Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ The Forbidden Cards ❯ Seal Cards: Corruption of Silence ( Chapter 4 )

Title: The Forbidden Cards

Subtitle: Seal Cards: Corruption of Silence

Author: Matthias Engel aka MysticMew

Feedback: Solarsenshi@gmx.de

(Plot) Beta: Ayrki

Status: Alpha

Fandom: Card Captor Sakura (manga), Slayers, Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon (minor implications)

Rating: PG-13

Category: Romance, Action/Adventure, slight Crossover elements

Pairing: Sakura/Tomoyo

Timeline: Hard to pinpoint, begins years after the manga and then… well, you'll see. This story is part of the Soul Lights Continuum.

Summary: An older Sakura makes a fateful decision that will not affect only her lives but in the long run that of the whole planet and more.

Distribution: Soul Lights Continuum (http://sl.catstrio.de), Shoujo Ai.com (www.shoujoai.com), ff.net (www.fanfiction.net), Mediaminer (www.mediaminer.org), Moonlit Nights (http://jrem.net/moonlit/tsFics.html) others may follow. If you like this fic for your story, please tell me, I'm not likely to put stones in your way, but I like to know where it goes.

Legal Disclaimer: This story features two females romantically involved. If that is illegal where you are or entirely not your thing, turn around and leave now.

Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and assorted companies, I claim no right on the characters and original storyline, neither do I claim any right on the small crossover elements in this story, they belong to their respective owners.

Story Disclaimer: Seal Cards: Corruption Silence(c)2003 by Matthias Engel

Note: Names in () indicate the POV. If there is no name the scene is written in third person.

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Foreword

Not much to say. The last part in the Forbidden Cards series. Takes up directly after the first part of Seal Cards (Epitomes of Love). Next in line will be the BSSM pre-story though that one will also have slight Crossover indications, so if you want to stay for the whole ride you might want to look out for it.

I hope you've got some time, it turned out to be a longer part than originally intended…. Not that that is something new for the little terror…

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M&M DreamWorks Presents

The Forbidden Cards

Seal Cards: Corruption of Silence

A Soul Lights Side Story

Based on the works of CLAMP

Card Captor Sakura(c)CLAMP

Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon(c)Takeuchi Naoko

Slayers(c)Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi

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(Sakura)

To describe exactly what the place looked like I would have to assume that the observer had to possess not only magical sight but also a fine understanding of the different layers of reality. On first glance all you might see was a field of orange-gold light, shining with the intensity that had you thinking you were right in the center of a sun. Yet, it wasn't actually blinding. Bright, yes. Even brighter than the human eye should be able to handle but at the same time gentle, filled with a certain harmony that inspired awe.

I, with my limited skill, felt tiny in comparison to the sheer beauty of the place. This was much more magnificent than the experience of Love's simple energy output reflected on the outside world. Much like in a mother's womb I felt sheltered from the tainted world outside. The absolute purity of emotion was overwhelming. However, compared to our reaction outside to this increase in positive feelings, here I was at total peace, not compiled to act in certain ways. I basked in the ultimate experience of love, sinking into its embrace.

Glancing over at Tomoyo, I noticed that she was equally overwhelmed. Wherever exactly we were, we had left Time's safety bubble behind and I didn't quite believe that it would have survived in here. I was a little perplexed actually to see Tomoyo. My actions of the last moments had been like watching a movie of myself. In a way it was me acting but in another I also was only watching my body move. I had realized on a certain level that I couldn't just simply capture Love, that this wasn't the right way and that there had to be a different approach. And I knew deep down that we had to face Love together. As a couple bond by her own element.

Before either of us could speak, a faint glimmer attracted our attention. Turning towards the white sparkle of light I watched it brighten, expanding slightly. Slowly the shape of the card's sprite form became visible. I had seen it before but this time the features were much more defined. Golden-blond hair ran down the woman's back. She wore a simple yet elegant orange dress and her eyes sparkled a clear blue so enticingly beautiful that I felt the urge to kneel in humbleness, unworthy of that creature's attention. This was fascinating, none of the card's spiritual forms ever had been so vivid, so human… No, human didn't sound right. The woman seemed more like a goddess actually. A goddess that was incredibly lonely…

Love looked at us with a warm smile that made my heart skip a beat. Cocking her head slightly to the side she seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, then her eyes brightened in obvious recognition. Yet the greeting was not exactly as I expected. "Greetings, Lina-dono, Amelia-dono. I had not expected you here."

I blinked and traded a glance with Tomoyo who mirrored my own confusion. "Excuse us but I think you are mistaking…"

Love laughed lightly and the sound was angelic to the ears. I realized that a lot of those effects were due to the fact we were in her realm of power. It had been similar with Time. Outside the sealing chamber her presence didn't seem to be so enormous all the time. "Oh, I know, I know. I apologize for that. It appears you are not awakened yet."

Awakened? What the…? My surprise must have been visible since Love let go of another giggle, echoing throughout the surreal space.

"Ah, don't worry about it. The time will come that you understand. Now though. I understand that you are Clow's successor and therefore technically my new Mistress." I nodded a little dumbly, still not quite grasping what exactly the words of the card's sprite had done to me. I had felt something stir inside of me at her words. Faint, tiny and almost impossible to notice but it was there.

Love's happy, smiling expression didn't change but her tone of voice did as she continued. "Clow was a fool. If it wasn't for him, the Feared One would not be on the verge of breaking through our seal. He gave us form and therefore made us targets for her power. This form is limiting and it is only a matter of time before the Feared One will be able to take advantage of the disrupted flow," she stated bitterly. I could guess without a problem who the "Feared One" was supposed to be and the confirmation that my worst fears were proving true sent a shiver down my spine.

"But Sakura-chan isn't like Clow! I'm sure she can fix things! She always does!" I turned a surprised look at Tomoyo and felt a wave of pride wash through me. The lavender-haired girl stared at Love intently, silently daring her to challenge the statement. She didn't seem to shy away from the otherworldly being but instead stood up for her faith in me. I really didn't deserve someone so incredible like her but I would certainly cherish that gift forever.

Love didn't seem to mind the outburst at all. Instead her features softened even more as she regarded Tomoyo with a look, searching her eyes for some sort of confirmation for a moment, then turned back to me. "No, she is not like Clow. I could tell from the very first moment." The blue eyes flashed for a moment and I shrunk a little under the intense gaze. "So, what will you do now that you stand before me. What will you do to fix what Clow has damaged?"

The question was genuine and honestly curious… and it took me totally off guard. I had not planned on any of this happening now. Yes, I had devoted so much time to search for the Seal Cards but hadn't actually given much thought to what exactly I wanted to do if I found them. They were the center of what held the seal on Pandora together after all and I couldn't just remove them without endangering the whole planet. I felt foolish at not really having thought about that, about rushing into this without a decent plan of action. And right now I wasn't quite sure how to answer Love's question.

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(Tomoyo)

Sakura was clearly struggling with an answer to Love's question. I could tell she hadn't given it much thought which surprised me a little. Other than in her earlier childhood the Sakura of now was much more focused on her actions. What she did, she did with purpose. I should know since I had been treated to some of the happier moments that showed this change. Then again. Sakura also carried some great grief over everything that was tied to the current situation with her. And grief often served to easily cloud your common sense and rational judgment.

I had thought about it myself for a while after Sakura revealed that bit of her timeline to me. When we were younger I had always tried to help out the brunette with her problems, trying to ease some of the weight off of her shoulders. She had often been so innocent and with such a pure heart that it was hard for her to come up with how to deal with serious situations that called for the possibility of hurting someone in the process if the decision she made was the wrong one… or especially the situation where someone would likely get hurt nonetheless.

Sakura now was no longer afraid or incompetent to make these decision on her own which she showed quite impressively about four years ago - more or less relatively seen. Yet, I knew what a deep emotional scar the events of her timeline had left on my girlfriend. As much as she tried - successfully for the most part - to be cheerful for me and everyone else. So, although I did not know all the details - that much I was sure of - I had been thinking about the situation, trying to help Sakura in those small ways. I had somehow anticipated that moment might come and she might need my support then.

Thinking had sparked some ideas but also some questions that needed to be answered first. And so, gathering my courage - since I was still rather impressed and awed by the sudden transition from the real world into this… other realm - I spoke up quietly, "Can I ask a question?"

Both Love and Sakura turned to me, the latter raising an eyebrow a bit surprised while the former merely smiled and nodded. Taking this as a "Yes" I managed to bring my jumbled thoughts into some sort of order. "Sakura-chan told me that by creating you and the other card Clow made a mistake. I take it he was… aware of it because he put you… um, here." I gestured around us, not quite sure where exactly we were other than inside the seal which for some reason didn't sound appropriate enough for me. Love nodded. "Well," I asked tentatively, "I don't mean to offend your existence but… Couldn't Clow just have… returned you to what you were before?"

At that Sakura also looked visibly curious and turned a questioning glance towards Love. The sprite looked a tad bit miffed at the question, obviously not really happy with the reply she was about to give. "That is a hard question to answer. You must understand that when Clow created us he invented an art of magic lore previously unheard of in such quality. In the old days - which have been long lost to human history - magic was drawn upon directly and so were the elements. They were used temporally. Clow, however, bound an element to an inanimate object, giving both the object and the element an independent personality in a way. That is what you see as our human-like appearance. We are a small portion of the larger thing but we can also interact and draw upon the flow of elemental power that we were once a part of. A lot like an Elemental but we are not as natural." Love paused, waiting for us to absorb this. I saw that Sakura seemed to have less trouble following while I had a hard time comprehending all of this. The gist of it wasn't lost on me though and I nodded to Love to continue.

"When Clow created his first set of cards he bound a great amount of already pre-bound elemental flows - a mistake he did thankfully not repeat with the cards you own now - and by doing so unknowingly tapped into us who we have made up the seal for ancient times. I cannot really fault him since our nature is already complicated as it is and he must not have understood exactly what we there. The problem is that after creating us, he disrupted the flow of the seal. Yes, he did try to return the elements after realizing that grievous mistake. But Clow was a Black Mage for the most part. I do not mean that he was evil but he believed more in power and the use of dark magic for his purpose and that magic is also easier to force things rather than to patiently coax a power into doing one's will. And you cannot force healing. So fixing something, returning what he took by force, was much harder for him than the initiate action. Simply put, he put so much effort into creating us that with his personal affiliation it was impossible for him to simply undo it again." Love sighed mournfully. "He put us into the seal the way we are now to try and reduce the damage. But the Feared One is quite patient and we will not be able to hold her off much longer. Does that answer your question?"

I nodded, my mind hard at work to process all this but I had gotten the answer to what I needed to know indeed. "Is it still possible to return the flow now?" I caught Sakura's eyes light up in the beginning of comprehension and smiled at her faithfully.

Love considered the question for a moment. "I would believe so, given the right circumstances. Why?"

At this point Sakura intervened. "I think I get where Tomo-chan is going. Clow's reincarnation said I was already much stronger than he was and my power is different from his, so is the way I treat the rest of the cards. I… I don't know if I can do it but if… if it's possible..." She looked down at her feet, almost appearing a little meek but I could tell from her posture and slightly shaking hands how much she wished to be able to make that difference.

"I am certain Sakura-chan can make it," I put in reassuringly, squeezing my girlfriend's hand tightly. Sakura flashed me a grateful smile.

Love smiled faintly but for the first time you could really tell it was fake. There was a deep melancholy in the sprite's eyes and once again I could see that soul-shattering loneliness. "Something is happening right now. My mate has left her path and moves into a specific direction. I was worried that is why I moved as well to meet her."

"Mate?" I asked curiously. It was obvious Love was referring to the second card but the choice of word stroke me as odd.

"In ancient times before the seal was created our power belonged to those that eventually fueled it into this layer. They were soul mates, so to say, and we are more or less mirror images of our former selves." A troubled look crossed her beautiful features and I could hardly think of anything else that had ever looked so out of place. "I do not doubt your abilities," Love addressed Sakura, "but if you claim me now, you must seek my mate with utmost haste or I fear the seal will break before the next sunrise. I do not know what happened to Silence but I worry for her well-being…" My heart reached out to the gentle sprite, looking so fragile and vulnerable at the moment. Not knowing what happened to her beloved had to be a terrible experience.

I glanced at Sakura who had her eyes closed for a moment before moving forward with an expression of firm resolve in her face. I had seen it so often before but every time it fascinated me anew. Gently taking the sprite's hands in her own, Sakura smiled at her gently. "This is why I am here. I understand now about the consequences of unsealing Time." Love gasped at that. "I know now that this is what I was meant to do, why I am here now. I will set you free, both of you, that I promise." For a moment card and Card Mistress looked at each other and after almost a full minute - though I could not be sure how the passage of time was handled here - Love gave a slight nod. Sakura let go of her hands and stepped - or better floated - back slightly, never letting her gaze leave that of the card's spiritual form. Her star wand reappeared in her right hand from wherever it had gone and she brought it forward in a smooth but not at all forceful motion. "Return to your original form," the brunette almost whispered, "Clow Card."

Somehow the whole thing was rather anti-climatic for a card that powerful. But then again, the real challenge was still to come.

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(Sakura)

An hour later our small - relatively seen - yacht dropped anchor at one of the small island in the middle of the archipelago. Otousan pointed out that those small islands were not on any chart and Sonomi declared that she hadn't seen them until we were almost at shore. My suspicion was that all those small isles were either protected by a strong field of illusion or not entirely in the same dimension as ours. I didn't know that much about dimensional theory but I wouldn't exclude the possibility. Not that the issue was really relevant in light of the situation.

"It's almost dusk already," I commented, looking over the small isle roughly a few miles in diameter. It would probably not take long to walk from one end to the other - even less flying. The most imposing landmark was the single mountain, rather thin but probably higher than the whole island. Up at the peak I could sense the unmistakable power of the second Seal Card. Silence.

