Composed by deko
Translated by Yuki Neco
A number of animal screeched with horror at the shadow of the moon eclipsing the sun. To make the matter worse, the screech horrified the folks who had been injured in the battle.
“End of the world,” declared a shrine maiden, “Withtout the sun shining on us, we’ll all be frozen to death. Where’s Lady Iyo, anyway?!”
“Stay calm! Kukoku folks and Yakoku folks, come in the village,” the captain shouted, “Soldiers, if you have enough energy to stand, take up your position around the moat. Now’s the time you do what you have to do!”
They looked up at the sun, which had already lost most of its shape. The temperature abruptly dropped and a chilly wind hastened the people to evacuate into the village.
At the place where there had been the Kukoku base, Sakura felt a sense of guilt when she saw the people evacuating.
“Sorry, captain and everyone. I can’t be with you at the time like this,” Sakura groaned.
“Oh, Sakura...” Syaoran caressed his beloved girl tenderly, when the Hope Card, standing on the ground, jumped up on her shoulder.
“Don’t mind it, Sakura. Now they’re waiting for Iyo, not you,” the Hope whispered to cheer her up. The kindness relaxed Sakura, who replied, “Yeah, thanks, Hope.”
Ever since they were thrown into this era, the three had become like a caring family. Of course, the Cards floating around them were the members of the family as well.
“Hey, quit making out! Not until you get back,” Geso aroused them, “Here comes the distortion of the space-time continuum!”
The three gasped to see the half-eclipsed sun was beginning to be distorted. “Master, this eclipse is definitely unusual,” the Wisdom Card said.
“What’s making this distortion?” Syaoran said with an amazed look.
“Come on, Syaoran! All we have to think about is how to get back,” Sakura shouted, “Fly! My Cards, come into my body and grant me your powers.” The Cards turned into shapeless powers and gathered into her, simultaneously, the Fly Card shifting into action turned Sakura into angelic form with wings. Syaoran blushed when he leaned on her letting his arms around her waist.
“Let’s go!” the Hope shouted.
While flying, Sakura and the others could see the rich nature of evergreen, handful of cultivated land, dwelling of the people living on the land, and the tumulus of the queen that the folks had a great respect for. “Good-bye... my dear antie. Good-bye, folks, thanks for your kindness,” Sakura mumbled with tears.
The sanctuary of Yakoku was full of people that had evacuated into the village. Most of them were scared of the sun that was eclipsed gradually. Some people held ritual utencils and played the musical instrument as hard as they could, but it was nothing more than noise. “Lady Iyo, I want you to come back immediately,” the captain said to himself. At this time, he could see four glowing dots rising gradually up in the sky. In response, he saluted in a manner of a well-trained soldier, when he thought to himself, “Good-luck. I hope you’ll get back safe to your own world, Lady Iyo from another world.”
In the excavation site in the 21st century, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun in his panther form, and Kerberos in this true form and Yue were standing around the time tunnel to put up a force field. This time, the energy coming out of the tunnel reach the top of the hill where the Sakura Cards, namely the Time, the Change, and the Shield were waiting. Away from the force field, Eriol concentrated his mind so hard that he couldn’t see the other people around him, when his magic staff glowed bright.
“I don’t believe she won’t be able to come back!” Tomoyo cried as Kaho held her tightly with tears. “Eriol told me,” Kaho spoke firmly, “that there’s a big flow of time going from the future down to the past, so there’s no harm to Sakura, Syaoran, and the plush doll as long as they fall down to the past. But going up against the flow is different...”
“Then what’ll happen to Sakura and the others?” Iyo asked with a shock.
“If she doesn’t have enough power to withstand the adverse flow, she’ll drift, never to come back.” Kaho answered.
“Hey, look at Eriol!” Dai shouted. Eriol walked closer to the time tunnel holding his staff up high. At this time, the scene taking placing in the ancient time was projected in his vision, when his glasses glimmered. The four people could be seen to disappear in the distortion of the space-time continuum that was created in the shade of the solar eclipse. “All right, Sakura. I can see you coming up,” Eriol smiled, ”It’s that she remembered the invincible spell.” The four guardians nodded their heads in response to the boy wizard. “The mistress of the Sakura Cards, or the only successor of Clow Reed is coming back. You guardians, help me guide her and her friends back to this world!” The power of the four guardians surged onto Eriol as he was encircled by a blinding halo, and then he put his staff at the entrance of the time tunnerl emitting intense energy to the past.
“Sakura, I believe you’ll be back,” Tomoyo whispered. Kaho standing beside the girl gasped in finding the strong anxiety in her mind. The anxiety may have some kind of prophecy.
Immediately after the photosphere of the sun flashes, darkness covered all over the sky above Yakoku. People in Yakoku held their breath even losing the spirit to be panicky.
