Sakura is making) “You in there? Hey Snoozer!”

“It shouldn’t have moved---”

Nina - “Say what?”

Tomoyo - “Sakura, do you have something?”

Sakura quietly points to the painting and whispers “All the Hamsters moved.”

Tomoyo - “Yes?”

Nina - “So what’s so important about that?”

“Don’t you get it?” Sakura points out, motioning towards the painting. “ALL the Hamsters moved, including the one that never moves much at all.”

“The Ham-ham that doesn‘t move--” (Nina turns and regards the painting) “Wait, wait, wait, wait, you mean Snoozer right?”

“It’s a chance I’ll take.”
Sakura walks in, staff in hand as she nears the painting again.
“Clow card, return to your power confined, Silence Card!”
With one slam she brings the staff down near Snoozer, as it’s eyes open in shock. Seconds later it’s entrapped in tendrils of energy.

“Now return to your powers confined as well, Toon card and Prism card!”
Secondary tendrils snake out grabbing the Snoozer image, splitting the cards back into their original forms. Silence. Toon. Prism. As all three are sealed and returned to card form, each card flies to a different hand. Silence to Sakura, Prism to Tomoyo & Toon to Kero.
“Oh my favorite card!” Kero swoons, holding the Toon card to himself as he does, “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!”

“Gee, lay off a little Kero!” Sakura sighs as she gathers up the cards. “I trust it you two can figure out who owns the…“ (!!) “…what the HELL!!“

Tomoyo - “Good. Now let’s see. Silence---” (in her hand) “---Prism---” (Tomoyo holds all three) “---and finally Toon---” (blushes) “Oh, there‘s the copy of the painting of us making love I had made for Christmas last year for us, Sakura…” (blushes) “…I do remember saying the Artist could keep a copy for himself because he loved it so and I guess somehow a copy also got into Saint Mesa‘s hands and… Sakura? Are you crying?”

Sakura, teary eyed, takes the cards from Tomoyo to sign them only to notice the Toon card, on it is an image of a Super Deformed Kerberos (big Kero) chasing after a super deformed Yueh with a large mallet. “This is your favorite image, isn‘t it…” Sakura mutters.

Kero nods his head happily, “I always like the stories with me getting one over on Yueh. They make me all warm inside.”

“I’ll bet---” (Sakura sighs) “---why me…“

* * * * * *

From the rooftop of the museum he watches. His cloak fluttering slightly in the breeze, his gloved hands flexing as he watches the two groups split up, his face smiling slightly.
“Nice work.” Lazarus remarks as he turns and regards the city about the museum, and ponders deep thoughts.

* * * * * *

Two days later--- Back at Daidouji Estates

“We’ll probably run into them again, you know.”

“Saint Mesa or Rachel the cowgirl?” Sakura asks as she checks on the fixings for Tomoyo’s box lunch for school. “At least they found that somebody stuck two copies of the same painting into one frame so there was more than enough for both… BUT WHY DID YOU LET OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THAT PAINTING!!“

“I Don’t see why not. I’m not ashamed of our love, I think it’s beautiful.“

“But it’s so NAUGHTY!!“ Sakura cries out, tears forming as she finishes Tomoyo’s lunch.
“You don’t say.” Kero (while eating breakfast) remarks offhandedly. “Yup. I pity the person who gets stuck having wet dreams about you, Sakura, because mobody should have to be stuck with a…” (pakt) “…ouch.”

“If you ever want to eat again you better stop mocking me.“ Sakura hissed, pointing to Nina’s lunch as she entered the room. “Lunch. Memorize the note within.”

“Note? What are you…“
Nina pulls open the top and inside the box cover is this---
“My museum isn’t a library for sextoys! You better return that stuff you “borrowed” out of the Joys of Sex exhibit by this weekend or there’ll be hell to pay!“ (signed Misho)
“That spiteful…” Nina huffs her breath and slams her lunch shut, “I’m glad I have several hours to work up an appetite because I just lost it now.”

Sakura - “You don‘t say.”

Nina - “Shut up.”

“Sometimes a Quiet Mouth is Better than a Big Mouth”

To Be Continued