"It's up there," Tomoyo stated my thoughts quietly, making everyone look at her in surprise. Except me that is. Quite frankly I had only been mildly surprised that there obviously was some sort of magical gift inside my girlfriend. I had felt it on occasions before, especially during our… mating. While the intensity had me focused on other things more interesting I knew that feeling from Syaoran and my lovemaking on my timeline. In those moments you were the most exposed and your magic could run wild. No, I wasn't really surprised. More like curious since her magic seemed so different from my own. Older somehow, which might be a good explanation why neither of us had sensed anything yet. Ever since… claiming Love - it wasn't like I really had to return her to her original form since it wasn't really wild to begin with - the magic around Tomoyo was actually tangible.

To my surprise someone else put the general surprise into words. "I am surprised you can see it."

I blinked, turning sideways. That voice… Clad in long white and green Chinese robes a young boy around Tomoyo and my age had stepped up to our group. Unlike the ten-year old or the boy who once held my heart on my old timeline he had his brown hair tied into a ponytail falling lightly over one shoulder. A sword was stripped to the simple belt and he wore an expression that was hard to read.

"Syaoran-kun," I whispered, a bit dumbstruck, rather floored by his sudden appearance. I had been so concentrated on what lay ahead off me that I had not even sensed his presence and therefore was not quite prepared for the conflicting emotions his appearance managed to stir in my heart. Those lasted only for a moment though. It surprised me a little how quickly I managed to get my feelings under control yet the last months - even if a bit under Love's influence - I had come to the unmistakable realization that my feelings for Tomoyo went far beyond what I had ever felt for Syaoran. And therefore, even before my girlfriend could react to his presence in any possible manner, I had reached out, lacing my fingers through her own and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Sakura," Syaoran nodded, his voice not betraying his stoic demeanor for any other than me who got to know him pretty well in all the years we - well, his other self and I - had spent together. He did notice the clear gesture obviously and there was the barest hint of sadness, gone the next moment, but I was sure about its existence. That couldn't be helped though.

"Where are many types of magic that Clow's family didn't even know about. You shouldn't be that surprised," I answered his question. "Excuse my bluntness. Not that I am not… happy to see you again but I am kind of in a hurry. While I can guess part of it already, why are you here?"

Syaoran sighed and glanced up towards where Tomoyo had pointed. "Yes, it is quite obvious, isn't it. my mother and I both felt the disturbance in the seal's flow when Silence passed over China. I followed it all the way until here. It's been hovering there for the better part of an hour already, doing… well, nothing."

I raised an eyebrow at Syaoran's obvious knowledge about the seal since the one of my timeline had only learned about it from his mother when there was little to do anymore. Something we both had been quite angry about. "So, your mother let you in on Clow's dirty, little secret, huh?"

With a shrug the Chinese boy turned back to me. "Only the most necessary I am afraid. You seem to know what is going on for some reason though, so why don't you tell me?"

Turning away I started to walk in the general direction of the mountain. "I don't have time to stand around. If you want to come along we can talk while walking." Glancing back at the rest of my family I asked, "Maybe you should wait here. This is going to be dangerous enough."

Touya, as expected, wanted to protest, being the overprotective brother he always had been and still was most of the time, but Otousan was faster. "I saw a small building, looked like a shrine, at the base of the mountain. Maybe we should go there first. I'm sure there is a reason for a shrine to in the middle of an obviously uninhabited island."

Syaoran nodded in agreement. "I spotted it too. But I wanted to wait for you before checking it out. Maybe it has some meaning for what is going on. What do you think, Sakura?"

I traded a brief look with Tomoyo. The reasoning was logical. If a battle ensured, I wasn't sure about the effects. A building might provide more shelter than staying out at the open or in the ship. I really had not wanted to pull all of my assembled family along into this but that option was taken from me. Love had been clear about it that I couldn't return the flows individually. I had to have both cards to make this work and there was only a short time limit in between. I could have send them back with the ship and use Fly, of course. On the other hand I had no idea how much magic I had to spend in resealing the seal.

There was not much helping it, as it seemed. "Alright. Let's go."

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(Tomoyo

To say that Syaoran was shocked to learn how exactly it had come to the turning point in our lives about four years ago would have been an understatement. A big understatement. He was, I noted, quite furious at his mother for not telling him more about the seal but I suppose that was really not something the proud family of Clow's descendants liked to talk about. Also there was no telling how much Syaoran's mother really knew and how much she was just pretending to.

I kept silent most of the way, letting Sakura explain. Yes, I was pretty surprised at seeing the Chinese boy here but after all that happened, especially under Love's gentle coaxing, I wasn't about to suddenly turn into a jealous, mistrusting bitch just because my girlfriend's ex-boyfriend turned up without warning. Going back and reviewing that last thought I had to suppress a giggle in spite of the serious situation. That sounded rather awful.

That's just it though. The situation was serious. I should have known better than to think it would be that easy. Of course Sakura couldn't just claim the two Seal Cards one by one and return the flow in a similar fashion. They were like Light and Dark. Always bonded together. If it was even possible to return one power flow by itself, the result could very well be a greater disharmony as there had been through Clow's meddling. Now Sakura only had a few hours to catch the other card and return the seal's old strength. I wasn't one to doubt her ability to pull that off but the time limit was rather thin. Therefore it was necessary that all of us concentrated on the task at hand, not losing ourselves in personal quarrels.

I was seriously glad that Yue had turned back to Yukito for the moment who managed to divert Touya's attention quite nicely. The older Kinomoto sibling kept throwing dark glances in Syaoran's direction, giving me the idea that the tension between him and the Chinese mage was not necessarily because of Sakura. They just simply didn't like it each other.

I was amazed at how… relaxed the rest of the family took all this. Especially Sakura's father and Okaasan. They had obviously gotten the hint very quickly that keeping distraction at bay for the moment was the best thing to do. For Sakura and everyone else. This was the first time all of us have been card hunting together, especially our parents. It might have been involuntary but that couldn't be helped right now. And seeing all this loyalty and support my heart fluttered at the thought that I was an accepted part of this family.

The sun had already disappeared behind the mountain, beginning to sink into the ocean behind it at any given time now. There were a few stars already visible in the sky. I felt a little tired but didn't want to complain right now. It was apparent Sakura wouldn't get any rest before sunrise and I would be there with her all the way. I always had been and always would be. There might not be much that I could do but Sakura herself had said that she depended on my support and faith for her strength. And if that was how I could help, I had sworn that I would always be there to give Sakura a reason to show her beautiful strength.

"Hey, look! That must be it!" Kero-chan cried out from the front of our small group. He had taken the lead with Touya and Yukito, the adults behind them and then the three of us in order to give Sakura and Syaoran some time to talk… and to keep Touya and Syaoran out of each others' hairs. That arrangement had more or less worked since Okaasan and Fujitake-tousan had taken to give each other flustered and embarrassed looks instead of verbally bringing up what had happened under Love's influence. I doubted there really was any hidden feelings there. That was quite frankly impossible. Sakura had explained that Love sends out positive emotion. Feelings like jealousy - and in a way you could call it that, at least from Okaasan's part - were more or less also emotions associated with Love. What the card's power did was take that emotion and more or less return the opposite much stronger. I wasn't sure though if Sakura just said that for our parents piece of mind alone.

At Kero's shout I tore my eyes away from Sakura and Syaoran who had stopped talking as well. The temple was hard to miss at first glance. Built under a ledge that covered the whole building in shadows. The design was quite unfamiliar to me and I was pretty sure the structure was one of its kind in the world. Dark blue stone sustained thick pillars who were built side by side in a way that it was rather impossible to actually pass through in between. At the sides the structure widened, stretching out to both sides like wings of some gigantic creature. There was a single entrance with something resembling a golden eye looking down at those who dared approach it. I really would like to know about the building's material and I was quite sure that eye was some form of crystal that was worth a lot of money.

"Quite impressive," Okaasan stated as we all came to a stop at the base of the few stairs leading up to the entrance. "Looks rather lonely to me. I doubt someone is living out here."

Sakura's father shook his head at this, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know. This place looks old and it is too clean and well taken care of to be abandoned." I had to agree with him on that one. The shrine looked neat and without a spot of cobwebs or dust, no debris lying around either.

"Someone's coming," Sakura said and everyone stiffened automatically. I noticed Syaoran sending Sakura a surprised look at the statement but couldn't quite fathom why. Didn't he sense anything at all? I knew I was new to that kind of thing and if I could feel the presence then he should as well.

I didn't have time to give that much more thought since whoever Sakura and I had sensed coming was just appearing in the entrance. The woman's features were striking. Clad in a white and blue traditional miko robe, with long blond-golden hair falling over her back, and enchanting blue eyes. Compared to Love's sprite form though this woman looked… older. Wiser, might be a better word. Her whole appearance spoke of a long lifespan and great experience collected in her years. But just like Love there was also a certain loneliness. It was harder to see than in the card's eyes but nevertheless was there. And while Love's loneliness had touched me I felt a heavy sadness tightening around my heart for a brief moment inspired from that of the woman. Something familiar and in a way compassionate that shouldn't be possible for strangers.

Were we strangers? That was a more logical question than one might think because the moment I had seen the woman there was that undeniable feeling that I should… that I DID know her. That was absurd, of course, since I had always had a good memory and would surely have recognized someone as impressive as her. Yet I could not deny those feelings and this only served to really confuse me.

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(Sakura)

Long blond hair, like a waterfall cascading down the back of a subtly powerful body. Blue eyes deep and enchanting. A lot like Tomoyo's at times but still different in their own way. They stroke a feeling of familiarity in my heart that was so strong it shook my very worldview. For a moment the older, wise but in a way rather lonely face was overlapped by something younger, more innocent, more kind and… happy. For a moment it was as if there was only me and that woman, our bodies pressed together, our lips…

What the heck?!

The image had sent a shock through my system that managed to bring me out of whatever weird trance I had been in. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what exactly just happened there. It wasn't a fantasy. I didn't fantasize about other girls - especially strangers - like that. I had Tomoyo, I was perfectly happy with Tomoyo. In fact seeing and talking with Syaoran again had not changed a single thing about it. The feelings I once held for him had subsided. Some kind of love would forever be there. But it was dull and - as painfully as it sounded - negligible compared to the fulfillment being with Tomoyo gave me. But the feelings that had erupted in my heart for just a brief moment at this… this… image… they were almost just as strong. It didn't feel like a mind-produced possibility. It felt like… a memory.

And that was rather disturbing, to say the least.

"Welcome, I have been expecting you, Lina-san, Amelia-san," the voice of the woman shook me completely out of my momentary shock. She bowed her head respectfully and smiled up at me almost… apologetic.

I was seriously glad that Tomoyo for some reason had also been intently focused on the woman because I was pretty sure she could have SEEN all that had went through my head just now with but a glance. She had always been able to do that. Also I was glad that although my girlfriend… mate, I corrected myself mentally - feeling a need to put an emphasis on our relationship -, was equally captivated by the blond-haired shrine keeper - I presumed -, Tomoyo was still able to formulate words. An ability I didn't feel quite content about right now. "That is funny. This is the second time someone called us that. Love did so, too…" Tomoyo trailed off but her words struck me as true and a wild thought entered my mind just then.

What did Love say? We were not "awakened" yet? I've read a bit about reincarnation. Heck, Eriol was living proof for the whole thing. I knew through some brief acquaintances in my future, when everything went to hell, that there were a lot of people on this planet who were quite aware of a former life, even drawing power and knowledge from it. Was that what Love meant? Could this be what I just experienced? A flashback of some former life? I didn't really want to think about it but quite frankly the names used by both Love and the stranger sounded… right somehow.

"I am sorry. As is true for Love's current form, my mind still lingers in the past sometimes." The woman smiled, yet it was a sad, wistful smile. One that made me feel… guilty somehow. It almost confirmed my theory. The smile quickly faded to a more serious expression, one that told of years… heck, probably centuries of experience. "My apologies again. My name is Filia. Before you ask. Yes, I am quite aware of why you are here and what is going on. We have little time indeed but there are things that I would wish you to know. If you would please follow me." She gestured towards the shrine entrance behind her.

Numbly I felt myself follow, grasping Tomoyo's hand tightly as if to reassure myself that she wasn't going to disappear. I had the feeling that whatever those things were that Filia - the name stirred something in my heart as well - wanted us to know would start a chain of events that might jeopardize everything that I worked so hard to achieve. That somehow it would disturb the relationship between Tomoyo and me.

She must have felt it because while we walked through a series of hallways, the lavender-haired girl next to me had moved a lot closer, her presence managing to calm myself down enough to think rationally again. Well, as rationally as possible in this situation. A situation that was quickly spinning out of control. Everything happened so fast, one shock after another. This was a turning point in our lives. A nexus of events to come. I could feel it. Whatever was done and discussed here on this island tonight would have an impact on the future. A heavy impact. And everyone seemed to feel it somehow because they mostly kept quiet, just the occasional question directed at our guide regarding the age of the structure or if she lived here all by herself. From which both answers only strengthened my rebirth theory.

Really, for the rest of us the whole thing was probably just confusing. They were pulled along by the tidal wave Love's capture - or was it even further back than that? - had started. They could probably feel the rising tension and that something important was happening. But without a sufficiently trained magical sense… When I was just beginning all this, I doubt I would have sensed the coming - practically inevitable - change. But now I did. I saw that from Syaoran's somewhat grim expression he did too to some extent. Yet, I was pretty sure it didn't touch him as much as it did… us. Yes, us. From what I could see Tomoyo was deep in thought as well, trying to figure all this out. She was probably feeling now what I would have felt about twelve years ago - including two senses of time.

And for some reason that DID reassure me. We were in on this together, somehow. There were ties between us even outside of this life. And I could FEEL these ties were strong.