In the time tunnel, bright light from various ages flashed on the vision, and human voices ehoed, where four figures was going up against the stream steadily flowing in one direction.
“Hurry up or the solar eclipse will be over,” warned Geso.
“How come that old geezer worries about the eclipse?” said the Hope Card.
“I don’t know,” Syaoran replied, “but he said that the time tunnel is connected with the space-time distortion caused by the solar eclipse.”
“Hey, Sakura, let’s ask the Wisdom Card to explain,” the Hope smiled at Sakura, but she never answered. The moment Syaoran found the change on Sakura, the Sakura Cards sprang out of her. “Sakura, what happened to you?!” Syaoran was astonished to see her hand, which is deeply wrinkled like an old woman.
“Keep your eyes off me, Syaoran!” Sakura screamed desperately. The woman he was holding had completely turned into an old woman; her honey brown hair had turned gray, and her transparent voice had turned husky.
“I knew it!” Geso spitted disgust, “She ran out of her magic. There’s no hope. Let her go, kid. We gotta go back safe.”
“Quiet!” Syaoran shouted, “Sakura! Sakura!”
“Syaoran, I can’t... Take care of the Cards for me... please.” Sakura said weakly.
“Keep it up, Sakura!” the Hope encouraged her.
“If we don’t hurry the eclipse will be over and the space-time distortion disappear,” Geso said with irritation, “Then the tide of the time will surge on us and we can’t get back to the future.” Nobody listened to him.
At the excavation quarters on Tomoeda Hill, Touya Kinomoto was seated in front of the computer that displayed the ground plan of the excavation site. There came in Fujitaka. “What? You can’t sleep?” asked Touya. “No. I kind of have a bad hunch,” the father replied, unlike his usual calm attitude, he was standing on bare feet without slippers. The wrinkles on his shirt revealed that he had been trying to take a nap.
“I thought something serious is happening by insight,” Fujitaka said, “That’s what a scholar shouldn’t say, isn’t it.”
“Sakura, you mean?”
“Yes, something’s happening to my daughter, Sakura, the spitting image of my dear Nadeshiko.” At this time, Fujitaka stood up with an astonishment on his face, looking at the center of the room, where the spirit of Nadeshiko could be seen.
Eriol faced the time tunnel on Tomoeda Hill, while the guardians
were wincing in agony supplying him their magical powers.
“Where are Sakura and the others, Eriol?” asked Kaho.
“They’re stuck in the middle between Yayoi period and the present time,” Eriol replied, “Seems she ran out of her magic.”
“What’ll happen if she ran out of magic?” Tomoyo asked with anxiety.
“They’ll drift in time,” Eriol slowly answered, “They’ll be lost in time forever. I just expanded my power within 100 years in the past with the help of the guardians. If only they get in the reach...” Eriol leaned on his staff to keep standing. Kaho knew that he was the one who suffered the strongest agony of all the people there.
The Sakura Cards were floating around the mistress in the time tunnel. Being along with their mistress, that was all they can do.
“I wanted to be with you until I was an old woman, Syaoran. Now my wish just come true...” Sakura sadly whispered.
The Hope brought Geso closer by pulling his earlobe as he screamed in agony. The Hope demanded him, “Aren’t there any ways to help her? You’ve live for more than 40 years for nothing?”
He sighed when he take a glance at the boy caressing a girl who turned into an old woman. “No way. The girl ran out of power, the power of the star, the stronger attribute than the sun and the moon. The power of the moon like mine and his isn’t so much as to help her,” he replied.
“What do you mean?!” Syaoran shouted a question, “At this rate, she’ll completely...”
“This is not the time you worry about someone else, kid. She has no power left, but we do have some. At least we’ve still got a chance to get back,” Geso answered.
Getting furious, Syaora took out his sword, shouting, “Are you saying we should abandon her?”
“We’ve got no other choices,” Geso replied, “The only one who can spare her a magical power is Clow Reed himself, who possessed the power of plain attribute.”
At this time, Sakura pushed Syaoran away gently, still hiding her face in her gray hair and her hands; she decided to part from him and her own Cards. “I love you, Syaoran. That’s why I don’t want you to get involved with me. I say good-bye...” she said.
“Sakura, no!” shouted, Syaoran, the Hope, and the Sakura Cards followed Sakura, not looking back at Geso.
“You’re stupid! Really stupid! The weak should be abandoned. The golen rule of nature,” Geso spitted a curse.
“It’s you who’s stupid!” the Teleport Card shouted at him as Geso Cards followed the rest abandoning Geso conversely.
“OK, OK. I am with you all. So, please wait up!,” Geso finally decided to follow them, “Hang in there.” When he caught up with them, they were illuminated by the light coming from beyond the time, the light of the strong power from an old noble woman.