After walking for a bit, we reached a bigger chamber. Not really gigantic but the vibe I got from this room was of high importance and a sense of nostalgia. The presence from the young woman was rather active here. Heck, I wasn't even sure about her age. This Filia was a complete mystery to me. I couldn't get anything detailed from her aura. Her shields were nearly perfect, just showing glimpses of emotion on the outside every now and then. And I knew it took a very long time to hone your mental defenses like that.

My observation was cut short though as my gaze settled on the interior of the room. Well… What was inside the room was rather sparse. More important were the various… pictures lining the wall. It was hard to describe them with proper terms because I'm not sure those terms existed in this time period. They seemed futuristic somehow, a bit like holograms, but also had a sort of ancient touch. Like paintings, or wall drawings. They actually looked like they were part of the wall.

There were so many I had a hard time deciding where to look first, awed by the vividness of the pictures. There were a few though that caught my eye immediately and… well, not really surprised me. There were some of Her, making it painfully clear that this was some kind of memorial of a time long past. Probably of the time when Pandora was first imprisoned.

What drew my attention like a moth to the flame though was a single picture, showing three young woman standing in a sort of triangle around an enormous structure, in poses of deep concentration. There were auras of power drawn around them. But that didn't really interest me right away. Those figures were familiar, so damn familiar. A woman in long robes with a staff and purple hair that I couldn't immediately place but knew deep down that she was… had been… important to me… us. A slightly younger woman who carried a somewhat child-like experience in white garb with a white cape and a necklace. She had shorter, black hair with a few purple highlights running through it. Her eyes, her eyes were much like… no, EXACTLY like Tomoyo's. And then there was the redheaded one. The most striking of the three. Dressed in similar clothing as the other two with a black cape I felt like looking in a mirror. Outwardly there were a lot of difference between her and me but still I just knew that…

"Is that…" I whispered, speaking up for the first time since meeting Filia at the entrance and getting here. "… us?"

******************************

(Tomoyo)

"Is that… us?"

Sakura's words shattered the tranquil atmosphere that had settled on the group since reaching the island. In the empty hallways of the shrine the silence had become more than just a little uneasy. Barely bearable. More like suffocating actually. At any other given time I would have enjoyed the rich style of art with which the shrine was built, its true beauty kept more to the inside than the outside. I would have been excited, would have loved to ask more questions…

But they were inappropriate. And deep down I knew that those things were irrelevant. They simply did not matter right now. Not only because of the current situation that was still looming over our heads like the Grim Reaper's glaive. No, that wasn't all there was to it. I couldn't explain it. I lacked the words or Sakura's understanding of the mythical. I did not have her experience. But I KNEW that there was something much bigger going on here. Sakura's unease was evident and even a totally insensitive jerk could have seen it.

And now that feelings actually had a name. And the feelings Sakura's statement evoked were confusing, conflicting even. I realized that I had been staring at the exact same picture for the entire time, trying to figure out why those three woman looked so familiar and why my mind constantly tried to draw associations to Filia and Love's manner of address. However, a part of me was SCARED of that association. And to a degree that was because that part KNEW that the association was TRUE.

"Nani?" Syaoran exclaimed next to us, looking incredulous. "You don't mean…"

"Yes. This shrine was built in memory of a war that took place a very, very long time ago. And yes, you Kinomoto Sakura, as well as you Daidouji Tomoyo were a part of this war. At least your past lives have been as I am sure you have figured out by now." Even before the woman named Filia confirmed Sakura's statement, I knew it was that way. There was no denying it and doing so would only do more harm than good. That much I was certain of.

"Is this from when the seal was made," Kero-chan asked from his place on Yuki… Yue's shoulder - darn, he really unnerved me with those changes sometimes. Kero's voice had grown deeper, more like his true self. More serious. For the first time I tore my gaze away from the picture of the three woman and noticed in various others the presence of a sinister vaguely female figure, often accompanied by an aura of evil that seemed to be alive, tangible in this artificial state. Sakura had never given me a clear description of how this Pandora looked, but there was no doubt that this had to be her.

Filia nodded solemnly. She glanced at Sakura for a moment before launching into the tale and I really wished I wasn't so damn observant all the time. I could deal with Syaoran's looks directed at my girlfriend. It was to be expected that their was sadness, pain and probably some jealousy too. I could deal with that because Sakura had made her choice between us. But the same things that I saw in Syaoran's covered glances, it was there with the older woman too. Yet with Filia it was to a degree as much wistful as it was almost painfully intense. And what really got to me was that as hard as I wanted to be jealous, I couldn't be. Because some part of me knew this woman and this part just couldn't harbor any negative feelings towards her. It was confusing and frustrating and…

I shoved it to the back of my mind, reminding myself that there were more important things to deal with right now. Besides, Sakura had been rather adamant about her faithfulness on more than one occasion. I had nothing to fear for the moment. I had time to dwell on that later when I knew more and the current mess was dealt with.

"Time is short I know that." Filia looked up briefly out of the huge window above that showed the top of the mountain from where one magically gifted - which all of us except Okaasan were - could see Silence's presence hovering just above the tip. And those dark clouds that were gathering, slowly beginning to cover the Moon's light were more than just unsettling.

"Those clouds aren't natural," I said quietly, more to myself than anyone else. But the quiet surrounding the group carried the words to everyone else without me even meaning them to.

Sakura nodded grimly. "Yes, and it's getting worse. I don't think we have time to stand around here and talk. I really like to know more of this but it has to wait until after I finished what I started. There are only a few hours left. And I seriously have no idea how long this will take."

Filia shook her head. "Please, trust me. You must know all that has happened back then. If not to awaken your past life's memories, then at least to truly know all that is at stake here. This must be hard for you to comprehend but please understand that I will not jeopardize all those years of lonely vigil to see you sacrifice yourself because you did not know all that there needs to be known."

At this I studied the woman incredulously. From how she worded it, it was apparent that with "years" she didn't just mean, say a decade or more. No, it sounded more like she had been around the whole time, ever since the ancient war of which the pictures spoke. And that had to be a very LONG time. A pang of sympathy once again made me aware of how much that woman meant to me… had meant to me once.

Filia turned away from us, glancing at the very picture that had Sakura and my attention captured moments ago and her voice was thick with emotion, lacking that certain element of control that had dominated her whole being for the few minutes I knew her. "I could not stand to see all of this happen again because I failed in my task. So many lives were lost to Her back then. The world must never experience this horror again."

Sakura and I looked at each other and for the first time I really got a good look at my girlfriend's face and how much the whole thing affected her, how much that stranger affected her. And I also saw the fear there, the fear of things to come. But also the knowledge that this was an inevitable event and that she had to eventually face it. We had to eventually face it. I smiled at her reassuringly, briefly reaching up to brush some hair out of her face. Sakura knew I trusted her but as was the case so often she wasn't sure she was worth that trust. An unspoken understanding passed between us and Sakura slowly nodded.

Whatever happened or had happened in the past, it was never going to destroy us. There was simply no turning back now after the events of just a few hours ago. The love that was between us was as vibrant as before and it would not weaken by whatever was to come in the future.

Sakura turned back to Filia. "Alright," she said softly. "Then please tell us everything." She paused briefly, then added, "Anything that is needed to know."

******************************

(Filia)

I had been ready for that meeting. I had been forewarned by several sources but now that the time was really at hand I felt horribly unprepared, meager and insignificant. Seeing the two girls, even after all this long time still fond in my memory, standing before me again so young and vivid, so… different… I became painfully aware that they were not and probably would never be Lina Inverse and Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune again. My cherished friends and comrades. Their memories would eventually return but their personalities were so different that I could hardly expect them to be the same girls.

Glancing at Sakura out of the corner of my eye, I added mournfully that She would definitely never be the same again. It was ironic but in the way there was not much difference to the situation of the past. I would always be a substitute anyway, as harsh as this might sound and as much as their old selves would probably protest. I never really belonged with them. And yet I had hoped and it was that hope that had kept me sane all these years.

There was no time for that now. I had time to pity myself later. Silence was getting darker and I really didn't want to risk too much by keeping them here any longer than necessary. But even if they succeeded today, it would just be a small victory and they had to be prepared for the coming war. I desperately hoped that it wouldn't come to that, I prayed every day, but yet I knew that ultimately there would be no way to change the inevitable. Just prolong it until they were ready.

Composing myself I nodded at the two girls who were standing rather close together, hand in hand. I hope I could do this well. I was never really good at storytelling and spending most of my time in solitude didn't help that skill any. "Eons ago, in a time long before the current evolution cycle of this planet, the universe was a rather dark place to live in. Life was scarce and lived in constant fear by the various entities and beings of darkness terrorizing the stars everywhere. Nobody knew where she came from, she came literally out of nowhere, wiping out whole civilizations with but a wave of her hand. Or so the stories were told among the stars. She is a being born from the negative side of Chaos. Chaos is what we deem the beginning as much as the end, where we come from and where we will eventually return to. It is neither Good or Evil. She, who was named Pandora, has practically no light in her. She is the embodiment of Darkness. All the negative emotions you can name and even those you can't. Hate, despair, malevolence. The races feared her everywhere."

I paused gauging their reaction slowly. I realized that Li… Sakura must have told them from her own experience already and therefore the faces looking back to me were mostly grim but I could see the fear in the young brunette's eyes and I knew where it stemmed from. I knew very well what that monster was capable of, remembered it vividly even after all that time. Every time I went to sleep I saw the lives lost at her hands and the sacrifices made back then, including theirs and my own. Sad enough that what Sakura had witnessed was just a portion of what that being was really capable of.

I turned around, gesturing at various of the holographic recordings associated with the last big war. "Then Pandora came to us. Earth was a torn planet back then, populated by many creatures who fought each other for dominance. We were rather ignorant for what was going on in the universe and were really not prepared for the terror Pandora brought upon us…"

I moved over to a picture showing a young woman with silver hair bound in two ponytails with a crescent moon on her forehead. Next to her stood a younger girl with a similar hairstyle in blue tones. To the duo's left and right stood three others in their formal warrior uniforms. A blonde with long hair and blue eyes, a dark-haired shorter girl with a menacing-looking glaive and a taller woman with black-green hair and a long staff. From Sakura's reaction I could tell she did recognize the uniforms at least. Not to surprising considering from where she came. They ought to have met.

"However, Earth has always had been a nexus of sorts. The mythical energy filling this planet and especially what is known as the Tokyo area in this time has a high concentration of power that attracts all sorts of gifted mages or other magical individuals. There was one girl who had a heart as pure as Pandora's was black though. She managed to unite as well the gifted as much as the God and Demon races of Earth to stand up to Pandora. A war ensured that was long and bloody. It claimed many deaths." I closed my eyes for a brief moment, trying hard to banish the memories rising to the surface. "But eventually we managed to seal the evil being away in a gigantic effort bringing peace to not only the world but the universe as well."

I finally arrived at the image that - not surprisingly - held the most attention for the two girls who were now listening intently. "Despite all of our efforts the best we could do was seal her away. She was to powerful to just destroy. The seal consisted of two layers to ensure that Pandora would never break free again and terrorize future generations. Those three woman you see here were the most gifted human mages of our time and they used their powers to bind Pandora into her prison between the dimensions. They literally sealed her with their very life force knowing there was no other way and as a result…" I trailed off, for a moment not able to hold my composure. All those millennia had done nothing for my heart to forget that day. It was still as intensely painful as it was back then.

Everyone was silent and Sakura and Tomoyo looked rather uncomfortable, holding each other now more tightly. They were so close. Just like them and in this time there seemed to be no big social complications. I was happy for them. I really was. Even if I had no place in their lives anymore, at least they were happy. I just hoped they would accept Sylphiel when the time came. I could deal with the loneliness, I had done so for thousands of years. She though…

"The three became known as Children of the Seal, their power sustaining the barrier that made Pandora's own useless. As you have guessed already you are two of those three brave girls, reborn in this time."

At this point Sakura interrupted. "Matte, how can we be their rebirth if they… we are supposed to keep the seal in place? And what about the powers that Clow converted into Cards…"

I nodded, the question was to be expected. "The seal consists of two layers. As strong as your previous selves were their power was not unlimited and there were holes in the seal. Tiny but they were. For that reason the warriors of our leader used a portion of their given power and made a second layer. It was supposed to be like a safety net. However, as you said correctly already, when Clow tempered with those powers he disrupted their natural flow. By placing the cards he created back into the seal most of the damage was repaired but the seal wasn't flawless anymore. I can only guess but I suppose that might be the reason why you were reborn and why you have become the new Card Mistress. Because no one else could possibly be able to undo the damage. The sealing power is still active, inside of you. You are not aware of it but your mere presence is sustaining the inner seal."

Of course that also meant that they had become less untouchable by Pandora and I had the feeling that Sakura at least understood that as well. Neither of us said a thing though. There was no need to cause even more troubled feelings as it was.

******************************

(Sakura)

I found the whole story strangely familiar. As if I really had been there. Well, given that what Filia just told us was the truth - and I could just tell it was - I HAD been there. At least my past self. I wondered if I had dreams about it sometimes that I didn't remember after waking up in the morning. That happened sometimes. As the Card Mistress my dreams usually were vivid and I remembered most of them, as stupid as they might be. I had gotten used to that. Sometimes though I could try as I might but I couldn't remember what I dreamed about, similar to the dream about Clow all those years ago. But with Clow I at least had a feeling that I did dream something important. Yet, at those occasions there was practically no recollection. I used to pay it not much mind, figuring that even a mage needed some normal dreams at times that faded from memory with the morning light. Now though, now I couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of connection.

A loud thunderclap suddenly vibrated high from the mountain top and made us all look up. Tomoyo flinched a little and I pulled her closer to my body while observing as the dark, unnatural clouds began to block out even the last light of the night above the little isle. I could SEE the dark power at work, I could SEE the horrible wrongness, yet I couldn't quite detect what exactly was going on. Only that it was really, really bad.

I really couldn't just stand around here. Past be damned, I needed to do something!

"As I feared," Filia stated and I turned back to her momentarily. "She is trying to corrupt Silence."

"Corrupt?" Tomoyo echoed and I narrowed my eyes. I really didn't like the sound of that.

"There is nothing you could have done about it," the shrine maiden - or whatever she actually was - said sadly, as if reading my mind. It unnerved me with how much casual skill that woman managed to get past my defenses. There was some sort of strong connection between us in that past life of mine but I had stubbornly pushed it back for the time being. This was not the moment to dwell on those or other such things - I glanced briefly at the picture of the three moment, feeling a pang of longing once again race through me at the vivid portrait of the purple-haired woman…

"You must understand that Silence power is a destructive one. It is not Evil - if you want to use the term - just destructive. A power much closer to the Feared One than that of Love. Love has been the total opposite even though not as powerful in terms of strength and as long as the two powers were in harmony there was not much Pandora could do against them." But now Clow's meddling had separated them by creating magical spirits of their essence. They were no longer in direct, steady contact, I understood at that moment. The pieces began to fall into place and that loneliness I saw in Love's eyes was also making sense.

"Clow gave the power's form, their spiritual bodies are a mirror reflection of their former wielders and since they have a form now on the Astral Plane She can make use of that. It's a long and tenacious process but She seemed to have managed to lure Silence here. Here where the Warrior's layer originated."

Flashes of dark lightning illuminated the sky briefly, an eerie glow of a dark foreboding. "Then I have no time to lose. There's only a few hours left until dawn. Not to mention if Pandora is really trying to break through, I have to do something about it."

"And how will you do that?" Filia asked calmly. The question let me stop in half-turn. Yes, what was I going to do about it? Sure, I had managed to capture Time and Love but they had more or less wanted to be caught. A hostile card as powerful as Silence, possibly blinded, corrupted and even empowered by that beast… Could I really just go in there and… and… yes, what? Catch it? I had no idea what that would do with Pandora controlling the card's spirit. I could accidentally even provide her with a means of escape. That would mean cutting off the influence first. But how should I do that? I knew how powerful that being was and even if her influence was just minor it would cost probably all of my powers. And then I would have no power left to restore the seal in time…

I glanced sideways at Tomoyo who had gently squeezed my hand. "I am sure Sakura-chan will find a solution." I marveled once again at this infinite belief. The words were said with so much conviction that everyone hearing would immediately lose any doubt if they were the truth. Coming from her there was really no question at all. That unconditional trust and love she gave me had always been my silent strength, the fuel for my determination, her love…

Of course!

To Tomoyo's complete surprise I suddenly pulled the lavender-haired girl into a brief but nonetheless deep kiss. I didn't really care about the others right now. I felt so incredibly glad that I had this wonderful, inspiring girl at my side that I just had to show her. I really doubted I wouldn't even be standing here at all if not for her constant support and advise. Even when she didn't really mean to give anyway, she had always inspired me.

Tomoyo blushed, a little flustered, as I released her. "Arigato, Tomoyo-chan. I think I know now what I have to do."

"A-Anytime…" Tomoyo whispered and I couldn't suppress a little smirk at the look on her face.

Someone cleared his throat and I turned to look at Syaoran, looking clearly uncomfortable. I felt a little guilty for doing that in his presence but I really didn't care right now. "If you have a plan, then we should get going," he said seriously, his face schooled into concentrated features.

I was a little amazed at his silent offer but knew that even if things between us had changed, he still wanted to help in some way. And also, he had made all the way here without even knowing that we would probably meet. I could need the help though. I hoped to get this done as peacefully as possible but there was no guarantee for my sketchy plan to work out flawlessly. They rarely did.

I nodded slowly, releasing Tomoyo and turning to the rest. "Alright. Yue you come with me and Syaoran. Kero you stay here with the rest…" I was quick to ward of his protest. "Yue's powers are greater at night. Yes, I could empower you easily but I really don't want to waste more energy than absolutely necessary."

The little stuffed animal pouted but after a short period of holding my gaze, he nodded in defeat. "You are probably right. I wouldn't be of much help."

I motioned for Yue and Syaoran to follow me but was stopped by a gentle hand on my shoulder. I glanced back at Tomoyo's worried face. "I'll be careful, I promise," I stated with the confidence she herself had given me just a few moments ago.

Tomoyo hesitated for a moment, but then spoke up softly. "I… I want to go with you."

I blinked startled at the request. This was not like Tomoyo at all. She would normally never be that unreasonable and reckless. Granted, we hadn't come in any dangerous situations since we got together until now but usually she knew better than to needlessly bring herself into danger, thus distracting me from the actual situation. Therefore my first reaction was to be a vehement denial, however, that look in her blue eyes made me stop. There was something… something that made me reconsider. I had the feeling she had no idea why she made that demand just now. Like an instinct one couldn't really explain.

I thought back on the events of the last hours. Tomoyo had been there than I had confronted Love. For some reason both of us knew that only together it could be done. Tomoyo had clearly developed some sort of magical sense. And after Filia's revelations it was rather obvious that this magic was from her past life. We were in this together. I really didn't like to put her into danger but… The more I thought about it, the feeling grew stronger in me that I absolutely needed her to come with me. If only for her presence, only for her being there and the confidence she managed to always instill within me…

Closing my eyes briefly, I made a choice.

******************************

(Tomoyo)

Grasping tightly onto Sakura this time it had not much to do with seeking closeness since I was much more concerned with holding on for dear life. This really was a stupid idea, I mused for the thousandth time. Not that Sakura actually agreeing with me was a much better idea, I added. I had really not been sure why I insisted to tag along with Sakura and Syaoran - who was right now carried by Yue. No, I absolutely could not explain what had overcome me. Normally I knew that all that would achieve was me turning out to be liability in the end, getting Sakura into trouble for my sake. Yet, something made me speak up. There was this indefinable, STRONG urge telling me that I had to be there.

Somehow Sakura had understood it, probably better than I did. And Filia had even agreed, saying that only our power together could have a chance to stand up to an influenced Silence. Heck, I had NO idea what the hell I could even DO!

No, this definitely wasn't a good idea. The wind was more than just a hassle. It had risen to the strength and speed of a tornado, whipping through our hair and entirely unfitting clothes. Out in the summer we had not expected to fly through a chilling storm in the middle of the night. At least I had not.

Sakura was struggling to hold the wand steady. She had cast Fly on her staff as she had done before transforming the cards. This both for my sake as for her own. The strain of flying up to the mountain in this wind - even without my added ballast - would have been great enough. That didn't make the task easier now though. Yue was having a hard time moving as well.

"We are not getting any further," I cried over the thunderous wind. A few lightning bolts flashed left and right, much too close for my taste. "Either we'll be ripped apart before we are up or it will at least take us hours!"

I wasn't sure if Sakura heard me but she had obviously come to the same conclusion. One of the cards appeared in her hands and she held it up into the air. "Windy, clear a path through the storm for us!" I wasn't really certain if that would work but not one to doubt Sakura's abilities I snuggled even tighter against her as the storm for a moment seemed to reach another new height but then the strong winds were magically pressed back, creating a calm zone around us and Yue who had barely managed to close the distance before Windy's magic took effect.

Losing not a single second Sakura pulled the winged wand almost completely vertical. I let out a startled yelp as she flew us upwards inside the calm zone at blinding speed. I would love to see what happened around us but I had my eyes closed and was really glad that moment that Sakura had insisted to sit behind me. I'd probably have fallen of right now.

After what seemed a small eternity we slowed down again and as I reopened my eyes I realized that Sakura's reckless maneuver had brought us straight up to the summit, just a little bit away from the center and where Silence… raged. Touching down on the peak Sakura banished Fly while Syaoran jumped from Yue's arms - who in turn took a moment to regain his breathing from the flight. "That was fun," Syaoran commented dryly. "Now what?"

Sakura glanced up towards Silence. It was really a frightening sight. All that one could see right now was a deep purple glow. Not bright but dark, at some points even fading into obsidian black. I squinted my eyes, trying to see a bit clearer, trying to make out anything of importance. The funny thing was I did see something. Once again I couldn't really explain how I knew but I did. "It's hurting. Hurting badly," I said, the feeling barely bearable. There was so much pain, so much… agony.

Both Sakura and Syaoran looked at me as if I had seen something they couldn't. Then it hit me. They really couldn't. Not like me. Filia had told us just before we went up that my past life had not only been a good healer but also had developed a gift to see things on the astral plane when she grew older. Quite frankly I had no idea what she was talking about but there hadn't been much time.

"Can you see where exactly something is… wrong," Sakura asked tentatively.

I tried to concentrate hard. The necklace around my neck that Filia had given me glowed softly. It was hard to hold the concentration though and there was so much different things to see. Silence had such a huge presence and the energy released all around it didn't help at all. After a few moments I sighed and shook my head sadly, feeling drained by the effort. "No. I can see that something is wrapped around her… spirit. Something that doesn't belong there."

"That would be Pandora then," Syaoran said. "So the woman was right. She actually managed to push this far forward." He looked at Sakura. "I guess you want to severe the connection somehow?"

The Card Mistress nodded, her brown hair now blowing roughly in the strong winds. "I'm not sure I can do it forcefully. But Silence should be able to do it herself." At both of our confused expressions she pulled out a card. It was Love. "You reminded me of it, Tomoyo-chan. Love said that they are mates since their former wielders were. I'm sure if something can calm Silence down to a degree where she can fight back, it would be Love. THEN we should have a chance."

Syaoran chuckled a little. "In a situation like this your trump card is the surreal love of two magical spirits?" With a smirk, he finished, "That's so like you." Squaring his shoulders he was about ready to move on. "Well then, I suppose you need a distraction to get close enough. Coming, Yue-san?"

The silver-haired man nodded stoically, having kept silent while we discussed the plan of action. I bet he had some comments of his own but held them to himself obviously. I doubted he had a better idea anyway. Sakura's made sense though and from what I could see Silence was just as lonely as Love. They just dealt with it differently, much differently.

I cried out as suddenly a rumble shook the entire mountain. My eyes barely registered that a gigantic bolt of black lightning had crashed through several layers of stone, nearly splitting the small mountain apart. Instinctively I reached out for Sakura's hand but with horror realized that the storm blow had not only affected me. All four of us were slammed back by the incredible force that definitely was not just that of a natural element. Obviously Silence didn't like company.

The whole thing happened far too quickly. Bah, time slowing down in moments like this! It was rather the opposite. One moment we were standing atop the mountain, the next we were slammed over the side, surely tumbling to our deaths…

And yet again the next moment, everything was over and I found myself held by something that felt like some animal's skin. I blinked, the shock from what nearly happened just setting in as I sat up slowly. Well, animal would probably really understate things. The creature that I was currently riding was of a deep golden color with massive wings. While I had never seen one - in this life at least - there was no mistaking it that the creature was a full-fledged, golden-colored dragon. A big, strong, impressive dragon…

"Are you alright," the dragon rumbled in a voice while a little different in volume and tone was rather easy to identify.

"F-Filia-san?" I gasped, still numb with shock from the near death experience.

The dragon chuckled… well, at least it sounded like a chuckle. Probably a snort but I really didn't care about details right now. "I thought you could need some help." The wind once again picked up, nearly blowing me from the human-turned-dragon's back again. I buried my fingers tightly into the back of the creature who had obvious troubles to maintain her balance in the turbulent winds.

Glancing to the side I saw Sakura hovering next to us - Fly's wings on her back this time - faring not much better. Yue, holding Syaoran were on the other side. Sakura shot me a truly worried look and I could see the still visible panic that must have filled her when we were flung from the mountain.

"Look!" Yue cried out over the crescendo of the storm and we all did as he said. The strong pressure had obviously forced all flying parties to keep a strict distance. We were rather far away from the island now but even from here one could see that the storm had become almost one giant twister, laced with purple lightning and as black as the darkest night. The sight sent shivers down my spine and I felt numb with a sudden cold. It was like the icy breath of death.

******************************

(Sakura)

The shockwave of power was even stronger than the one that had blown us from the mountain top. Yet, it wasn't really a forceful, brute power. No, this one came subtly, silent like a whisper in the wind and still with a force as strong as all of my cards combined, probably stronger. That enormous presence was Silence but it was also much more. I felt it even from here and the fear rising in my heart, I could not suppress. I had tried to deny it but there was no mistaking it now. That terror-inflicting presence could only belong to one being in existence.

The whole island was enveloped in a cocoon of pitch blackness, only occasional lighted by the eerie lightning and a barely visible glow of energy that I suspected belonged to Silence. Right now the high concentration of magic was just that. A concentration. But if it was released…

"With that much power, the whole planet is going to burst if it erupts unhindered!" Yue shouted. I wished I could disagree but frankly that were my thoughts exactly. Suddenly I remembered something vital and for a moment I felt terrible ill. Stretching out my senses I tried to locate the familiar auras in the black tornado but couldn't find anything. Then there was a faint echo, a little outside the danger zone. I glanced down to see a small spot that had to be our ship racing away from the isle.

"I had a feeling something big would happen and brought them back to your boat," the dragon rumbled. There was no mistaking it by now that it was really Filia. It didn't surprise me very much. From the beginning I had sensed something supernatural in her. No human being should be able to hide their aura so well. And the dragon part was familiar, probably glimpses of my past life again. I really didn't know what to make of all of this. For the moment I was just glad that she had saved Tomoyo when I hadn't been able to. Those were long, horrible moments for me. I felt so damn helpless, barely able to stop my own fall. If it hadn't been for her…

"This is not good. I don't think any of us can break through there," Filia stated darkly and I had to once again agree. Fly's power was barely able to hold me anymore and Filia's wings looked not that good either, Yue wasn't better off. Not to mention that the sheer power Silence was emitting was as good as any barrier.