Fujitaka and Touya had an uexpected reunion. “Mom!” Touya exclaimed. “I don’t believe I can see you, too,” Fujitaka mumbled with a surprise. “Hurry up, honey, Sakura is coming back now,” Nadeshiko hasted her husband. “Right,” Fujitaka stood on his feet as the father and son ran out of the office following the spirit’s lead.
Sakura and the others going up the stream in the time tunnel were lit by a powerful force. In the light of magic, Sakura’s hair turned back into honey brown, and the wrinkles on her disappeared.
“Sakura, you look pretty! Cool!” the Hope exclaimed with joy. Now the Cardcaptor Sakura they knew was there to be back in the form of a 13-year-old girl with shining happy spirit.
“This power! Antie saved me,” Sakura exclaimed.
“This is the true farewell. Good-bye, my young lady and gentleman...” Queen Reko talked to Sakura with telepathy. When the voice of mind faded, the aspect of the time tunnel turned back into normal. But there’s something different. The vision Card showed them the scene taking place in the ancient time. “Jesus. Sunlight is coming out from behind the moon in no time,” Geso widened his eyes.
“So-called diamond ring, at the end of the solar eclipse,” Syaoran asked to make sure, when the middle-aged wizard was upset. However, Sakura nodded smiling as she said, “I know. We’ll be back in time, Geso. Don’t be afraid.”
“Sakura, is it me, but you’re saved by...” Syaoran talked to Sakura.
“Yes, Antie came to help me,” Sakura replied with a smile, “So we can go home now.” When Sakura held the sealing wand the enchanted balls popped out from Syaoran and Geso and they floated above them. “We are time tripper! Take us back to the future, where we belong! Release!” In response to Sakura’s chant, the two ball started soaring with glow, Sakura and the others followed the lead.
Dawn light shone on the guardians who had kept concentrating their forces all night. Particularly, Eriol was exhausted. “Eriol, don’t push yourself!” Kaho cried to Eriol. “Just a little more. They’ll be back in no time...” he replied getting down on his knees, however, his staff was still glowing.
“Keep going,” Fujitaka walked to the boy wizard.
“You are...” Eriol was surprised to know who talked to him.
“I am your other self,” Fujitaka replied, “I’ll help you.” When he gave Eriol a helping hand the halo of magic got even stronger, as the guradians gained more powers in response. “Sakura is coming back, looking for the light from this staff... Here she comes!”
At this moment, the time tunnel emitted tremendous intensity of light up beyond the sky. Now the time trippers were returning. Two enchanted balls came out first, Sakura and Syaoran showed up, and then the plush doll hasted Geso, who was practically exhausted, out of the tunnel.
“Here they came. Let’s go,” Iyo from Yakoku took her dearest young man to the Cardcapror who just came back, to see the friends who lived with the same feeling.
“Change! Time! Shield!” In response to Sakura’s chant, the three Sakura Cards on top of the hill were released, and their power encircled Sakura and Syaoran, and Iyo and Dai. They were lifted up in the air and their spirits came back into theirselves, while a big magic circle was glowing. “Welcome back. Thank you for taking care of the folks,” Iyo dressed in a torn-out skirt whispered a gratefulness to Sakura wearing a pretty dress tailored by Tomoyo. On the other hand, Dai dressed in Kantoi offered his hand to shake to Syaoran in Li family’s ceremonial robe.
“I thank you, Syaoran.”
“Is it OK? That wound...” Syaoran worried about Dai’s injure.
“That’s OK. The rest of my life is to be dedicated to Iyo,” the ancient boy replied.
Old Masaki was watching what was happening in the excavation site from up the president’s room, not knowing how extraordinary thing was going on below him. He said in tears of happiness, “Welcome back, Sakura. And good-bye, Iyo.”
The magic circle began shrinking. The gurdians nearly ran out of their magic. Iyo and Dai walk to the edge of the time tunnel, and turned to Sakura and Syaoran. “I must apologize to you. I made... a fatal...” Iyo lowered her face and mumbled.
“Don’t say that. People in your country are waiting for you to be back. I love you and the folks,” Sakura said with a smile. “Me too!” the Hope said an agreement. Iyo bashfully shook hands with the plushy, and then turned around to dive into the time tunnel with her dearest young man.
The sun rose, and everything on the hill came into vision colorfully, while morning fog showed everything illusional.
“Now we’re back,” Syaoran said to Sakura.
“Yeah, but it’s the start.”
To his surpirse, Sakura turned to him, and closed her eyes waiting for his next action. He could hear his own heart racing, losing control of his breath, but then he held her by the shoulder.
“I don’t want you to make out in front of me,” Touya interrupted.
“Hoeeeeee!”
Sakura and Syaoran found themselves watched by everybody around them.
“Hey, boy and girl. You’ve got to lot of things to study, I guess,” Kaho chuckled. What she just said was right.