Before I could respond there was a glow in front of me and Love's sprite form appeared in the air before us. "Silence…" she whispered hoarsely. One could hear her voice breaking with pain at the sight. I didn't even dare to try and understand how she felt. That would mean I had to picture Tomoyo in a similar state, controlled and corrupted by Her. Thinking of the thought alone was sickening. And even more so I was amazed when Love seemed to practically glow with confidence, staring ahead into the darkness with sheer determination. I would do the same, of course. In her place I would do everything to save the one I loved. I had experienced the consequences of helplessness before and I'd swore myself never to let this happen again.

And that left me with only one path to follow now.

"Can you break through there and take me inside? There is still a faint presence left. If we act quickly, we might be able to severe the connection. But I have to get inside first," I said, gripping my staff in a tight grip. I ignored the shouts of the others that t was too dangerous. There was no other solution to this. Truth be told, in the face of such gigantic power I felt small and useless. But rather would I die trying before waiting for destruction once again.

Love was quiet for a few seconds, then she turned and fixed me with a stern gaze. "No, Mistress. I cannot take you alone. Pandora's influence over my mate has grown too strong already for me to withstand alone. I need someone else's strong love to support my own. Together there may be a chance to pass through unharmed."

I gasped as realization set it. The way Love said it, there was no question who exactly she was referring to. "You mean…" I started, turning fearful eyes in Tomoyo's direction. There was no way I could jeopardize her life even further than I had already. I should have left her with the others in the first place. Because of me she almost died once already. This was my mess, my battle. I couldn't put her in danger because I wasn't strong enough alone…

Tomoyo blinked, puzzled for a few seconds before comprehension dawned in her eyes. I was wondering at first if I really saw the flash of panic, just for a moment, but even if, it was gone almost immediately, replaced by an almost solemn expression. Guessing from her usual selfless behavior, I could guess already what she wanted to say. "Tomo-chan, don't…" I flew closer to her until I could reach out and touch her face, my eyes gazing into hers. "I can't put you in danger like this. Please… I…" Words pretty much failed me at this point and the grip I maintained on her shoulders must have become painful. There was that scene again, flashing before my mind's eye. Tomoyo, in my arms, dying…

Gently, pale hands reached up to take my own into them, making me glance down for a moment before hesitantly meeting her eyes again. "This is not your future, Sakura-chan. You have been given another chance to make it better. Believe in that, believe in yourself, just like I do."

I was paralyzed in amazement. I had witnessed it so many times. But now, in this situation Tomoyo's true strength shone so bright it could light the zone of darkness. Immediately a warm, soothing sensation spread through my whole self and I welcomed it openly. "Aren't you scared?" I was scared. Just a moment ago, I was so scared I rather wanted to turn and fly the other way than facing this nightmare… again. Now it was only a dull sensation. A bearable background feeling. Because of her.

"Of course I am," Tomoyo said gently. "But I know everything will be alright." I was pulled forward suddenly but didn't resist when Tomoyo pulled me into a brief hug. "Because I believe in you."

I was defeated. I had known the moment that Tomoyo looked at me that I wasn't able to win this argument. When her arms went around me, with so much trust and love, I gently flapped my wings and lifted her from the dragon's back. "Only with you I can be strong," I said, realizing once again how true those words were. How much confidence the knowledge of their truth brightened my soul.

There wasn't a further word said but it wasn't necessary. The orb of light surrounding us, making maintaining Fly unnecessary, was of a bright golden radiance. I could feel the purity and the love, our own feelings mingling with the magical force created by the card. It was magnificent and much stronger than what it felt like before.

Hand's clasped tightly, we turned around and with a slight nod Love shot forward right into the darkness ahead.

******************************

(Tomoyo)

A void of total blackness. Not a light fell anywhere, not even a glimmer. If not for the illuminating shine of Love's protective barrier it would be impossible to see one's own hand. And the void was not only pitch black but also cold, so cold that it would probably be warm at the North Pole. Not so much a temperature-induced coldness but one that threatened to freeze your very soul. An icy breath of foreboding, of promised annihilation. And not even a sound penetrated the thick veil of darkness, causing even the simple of action of breathing to sound like tiny sonic booms in the deathly quiet.

When I said that I was scared, I had meant it. But now, now I felt actual fear. This place was… No, there wasn't a word to aptly describe it. However, everything in me shied away from the incomprehensible… evil filling the very air - if there was even air outside the bubble. Something in me told me that it wasn't supposed to be evil. That Silence alone wasn't evil. Filia had pointed this out. Which only meant that Pandora's control had to be more or less ultimate inside this zone already. If not for Sakura's presence and the tight contact we kept, I wasn't sure if even Love's powers could have kept me from running away.

I felt Sakura tighten her grip to an almost painful level and saw her face contorted in deep concentration. "I can barely bear it. All that hate, fear, terror… it's… it's like the dead are being tortured." A shiver run through the other girl and I realized that I wasn't much better off. Sakura's comparison might be a little crude but that was just how I felt right now.

"Unfortunately, that is the case," we could hear Love reply softly. At her words I glanced around and almost jumped at the shock. I could see them. Tiny wisp-like forms. Suspended in the space around us, bound by tendrils of the darkness, they were the only thing that indicated that there was indeed color around us and not just void. Looking at one closely I could SEE their torment, I could see the utter agony tearing them apart inside out but yet never ending their peril. It was sickening and I wanted to scream but my voice had been caught in my throat. For a moment I felt a glimpse of what they were going through and… and…

"Don't look!" I felt myself being turned away from the sight at Love's sharp warning, Sakura pulling my face against her body and I was instantly grateful for that. I had been frozen in place, alone I might have been caught in the moment forever. Desperately I tried to regain my composure but couldn't help a few tears slipping out, drenching Sakura's clothes as the horrible realization set in what exactly I had seen.

Only gradually I managed to quell the terror in my soul, still weeping for the fate of those around me. Sakura was rocking me gently and it helped somewhat to calm my nerves, I could draw strength from her presence. It was a hard fight for control though. "It's… it's so horrible…" I breathed, clutching tightly at Sakura for fear of being left alone in here.

"I am sorry," Love said, sounding guilty. "I had not expected that the Feared One had such control over my mate already. Even with my power I can only dim the experience."

"What happened just there? I can feel so much terror all around us, What did Tomoyo see?" Sakura asked, worry clearly evident in her voice. I would have answered but I was unable to voice the horror I had unintentionally witnessed.

"Lost souls," Love replied solemnly, her voice telling of her own sadness. "The Feared One feasts on them. It has always been her greatest pleasure to convert the souls of living beings, strip of all their positive feelings and only leaving the darkness that every life form possesses as pure as they might be. They are left alone, in a state of utter torment, forced to spent eternity with their own terror. It is worse than Hell." Love was silent for a moment as Sakura hugged me even tighter. I could feel her trying to pour her own love into me but she was struggling as well, now that the evil presence around us had a name. "Tomoyo's abilities to see the Astral Plane must be returning slowly when she can actually see them. But believe me, seeing it might be very traumatic, actually experiencing it though…" Love trailed off and I could hear something that sounded like a gasp, followed by a deep wail that threatened to wrench my heart right out of my chest.

Startled I turned around to glance at what had inspired such terror in the gentle card spirit and SAW. I damned that ability already. I saw Silence up ahead, glowing a very faint purple, almost consumed already by the thick chains of darkness covering more or less every inch of her spiritual body. It was like with the souls I had seen but on a much larger scale. I had to fight myself not to look further, knowing that I surely would become lost in the process. While the tormenters of the souls had merely been mindless, a part of something bigger, this… this… thing was the epitome of terror, the very incarnation of horror. At this moment I really understood why everyone feared it so much. My understanding of those latent abilities was small, most based upon instinct, but what I could see was enough to scare a god, that much I was sure of.

"Phoebe!" Love cried out in terror and I could really not blame her. I didn't pay that much attention to the name but instead was focused on what to my eyes was best described as something like a black hole. Always devouring everything around it. I knew somehow that in reality - or better on the physical plane - where was not much to be seen. That being wasn't present in this world, it wasn't tangible. The only body ir had was that of the Card's spirit and to say those had actually physical bodies would be stretching the term. Sakura had once explained that she didn't really know the border between what was physically and what spiritual about the cards. They could interact with their environment but their sprite form was the only thing that really gave them some sort of solid shape on this plane.

That being, Pandora, was so huge that Silence's sprite - which I could dimly see slowly drowning in the ocean of darkness - was not more than an insect in comparison. And it was unrelenting, holding the card's spirit mercilessly, not giving it even an inch to move.

At the shout though I could see just a little quiver, rebelling briefly against the tainted presence. The being simply tightened its hold and I could literally feel the pain resulting from that action. With a lot effort I tore my gaze away slightly, trying to divert my focus.

"Foolish humans. Did you think you could stop my release?" The voice echoed all around us. It wasn't at all what I expected. I had thought it would be something more… sinister. Not that quiet, controlled voice that was neither soft, nor loud. For all I knew it was… normal. Controlled to a degree as if this was just a normal conversation and not bragging about the coming freedom and how she would be destroying everything or something like that. I felt Sakura clasp my hand tightly but it seemed she wasn't really surprised which had to mean that this seemed to be a normal thing for that feared entity.

"What did you do to her?" demanded Love vehemently, the glow around us intensifying to nearly blinding levels.

There was a pause and then Pandora's voice came again, almost as if not paying the question any mind at all. "I owe that whelp a lot. Before his meddling you were just energies, perfect power flowing steadily. He gave you a spirit, feelings of your own. Just mirror images of your former owners' but that was enough already. You became independent in a way, be it even so small. I had spent so long in slumber I could wait the few more centuries it would take to work my way into this one's mind. With Silence's power I can finally burst the seal. You cannot change that anymore. Your efforts will all be in vain. Your mate is already mine, and the rest of you will follow soon."

No, that wasn't true. I risked another glance at Silence and saw her struggling weakly. Obviously Love's presence seemed to get through to her despite the powerful control. "Don't listen to her," I shouted, "Silence is still there. She can sense you!" An idea had hatched in my mind and while it was more like a piece of straw in a raging river I grasped onto it. Sakura had put her faith into this in the first place and from what I saw thee still was a possibility that it might work. I looked up at Sakura, our eyes met while I grabbed her other hand tightly. Concentrating on the love in my heart for the beautiful girl I let it flow out. I didn't hold back and let it fill me, my whole self vibrating from the intensity. Only a moment later Sakura followed suit and I could feel our hearts beating in synchrony. The glow of magic erupted into a shade too bright to look at. Closing my eyes, I held firm onto the feelings inside me, hoping that it would be enough for Love to reach her mate.

******************************

(Sakura)

The experience was one of the most surreal I ever had… and really… those were a lot. Sensing what Tomoyo was trying to do, I quickly joined her efforts and being more experienced, took all that love created at this very moment and channeled it directly into Love's own protective sphere. The star key in my hand glowed softly, the effort not really all that noteworthy since all it had to do was focus energy.

I thought back on all of the time spent with Tomoyo, both in my old timeline as her best friend and now in this in something much more. How much the feelings between us had blossomed beyond my furthest imagination after my choice. I felt my spirit slipping away into a sea of brilliant gold. It wasn't suffocating, no. Instead it was comforting, an embrace of absolute happiness. This was a plane where the physical self didn't really exist anymore and all the soul and spirit felt was pure love.

Only about a decade of training enabled me to hear the voices, the desperate pleading and the silent war for control going on.

"Phoebe!" Love called out to Silence. I figured since they were mirror images of the ones who released their power in the first place, the name was probably that of the assorted Senshi. It was at least a logical explanation and I had more important matters to think about than that.

"Is that you, my love…" The reply was faint and with the thin concentration I managed in this plane while my main focus was still on focusing and channeling our feelings into Love I was for a moment not sure if I really heard it. But then it came again, a bit stronger, desperate now. "I thought you were… She said she took you from me…"

"I am here," Love quickly reassured. "Pandora tricked us. She used our brief separation to claim your spirit. You have to fight back."

"I can't…" There was a flare of helpless fury, a spark of power that was more senseless defiance than any real threat to the control of the dark being. "She's too strong. I can't fight back… not without you…"

There was a brief pause and then I felt Tomoyo's feelings change, concentrating on another aspect of our relationship and I welcomed it thankfully. Those feelings of trust and sincere faith I had discovered to be my greatest strength, something that had been shown in the last few hours many times again. Feeling my own confidence rise, I relayed it all to Love, knowing that a Clow Card could increase its strength then the wielder increased their will.

"I know you can do it. I trust it," Love said, picking up on the delivered feeling. A ripple went through the darkness outside the protective bubble. I could nearly see Love's power filling the zone almost completely. I could sense Silence mobilizing enormous powers, pushing back the control over her spirit, slowly but steadily. I redoubled my efforts and Tomoyo responded in kind. It was working it was really working. Pandora was struggling with the only control she had of the physical plane as of now. I knew that logically beating her that easily was impossible. However, what we had her was just an extension of her true self. A part of her spirit. There wasn't much more the seal allowed… yet. That had been my only real hope in that matter, that maybe she wouldn't be strong enough to withstand a focused assault in this state and would be forced to retreat.

And then everything shattered. I was amazed at myself that I had even the time to push Tomoyo away when the bolt of darkness crashed right through Love's bubble with a destructive force that could have easily shattered the planet if we still were fully on the earthly plane.

And where before had been absolute love, the embrace of safety and utter calm, like a mother's womb, where before in the state we entered was only a bit of discomfort at our surroundings and what were the echoes of the lost souls all around us, all that had transferred into the total opposite now, amplified several times and then doubled again. When the pitch blackness touched me I could feel all the terror this plane emitted and now I really fully understood what Tomoyo must have seen when she had looked at one of the tormented souls. The experience was only of a mere moment but I felt such fear in the presence of such… sickening… WRONGNESS that I would have been glad if someone just ran me through with a sword, ending the horror.

"TIME!" I cried out, not able to give any more clear orders or form equally coherent thoughts. Thankfully enough Time might be a mysterious card that rarely told me anything and if, then often in rather mysterious terms, but she was also the most intelligent card I had ever come across. I still didn't know what her role in all this was and firmly believed that there was a lot more to her when she let on. As it was Time did exactly what was necessary.

I sank to my knees and hands when I felt the protective bubble of temporal energy flicker into existence. I could hear the quiet whimpers from Tomoyo and wanted to do nothing more than to comfort my girlfriend. Yet, I was still much to paralyzed from that brief - but still much too long - ordeal. Frantically I reached out, trying to locate Love's presence. I had felt the bond ripped apart and feared for the worst. If Love was… destroyed - and I really had no idea if that was even possible - then the seal would be void. Relived I noted that there was a faint glimmer, signaling that Love was still there and as I raised my head I saw that it wasn't going to be any longer at this point.

The sprite form of Love drifted almost lifelessly towards the darkened form of her companion, an easy target for Pandora to capture. Soon they were united again but probably in a way both would have liked to avoid. Silence's power had risen to a cold flare of anger but without Love's support it lacked conviction. The card was struggling, unrestrained fury pulsating around her. But the will to fight back had been broken the moment Love's power had been.

"You thought you could push me back this easily. In here where there is chaos. Chaos fueled by everything you term negative. Every positive emotion is as weak as a candle in the wind. This plane is my creation and as long as I have Silence as my anchor where is nothing that can make me return to my prison."

Was that it? Was that the end?

Love had been my last hope. I had really BELIEVED that it would work. That was so unfair. I had been so close. If I had gotten to Silence a bit earlier, I could have repaired the seal and ended that nightmare once and for all. I knew I could do it. With Tomoyo's love and support behind me I could accomplish everything. It might have taken all my power but compared to fighting Pandora, repairing the seal seemed like mere child's play. What I could I do against something like this? Even that small part of her was so vastly powerful that fear was paralyzing my body. All the magic at my disposal meant nothing. What good did it do to be stronger than Clow when I couldn't even protect the few people I loved dearly? There was no way anyone could defeat her…

"Sakura-chan…" Tomoyo rasped out behind me and I felt slender arms encircling me, drawing me against her body. A jolt of pure devotion traveled through me, crashing into my spirit that already admitted defeat a moment ago, filling it with that awesome feeling I had come to cherish so much. Slowly at first, it was like a volcano, the lava bubbling just underneath the surface trying to get out. Questions shot through my mind, hard and unrestrained. What would happen to those that I loved? What would happen to my family? To my friends in Tomoeda? To Syaoran and Filia? To Yue and Kero? What would happen to Tomoyo if I… if WE failed here?

They would all die a horrible, painful death. Just like in the future I had escaped.

No.

Never.

I would not… I absolutely could not give up here!

Slowly reaching up to take Tomoyo's hands in mine I clasped them tightly for a brief moment. There was a mutual silence, then the familiar sentence spilled from both of our lips in sincere harmony, filled with renewed faith. "Everything will surely be alright."

I separated from Tomoyo without looking back, basking in her love as long as I could, keeping those feelings close to my heart in hope they would preserve me, channeling them directly to Light and mentally commanding her to secure my heart and soul, while I slipped Dark around my mind, to calm my fear and any doubts if they should arise again.

Then I stepped outside Time's bubble.

But not before giving one last command. If someone had directly asked me when Filia made the revelations about her past life, I would have told them that the surprise had only been brief. I had been aware of the power inside of me, the presence of arcane magic older than anything Kero or Yue could ever teach me. I had discovered it years ago but had been afraid of the change I felt would come. I was afraid of the consequences releasing the seal on that power would entitle and I knew deep down that doing so would change me. Not only magically but as a person as well.

Until now there was no need to even attempt it. Until Pandora there never had been the necessity for something greater than my own given magic. And the fear of consequences had outweighed the temptation by far. With great power comes great responsibility. Nothing happens without a reason, no power was ever given without taking something in return.

Light, Dark, Kero, Yue, even Time herself had told me where would be consequences for changing history. They never told me what consequences because they either didn't know or didn't want to tell. I had pondered it for a long time but only now. Only now did I understand. In the face of my greatest fear, I understood that the consequence would either be the destruction of this planet and probably the whole universe afterwards or…

"Time," I spoke softly, "release the seal on the memories of my past life."

And with that I opened myself completely to the bubbling power I had been secretly tempted to utilize more than once since traveling back in time. I held firm to Tomoyo's image in my mind and hoped that if something remained untouched by the ordeal it would be our love. I needed that power now, I needed the ancient wisdom of someone who had already helped seal Pandora in the first place. If my past life really had been as strong as Filia said, I needed her help now.

As the magic burst forward and I felt the flood of memories beginning a silent onslaught, I relented and accepted it all with the one thought in mind to protect those that I loved.

******************************

(Tomoyo)

It was like losing a part of myself. When I let Sakura go, I felt as if something was irreversible taken from me. While I had not much experience with supernatural encounters I had learned to trust my instincts since this mess started. My heart wanted to deny that something could… would happen to Sakura but yet my instincts told me otherwise.

At the same time though I could also tell that while I lost something, I would gain something, in the long run maybe even more than I would lose. Of course I couldn't really make much sense to me that moment and all I could think about was that I had such a really bad, sinking feeling in my stomach. I had no idea what exactly she was planning, hanging there in the void, just hovering for a moment. Wisps of white and black that I identified briefly as Light and Dark circling around her. I hadn't wanted to let her go. I really had not. I was far more worried about her life when to care about what might happen when nothing was done about Pandora. That brief experience outside in the void, unprotected and exposed to the horror of dark emotions had left me a frightened mess. I really had no idea where I had pulled the strength from to even move. But I had known that Sakura needed my support now, that she was on the verge of breaking and that I had to be strong for her. She depended on me giving her confidence. And as much the feelings of fear threatened to overwhelm me any moment now, the need to be there for Sakura was far greater.

And then Sakura spoke and everything began to make sense. I stood there on shaky legs, watching transfixed as a faint glimmer of crimson red formed around Sakura's form. Where it touched, the darkness recoiled for a moment. For a few, timeless moments that was all that happened. Sakura had her head thrown back and I could guess that her eyes were closed. Then suddenly the faint aura literally exploded in a bright flare, crackling and hissing like an angry flame ready to consume whatever lay in its path. It began to completely surround… no, swallow Sakura from head to toe, expanding in size and intensity until I had to look away as another bright flash of light temporally lit up the darkness.

When my eyes managed to finally adjust again, the darkness had mostly returned except for the purple shimmer of Time's bubble. Then there was Sakura. On first glance you might not see the changes, especially in the dim light. But for me, for someone who had known Sakura for so long, I spotted them immediately. The hair was longer, falling a little past her shoulders and of a darker shade of red, somewhere between the fiery orange-red that was in my memories from the picture in the shrine and Sakura's natural chocolate-brown. Since I couldn't see her eyes from here, those were all the physical changes visible, yet there were small things, things that were more appreciated on a subconscious area that I had learned to read and interpret for about five years. Subtle movements of muscles, body posture and her very aura that told me that this was not just Sakura anymore. Not just Sakura, but not fully someone else either. And what really made the difference from me was that the bond of love between us, that sense of awareness for the other was still there, not in the least damaged. No, it had actually warped a little and seemed to be even more defined than before.

I could have sworn I heard a gasp and when Pandora spoke up, somewhat disbelievingly I was pretty sure it came from her. "You?"

Sakura lifted her head up to gaze at what could barely be recognized as the sprite form of Silence. Both her and Love had been almost completely swallowed. While you literally felt the fear radiating from my girlfriend whenever confronted with the infernal being, now there was an air of calmness around her. Nothing in her body language spoke of doubt. There was a strong confidence in her abilities that for all her advances in magic my Sakura had never shown before. This Sakura - I really couldn't bring myself to think of her as anyone else even though I knew she probably was as much her past self again right now as she was Sakura - didn't show any fear in the face of the situation before her, there was no hesitation.

Briefly Sakura glanced back and I gasped as I felt myself captured in the most enchanting pair of gold eyes, sparkling with the fire of a miniature sun, a passion as vivid as the genki spirit of Sakura but mixed with something much more mature, maybe a little darker. I felt myself trembling and leaned against the inner wall of Time's bubble. Sakura sent a reassuring smile down towards me but even though her new appearance had stunned me to immobility I could detect a bit of sadness and regret there. I wanted to reach out, to say something, anything… But my mouth felt dry and denied me the favor of speech.

Then the now-redhead turned back towards her foe. "Not entirely. I am more now when I have been before." The wand in her hand flared with a bright white for a moment. "As you will see soon." Sakura really didn't waste much words. With one gesture she pointed the wand down at where Love and Silence were entangled in the mass of darkness that by now was rather hard to distinguish from the rest of the void if you didn't know where to look. I gasped in amazement as a beam of white light - on closer inspection turning out to be more like tiny little stars - struck the duo of card sprites that were holding each other tightly.

There was a startled exclamation of Pandora before she had to suddenly shift all her attention to the mix of orange and purple light erupting from within her. It was not nearly strong enough to burst their bonds but they were fighting back again, furiously. And that gave Sakura time and the diversion she needed for… Well, for whatever she had planned.

Sakura crossed her hands before her chest and I could see a deep red glow spreading from where she had put the four talismans Filia had given her. Then she began the incantation with the same calmness now dominating all her actions at the moment.

"Shikai no yami wo suberu oo, nanji no kakera no enishi ni sitagai
Nanjira subete no chikara mote ware ni saranaru chikara wo atae yo"

Ever since entering the zone of darkness it had really been like in the eye of a storm. It was silent, an eerie quietness, and all that could remotely be considered wind was the icy death breath filling everything around us. Now there was a gentle breeze, slowly gaining in force as Sakura continued her spell. And as the wind grew in intensity the darkness seemed to… move. I knew it was stupid. I knew it was technically impossible - but then again what was not commonly termed impossible of the things I experienced since Sakura had become a Cardcaptor? - yet the vast emptiness around us practically seemed to gather around the Card Mistress and then flow between her cupped hands, slowly taking shape.

"Akumu no ou no hitokake yo
Sora no imashime tokihanatareshi kooreru kuroki utsuro no yaiba yo

Waga chikara waga mi to narite tomo ni horobi no michi o ayuman

Kamigami no tamashii sura mo uchikudak"

Sakura's voice grew in strength as she chanted, the words beginning to almost vibrate with the power forming between her hands. There was a short startled scream as Pandora obviously took note of what was happening but something told me that it was already too late. The darkness between the redhead's hands had taken shape already. I wasn't sure if you could declare the blade of pitch blackness solid though. It was livid, wavering, always changing shape, never really stopping in its chaotic motion. I stared in stunned disbelief at the phenomena, something familiar stirring inside of me at the sight. And there was that feeling again that Sakura was risking more with that spell than was obvious at first glance.

And then I saw it. I saw the subtle shaking, the tensed muscled, squared shoulders, I felt more than saw the pain of concentration in her face that the spell demanded from her. It was a wild thought, yet I knew even more so that it was true. While the spell probably wasn't lethal. Sakura, reincarnation or not, was not used to it. Her body was mot used to the demands the arcane magic obviously put on her body and spirit.

I jerked back in slight shock when Sakura's head snapped around to look at me and right now her eyes were more a taint of red than the prior gold. "Amelia, where is the connection that roots her to the physical plane?" she shouted desperately. Her teeth were clenched and the eyes were turning more into slits right now. One even totally inexperienced with magic would see the colossal effort it caused the young girl to maintain the spell.

I didn't really pay the name much attention, on a level already understanding that Sakura probably couldn't distinguish between past and present right now. The desperation in her voice quickly snapped me out of my shocked state and I looked over at the tangled mass of semi-solid darkness and the rebelling card sprites. I had not dared to look directly again ever since the first time but now I knew what I had to do. I let instincts complete control and SAW. Spotting what seemed to my eyes like a big ball of the infernal presence that was Pandora I was pretty sure that this was exactly what Sakura wanted.

"There!" I pointed at the spot and mentally willed it for Sakura to be visible. I was surprised myself when the spot flashed with a faint blue light around the edges and for a moment thought it was just by my imagination, but judged by Pandora's startled exclamation, it must have really been there.

Glancing back to my girlfriend, I saw all the remaining cards dancing in a circle around Sakura, supplying tiny beams of magic that were absorbed immediately by the morphing blade of blackness, now held high over the Card Mistress' head, her gaze fixed on the one spot I had pointed out. Then, with a force creating a sonic boom, she brought it down on the knot of darkness that anchored Pandora to this plane.

"RAGNA BLADE!"

Absolute silence fell over the area when the blade came crushing down. For a frightening long moment disbelief and shock pushed to the forefront when the magical sword seemed to stop just inches from cracking the so tiny seeming knot apart.

"You… won't beat me… so easily…" Pandora could be heard, gasping out in obvious strain.

Then Love and Silence pushed upwards with a wave of joined power, drawing a scream from Pandora. At the same time Sakura pushed forward with all her might, a murdering scream of her own spilling from her lips. There was another moment in which nothing seemed to happen, then slowly the black blade pushed through the knot and everything exploded into bright white, accompanied by a shrill shriek that could have sent a dragon running.

******************************

Blinking my eyes my senses gradually returned one by one. I had no idea how much time had went by or if even any time at all had passed. My mind began to catch up with my senses and I began to remember what happened. There was a giant explosion when Sakura severed Pandora's connection to the physical plane and after that I remembered nothing. At first I wasn't sure if the release of powerful magic hadn't damaged my sight somehow because all around me was nothing but white. It was a stark contrast to the vast blackness from before. For a brief moment I wondered if we might have all just died and this was heaven or something.

But, I felt too alive to be dead. And then I became aware of the soft glows to my left and turned to see the sprite forms of Love and Silence. I gave a sigh of relief, walking over to them, all the while looking around in the infinite light for some sign of Sakura. "Where are we?" I asked curiously.

"In a small zone where our mutual energy flows met. We are in the only existing focal point of the seal," Love explained.

"I had been drawn and corrupted here by the Feared One," Silence stated in an emotional voice. But as emotionless as it seemed, her companion was obviously able to detect something more in it, squeezing her hand gently in comfort. I guess she had been feeling rather guilty about the whole thing. For the first I got a really good look at Silence's appearance, untainted by the influence of Pandora. Her skin was probably an even lighter tone of albino white, framed by short dark hair and somewhat cold and distant purple eyes.

That just left one question and I couldn't get that awful feeling in my chest to disappear that I wouldn't like the answer. "Where is…?" I started, but before I could finish my gaze traveled down to the figure on the ground. At first I didn't recognize the disheveled shape with the messy reddish hair and slightly torn clothing. But then I got a good look at her now pale, unmoving face and an anguished outcry left my lips. "Sakura!"

With one step I crossed the distance and was already on my knees before the last syllable even left my mouth. Gently, afraid to break her delicate form upon contact, I reached out to touch her face, searching for some sign of life, any reaction at all. My emotions were in turmoil and I couldn't think straight at all as all sort of nonsense bubbled from my lips. I tried to feel for a pulse but in my frantic state wasn't able to find it, only heightening the panic welling up inside of me.

"Pandora fought back against Mistress' spell. She had to put all of her magic and that of the cards into it to succeed," Love said quietly.

"Lina-dono was not ready for that amount of magic in such a young and inexperienced body. It not only drained her magic but her life force as well," Silence added, sadness this time audibly without much restraint.

However, I didn't want to hear it. "No," I rasped out, tears brimming in my eyes. I didn't want to hear the sadness or their explanations, I didn't want to hear it because… "She can't be dead. I don't believe she's dead!" I screamed at them making both card sprites recoil slightly at the bitterness and anguish in my voice. The cold and numbness I experienced in Pandora's void was nothing compared to what my heart felt like right now. "She promised me! She promised me everything would be alright…" I said, my voice turning into a whisper, silent tears spilled from my eyes as the truth slowly worked its way through my denial. "She promised…"

"To-Tomoyo…" My head jerked up and I stared at the girl in my arms, tears clouding my vision. Had I just heard…? I didn't dare to believe, I didn't dare to hope that… Sakura's eyes fluttered open weakly, barely on the brink of consciousness.

I felt my heart make a giant leap that could have crossed the whole planet with that one jump. Putting her hand against my cheek I smiled happily. "I am here Sakura-chan."

"D-Did I… beat her…?" Sakura choked out. I had to strain to even hear the voice but that was okay. She was tired. That was understandable. Just a bit of sleep and everything would be fine. We could go home and that would be the end of the whole ordeal. Just as Sakura said. Everything was alright.

"Of course," I managed to reply, a sob disrupting what I had planned to be proud and reassuring. Why was I still crying. Sakura was alright, wasn't she? There was no need for the tears anymore. They would only bother Sakura and I didn't need her to worry now. She was supposed to be resting.

"Good…" Sakura breathed with relief, her eyes slowly yielding to fatigue. I felt her fingers caress my cheek and sighed contently at the familiar feeling. "I am sorry…" The words, followed by the violent cough ripped me right out of my self-induced denial. All at once I became aware of how cold Sakura's body was, I became aware of the beat of her heart having slowed to an alarming rate. I became aware that the faint connection between us began to weaken to a point where it would be severed at any moment. I became aware that Sakura really WAS dying.

"Sa-Sakura…" I whispered fearfully, not wanting to hear the truth, not wanting to accept the fact that my best friend, my girlfriend, my lover, my mate was so brutally taken away from me, beyond my control, beyond anything I could do. However, I was unable to resist the truth anymore and that truth was like a sharp icicle bored right into my heart, draining all my life force. It was only a question whether I'd go from the pain or from the coldness.

"Dawn is approaching," Love said quietly, tears of her own glistering in her spiritual eyes. "When the flow is not returned, everything that has been done, every sacrifice would be pointless."

Pointless. The word echoed in my mind, crushing my already mortally wounded heart even further. Not only would I lose Sakura but it would all be in vain. Pandora would break free, Sakura's efforts without any effect, her death meaningless… Something inside that dead place that was my heart stirred, a tiny spark, not nearly enough to break through the ice covering it, but it was growing, growing slowly.

"N-No…" I glanced back at Sakura at her words, so faint now they were almost like the wind whispering. She brought her other hand that was still clutching the star wand up slowly. "Tomoyo… you have to… finish it…" My eyes widened in shock, my hands moving more on autopilot than actually wanting to as I took the staff from Sakura's limb fingers. "The… the cards love you… You have the magic… You can do it… I… I trust you…" Her breathing was getting shallow and the next breath was taking so long I was afraid it was already her last, but from somewhere she mustered the strength and a detached part of me analyzed with some sort of morbid amusement that this was just like Sakura, stubborn until the end.

"I love you… I am sorry that I have failed you… so badly… But I could not… let you die… again…"

Was that the consequence? Was that the consequences of using Time? If so, then that wasn't fair. If Sakura died here, all that would have really changed would be the four years we spent together. She wouldn't have saved anyone because the seal would break anyway, the same horror repeating again that she had tried to correct. Maybe that hadn't been her initial wish but her initial wish was to make me happy and how would having her sacrificed devoid any sense and as a result the entire Earth lost - including me - make me happy?!

It wasn't fair.

It was not fair!

I didn't really understand why I was more angry than sad. I should be crying, screaming, anything, but all that I could do was holding the soft gaze of my dying beloved. Gold eyes meeting blue, not letting go until the last moment. The spark had become a small flame and was growing in size. An unnatural calmness began to fill me and as I sat staring into those eyes that despite the change were still so much Sakura I slowly began to understand. I began to understand why I had insisted on joining Sakura in the first place, despite the danger, despite my usual good-natured common sense. It wasn't because of Love and feeding her our feelings, it wasn't because I could suddenly see spirits and help to point out Pandora's weakness, it wasn't even really to lend the support Sakura needed so much.

No, I had made my request because of this moment, because of this very moment. Not because I knew Sakura would die but because I knew Sakura would die if I wasn't here. Filia's revelations had frightened me, I hadn't allowed myself to think about them, I had not wanted to face some of the implications albeit sensing that they might not be all that bad. And I was pretty sure Sakura had had similar troubles. However, my mate had not hesitated when there was no other choice. She had not hesitated to risk losing her very self in the process if it ensured the safety of those she loved.

And now it was my turn. If there was anything powerful in me, if Filia's tale about the strength of my past life was even remotely true, then… then… Then there had to be SOMETHING I could do to help Sakura. The other girl had saved my life so often. If I had this power, couldn't I just once, just this ONE time save her life? Was it too much to be asking that one favor? Had she not done enough already to earn some damn gratitude?

I refused to believe that this was the ultimate consequence of her actions. I refused to acknowledge that Sakura would be taken from me after only four years spent together like this. I refused to believe that everything that she had done, everything she had sacrificed would in the end be MEANINGLESS.

I simply did not accept it…

I wanted to help her…

I would help her…

I was able to help her…

Because…

My vision blurred without warning and I felt myself being drawn into the golden eyes of my lover…

******************************

()

The sky was a clear blue, a few soft white clouds strolled across the wonderful spring morning scenery, not doing much to obscure the warm - not hot - sun from illuminating the ground below. The various plants and flowers in the vast green field below seemed to actually stretch to take in as much of the sun's rays as possible.

Upon closer inspection one could see that the large field was not so much open space but a majestic garden, surrounding half of a grand palace. A figure sat in the middle of that vast garden, clad in white robes she appeared to be almost childlike and one not knowing could have mistaken her for one. But the blue eyes spoke of not only maturity but also a deep concentration. Short black hair fell slightly into her face as she kneeled by a single, lonely sprout of a tree. She had her hands placed over the pretty unhealthy looking sprout.

A second figure approached behind the girl and silently stood, watching as the first began to speak words of power. Not of force but of healing. Gentle, softly, the single syllables flowing like a beautiful ballad. The first girl's hand glowed a bright white but it immediately dimmed again after only a short time and the single green leaf that had spread from the efforts seemed to wither away. The girl let out a sigh and her shoulders dropped miserably.

The other girl smiled fondly, shaking her head in a mix of amusement and disappointed. Placing a hand on the dark-haired girl's shoulder she made her look up. "You still force it too much, Amelia-chan. Didn't they teach you patience at all?"

The last question was spoken with the hint of a teasing smile making the girl called Amelia pout. "Patience was never much of my greatest strengths. You know I trained in White Magic because it was expected of me as the Princess of Saillune. I don't think it ever was really my specialty." She reached up to touch the other girl's cheek, letting her hand linger in the soft purple hair falling slightly past the other girl's shoulder. "You've always been much better with this, Sylphiel-chan."

Sylphiel smiled sympathetically. "I know. But you want to be able to help if the situation should ever come up. You said so yourself. There might be a time when I am not available and you have an amazing talent, Amelia. You just have to learn how to use it properly."

Amelia nodded quietly, a look of determination entering her eyes, replacing the pout. "Thanks, with you guys supporting me like this I feel like I can do everything." With that she turned back to the withered tree sprout, once again concentrating solely on it, beginning to chant anew.

Sylphiel watched quietly, pride clearly visible in her eyes but also adoration for the other girl… no, almost young woman already that she held so dear. Her eyes closed for a moment and a happy sigh escaped her lips when a pair of arms encircled her waist from behind, drawing her against a third girl, slightly shorter than herself with distinctive orange-red hair and scarlet red eyes.

"How is she doing?" the redhead asked, nuzzling Sylphiel for a moment before moving her attention to Amelia who was lost in her spell, the white glow from her palms growing in intensity.

The purple-haired woman chuckled. "Amazingly well, considering we've only been training seriously for a few weeks. She doesn't realize it but she's learning this high level magic faster than I did." As if wanting to prove her words Amelia finished the spell and the magical light spread out from her hands in a steady flow, encasing the sickly looking sprout. Green leaves began to spread, the bark's color was returning to a more normal shade. All in all the sprout looked like it would grow into a very healthy tree one day.

Amelia released her held breath in a soft sigh and sank back to sit in the green grass. The redhead moved from Sylphiel, kneeling behind Amelia and pulled the pleasantly surprised girl into her lap. The taller woman sat next to them, resting her head on the redhead's shoulder and stroking softly through Amelia's dark hair. "That was very well done, Amelia. Just a bit more training and you can do it as good as I can."

Amelia shook her head in an adoringly cute display of stubbornness. "No way, I'll never be as good as you in White Magic or Lina in Black Magic."

The redhead, Lina, smiled lovingly. "Maybe, but you have more talent in all three magic categories than most normal humans, probably including us. I couldn't cast a healing spell like that in a hundred years and Sylphiel probably couldn't use attack magic to save her life." With a chuckle she added. "Except a Dragon Slave that is."

Sylphiel sent the redhead a mock glare at that but quickly joined in with her own soft laughter.

******************************

(Tomoyo/Amelia)

And just like in the memory the words flowed from my lips.

"Seinaru iyashi no mite yo, hahanaru daichi no ibuki yo

Negawakuba waga mae ni yokoyawarishi kono mono o

Sono ooinaru jihi ni te sukui tamae"

Recalling all those lessons, the hours spend with a gentle and patient, much more experienced shrine maiden learning the ultimate form of healing. Not forceful like a Black Magic spell, not wild and somewhat chaotic like an elemental spell. No, slowly, with steady precision touching each damaged area, healing what was injured, curing what was sick. A process not hastened but patient with the faith set in mind that even if it seemed much too slow, the pace would be just right. Healing was like that. It needed precision, it needed to be flawless, or otherwise a tiny mistake in an unimportant area could cause all the effort to be in vain.

White magical energy flowed into my hands from all around us, the seal's power obviously an even stronger supply of life force than I had initially thought. There was so much, I actually had to damper the flow a little in order to not be overwhelmed. All my concentration was on the redhead, the one I HAD TO save. My mate, in this life as much as in my previous. My mind was detached and I wasn't quite sure who I was anymore since all my focus was on the other girl.

I could feel the magic reach its peak. I had already patched up everything physical, now it was time for the last touch, the crucial point, to return the life to Sakura/Lina… to breathe new life into her almost dead body.

"RESURRECTION!"

******************************

()

Far away, back in Tokyo, close to Tomoeda actually, a young girl not older than Sakura and Tomoyo stopped in her mundane task of sweeping the yard of her family's shrine. Long purplish hair was blown back in a soft breeze when the young miko looked up into the sky with a look of puzzlement in her green eyes. For a moment there she had felt something oddly familiar.

After a moment, the girl shrugged and returned her work in patient acceptance.

******************************

(Sakura)

An angel.

That was the first thing I thought when I opened my eyes. After all I was pretty sure I just died and the face hovering above me was truly angelic. The delicate, pale features so much like Tomoyo, those eyes so deep and full of compassion, blue as a deep ocean or vast sky. The hair was a little darker, somewhere between black and deep purple. The happy smile and the glow in the angel's face were heartwarming, filling me entirely with love, completing me with just that single action. Only one person ever managed that - not including past lives right now.

"Sakura-chan," the angel whispered and my heart skipped a beat at the melodic, oh so familiar voice I thought never to hear again.

I blinked in confusion, wondering what was going on. "Tomo-chan?"

Before I could actually react I was pulled upwards into a crushing hug that threatened to split bones upon contact. The embrace was without doubt Tomoyo's. Nowhere else I could feel so at home, nowhere else I wanted to belong. Once in Tomoyo's arms I never wanted to leave again. Yet, this embrace was fierce, screaming with a mixture of burning emotions. Relief, happiness, longing. I could hear the other girls' heart beating in synchrony with my own. Soft, steady beats. They were the most heavenly music I had heard in my life because they told me one thing. Tomoyo wasn't dead… and neither was I.

"Tomo-chan, what…?" I started but never managed to finish, finding much more pleasant things to occupy my mouth with. The other girl had brought her lips to mine in a kiss that was full of desperation, conveying all the fear and sadness of not to long ago but also all the happiness and relief coursing through her. It mingled with my own mirrored feelings and was returned with an equally strong favor. Our spirits seemed to join for that single timeless moment and I began to understand partly what had happened.

When the kiss ended, I pulled back and stared into Tomoyo's eyes. Seeing not only the unconditional love of the one person I would give… had given anything for, but also something else, someone else. Dormant, not really awakened as the soul inside of me when Time released my past life's memories. "You saved me," I said softly, tracing the other girl's face with one finger, mesmerizing the few subtle changes. She was still mostly Tomoyo but there was a bit of Amelia there too. Before I had made that step, I would have been a little scared of the change that could mean for us. However, now with the full recollection of my past life, I realized how foolish that fear was. For us, there never had been any danger of losing something important. On the contrary there was actually more to gain.

"I had to," Tomoyo said simply but her eyes were still moist with unshed tears of happiness. I reached up to gently brush them away with one of my sleeves and smiled with unrestrained pride.

We could have stood there for ages, neither caring about the world around us. Unfortunately where was still one thing to attend to, as Love chose to remind us - of the matter and her presence that is. "Dawn is almost upon us."

I didn't cast my eyes away from Tomoyo. An understanding passed between us that went far beyond simple words. It was an understanding born from the ordeal we had just experienced and survived. With a simple mental command the forgotten star wand floated into my outstretched hand. I stepped back slightly and held it out between us, waiting. Tomoyo nodded and wordlessly clasped her own hands around the staff. There wasn't even a hint of hesitation. Both of us knew exactly what to do.

I closed my eyes, seeing more with my heart than I needed with my eyes, letting the power flow. I had understood that power at my disposal when facing Pandora with my full memories. The still untouched source I had never really given much thought. Up to now the wand had merely been a focus for using the cards, empowering them with my own magic. Never had I truly used the Star Magic on its own. Yet, stars were the essence of life. They gave birth to life, nurtured life, sustained life. They were the first children of creation and in them slumbered an almost unlimited power.

And the seal, Love and Silence were nothing more and nothing less than energy released by those who wielded the power of the stars, protecting life with their strength.

"Key that holds the power of the stars

Infinite source of light, brilliantly shining in the darkest night"

The chant, spoken from both us was done without preparation, yet with the conviction of certain success. The staff between our hands flared, warming to the touch, almost too hot to touch but never burning in the slightest. I could feel its form expanding. I could feel Love and Silence hovering just above us. Magic began to swirl in a beautiful dance all around us.

"Release the slumbering power of creation

Bless these lost souls and return them to their true path"

The dance began to quicken, turning into a maelstrom of power, a storm of creation that where it touched every life lost was restored, where it touched new life was born. In a small area around the coast lines of Japan entirely new life was born in what would later surely be titled as miracles. I wasn't really aware of this. My mind was focused on the task at hand.

Slowly I reached out, feeling Tomoyo join me in the effort. In a way it was much like a healing spell and I realized with quiet fascination that while my past life had not been able to do much in this area, Kinomoto Sakura was definitely a different story. The flux of magic finally reached its peak and with a final shout of power, it was released to its designed task.

"RESTORATION!"

The eruption of magic was not powerful. Instead it was more or less anti-climatic aside from the sheer potent energy concentrated into the spell. I opened my eyes, watching with rapt attention as a beam of purest magical energy shot upwards engulfing Love and Silence. For a moment nothing seemed to happen, then there were tiny ripples from the spots where the card sprites had been swallowed. Golden and purple light created tiny shockwaves and in the middle of them were the cards, glowing brightly in the display of power.

I could feel it now, the flow of their nature changing. The difference that separated them from how the rest of the cards were designed became pretty much undetectable. And in a last, spectacular display at the magic at work, a steady stream of their respective elements shot to either side, vanishing in the formless white.

*Thank you,* their voices could briefly be heard, then another bright flare made us avert our eyes and when we looked again, the two cards floated down, changed into the star design of my own.

******************************

<Several hours later>

The sun was just barely above surface level when our yacht was making its way back to the Japanese coast. The isle in the distance was only a mere rock formation, not worthy of the terminology land anymore. The violent storm of darkness that Pandora had created with Silence's unwilling help had pretty much ripped it apart and only the mountain remained partly and a few pieces of land from the surrounding isles, floating above the waves unattached.

A gentle breeze caught my unbound, longer hair. Something I would definitely need to get used to. Sure, I could cut it or something but I didn't really like it. The physical change was a reminder, a symbol of the change inside me. Trying to describe it in words was hard. While I was still Sakura on most levels, I had all of Lina Inverse's memories, including those of her personality. That didn't necessarily mean a part of me HAD TO be her… but it COULD be. As I said, it was rather strange and my mind was just beginning to catch up with all that had happened in the last few hours. It was too much to comprehend all at once.

I glanced down at the two cards in my hands which I wasn't really sure what to make of. The seal was restored, the flow returned to its original strength… and the spirits that had been mirror images of the ancient warriors had vanished back into their own element. But our joined magic seemed to have done more than just release the bound energy, it seemed to have… created something new. The same element, yet with new, unbound energy. The meaning of this still left me rather speechless. I had pretty much made my own cards. Not changed already existing Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, but CREATED the latter.

With a slight shake of my head I willed the two cards away, leaning back into the body embracing me from behind. "What are you thinking about?" Tomoyo asked softly, her voice showing her own tiredness. She was a much different story. Where had not been much of a change at all. Physically some facial features had changed and her hair was a little darker, fading into black in some areas. She didn't have a full recollection of her past life like me. Just glimpses.

I sighed, glancing out at the rather still water considering the rough vortex that had raged not too long ago. I really didn't want to go into this right now, having experienced too much and having been entirely too close to death just a short while ago. It was too early after the events that should leave me feel joyous and happy at our success. Yet, I couldn't be happy. "Don't laugh at me. But I think it was too easy." Silence, Tomoyo tightened her grip slight, but didn't say anything. "I feel this was just the beginning. All we did was sent her back to her prison. While the seal is restored, Pandora has already pushed very far to the surface. There is no guarantee that she won't find some other way. And that sooner than we might like." Especially since I was pretty sure she realized who were and there was no telling what she might come up with.

For a time the only sounds were that of the ocean, the tiny waves against the ship, and the vibrating buzz of the yacht's engine. "Yes. Somehow I knew you would say that." Tomoyo slipped next to me, an arm went instinctively around her waist. "A lot of things changed in the last hours. Permanent changes. That is only natural though. Everything changes, that is life."

"Does that trouble you." There were so many things implied in the question. Mainly about our past and our relationship back then. There was Sylphiel who I was pretty sure had been reborn as well. The bond between the three of us had been strong, I knew that. But Tomoyo hadn't really regained all of her memories as Amelia. Most of them were flashes, glimpses of the life we led back then. A part of me was relieved, a part of me a little saddened by that. I had no idea how she'd take the impact our past lives would eventually have on those we lived now.

And then there was Filia who was a totally different case I didn't want to go into right now or anytime soon. I was glad that the dragon priestess had offered to give Syaoran a ride back home since his own ship was lost in the storm. I was glad because just the short time we spent together after returning from the seal stirred memories and feelings inside of me that affected me emotionally to a degree where I am sure Tomoyo had noticed. I really was not ready to think about Filia right now, no definitely not.

Tomoyo had looked at me for awhile with a hard to read expression but now she leaned forward to put her head on my shoulder. Instinctively I pulled her closer, enjoying the feeling of her body against mine. Not in a physical sense, more in a way of completeness. "Not really. Not anymore. I know now, that whatever happens, we will be together."

I felt compelled to say something in return but instead I turned to draw her firmer against me, both arms coming around her body. "Always," I said with absolute conviction, glad and proud at the same time of the level of understanding and comprehension Tomoyo showed.

It was much like Tomoyo said though. Change was a constant companion in life. Life was chaotic. People who couldn't deal with change, with unpredictable situations would stagnate and miss most of the beauty that was life. We both had to accept this in the last hours. We would deal with what would come, one way or another.

A yawn made me look down at Tomoyo, comfortably snuggled in my arms, her head resting just a bit under my chin, letting me inhale the soft fragrance that amazingly had been rather untouched by the events. I couldn't help a soft chuckle. "I think we should get some sleep. We definitely earned it." Truth be told I felt ready to pop right here and there, not waking up for the next year or so. Whatever had us going for so long, had finally subsided and exhaustion began to catch up.

Tomoyo nodded, very reluctantly stepping away from me, just to reach for my hand. I grinned and let myself be dragged below deck to our cabin. Thinking could come tomorrow or next week or whenever I felt like it. Right now I felt much too spent to even begin to assess the changes in our lives experienced over the last twelve hours or so. What counted was that I was still here, everyone was still here, Tomoyo was still here. We were all alive and everything had indeed turned out to be alright.

******************************

(Filia)

I watched the boat slowly disappear from human sight and eventually from that of a dragon as well. Time was rather insignificant right now. It would be awhile until I had to go drop the boy off in China and after that… well, I wasn't sure. The shrine was gone too which left me a little sad with the though of my solitary home for a very long time not being there anymore.

That's the price for success, I suppose. The seal was restored, just as I had been told. And Earth, along with the rest of the universe, had earned itself a little breathing space.

"It won't be long now, will it?"

I didn't turn at the sudden appearance of a very familiar, in the old times often pretty annoying voice. Truth be told, I had expected him to show up a little earlier. "A couple of years, I would believe. It'll take her awhile to seek another opportunity."

The man stepped up next to me, his trademark smile in place, even though I could tell that for once he wasn't really amused and his voice showed his seriousness. "The other parties are coming along nicely. Everything will be in place when the time comes."

Sighing I turned away from the spot where I had watched the group leave in their ship, with them Lina who was now awakened. That didn't change a thing though and I knew it. Made it not much easier to accept though. "I hate playing the conductor for a war that could be avoided. We could spare them all this just by ensuring she doesn't get to them. What would be so bad about it?"

I regretted the question right away because I knew what was coming judged by the gleam in the purple-haired priest's eye. "Ah, dear Filia, that is a secret." The grin quickly turned into a stoic expression though. "One that I neither know the answer to or am especially fond of finding it out. You know as much as I that this is our path. We have our instructions and I for one will follow them to the letter."

"I hate it when you are right, Xelloss," I grumbled.

Xelloss chuckled lightly and then, without much fanfare, vanished, leaving me once again alone with my thoughts.

A couple of years, indeed. Then, THEN the REAL battle would begin. And it would be an epical one.

"Use that time well," I said quietly to the wind, then turned and walked back towards the small camp on the rocky surface of the torn mountain top.

THE END (for now)

Author's Notes

That muse makes me nuts. I had no intention of making that chapter almost as huge as all three installments before put together. I really didn't want to…

Okay, okay, I'll stop whining.

This really turned out rather different from what I had initially planned but in the end I am more or less satisfied with it. I had to rewrite the last scenes at least once but now I think the story is presentable. An apology here for the long-winded explanation in some parts while some things pretty much faded into the background. I realize that I haven't brought much attention to any of the other characters except Sakura and Tomoyo and to a degree Filia. This story was done from their perspective and there really was not much space to include others further, nor was it intended in the first place.

I realize this part has experienced an even greater touch of the crossover it is eventually leading to than I had planned for. That couldn't be done any other way though, I realized halfway through writing. This stretched the length of this part enormously but I also managed to cover much more and still not neglect thoughts and emotions in the process of action and past life revelations.

There are still a few things that are left unclear which is good, since I didn't really want to reveal too much yet. You must keep in mind that this was just a collection of prequel stories. A work an author might do AFTER writing a greater series, to explain some of the background. So, I more or less did it the other way round, at least for the CCS part. :)

Mixing the three main elements in this part had been a lot of fun and I think I managed to do a lot of setup for the actual main story. For those who interest those things. I decided to use the actual Romanji incantation of the spells I took from Slayers. There have just been too many conflicting translations that I didn't want to get into the predicament again to choose one of them. Those of you interested should easily be able to find English translations on Slayers Universe (www.inverse.org) or QP's page (http://homepage3.nifty.com/QPHOUSE/slayers_e.html) from where I have the Romanji incantations.

For the names I decided to go with those I am most familiar with. Just like the spells there are so many different spellings, so I went with those that I know from my own DVDs.

This marks the end of what I now officially titled the "Forbidden Cards" series. Next will be the BSSM intro that will be part of the main story already. Look for Soul Lights - Foreshadowed Dusk on the SA board for a scene-to-scene post style or join our group. Maia really, REALLY got a hang of this and I am not sure when she gets down from it, so… This will probably be my main focus for now.

That's it so far. I thank all of you for your kind comments along the way. When I started this series at the beginning of December 2003 it hadn't been planned to take up so much time… Heck, it was a single, shorter story to begin with, but I enjoyed my first experiences in writing CCS.

I hope I'll see you soon and that you continue to provide me with feedback.

Ja ne, yours

Matthias