Legend:
Emphasis is shown with * *
Thoughts are shown with / /
Telepathic communication is shown with italics

Glossary:
aa - yeah
arigatou - thank you
bakayarou - jackass
chotto - hey
daijoubu ka?/daijoubu desu ka? - are you okay?
doushita nanda? - what’s wrong?; what happened?
hai - yes; okay
hoe - this doesn’t mean anything in particular…it’s just something that Sakura says/exclaims in any situation where she’s surprised
ima yo - now
kawaii - cute
kocchi koi - come here
kuso - shit
machinasai! - wait! (polite)
minna - everyone
nani? - what?
oi - hey
omae - you
onegai - please
onegai shimasu - please (formal)
onii - older brother
sou da - that’s right; that’s true
sou ka? - is that right?
tachi - an honorific added on to the end of pronouns or nouns to make them plural (e.g. ‘omae-tachi’ to mean ‘all of you’)
taku - damn
To-ya - an alternate romanization and pronunciation of Touya’s name---Yuki’s affectionate nickname for Touya
urasai - shut up
yappari - I knew it
yatta! - I did it!

Incantations are translated at the end of the chapter (so as not to give any spoilers *g*).

*****
Please
Close to me more
And don’t leave me alone
*****

“Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said, as she emerged from the bushes wearing a blue and green variation on a sailor uniform, covered in little bows, “don’t you think this is a bit…childish, for someone my age?”

“Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied gravely, holding up her camcorder, “there’s a distinct difference between ‘childish’ and ‘totally kawaii’!”

“I completely agree,” Cerberus was quick to point out.

“Can we please get on with this?” Yue asked, sounding extremely exasperated as he glanced between the three of them.

“Of course,” Sakura said, looking almost as fed up as he sounded. “Everyone, follow me.”

“Oo, I’ve got the perfect angle,” Tomoyo chirped as she fell into place behind the others.

“Yappari,” Yue grunted, rubbing his forehead before he lifted off, flying up above the others, trying to scope out the area, looking for any sign of mischief.

Cerberus and Tomoyo kept a look-out on the ground---although Sakura’s shielding magic would ensure that they wouldn’t be disturbed by any innocent passersby---but a moment later Yue was joined in the air by his mistress. He glanced to the side, watching her sail gracefully along the air currents, flapping her white wings, tiny in comparison to his own.

“There,” Sakura said quietly, pointing just to the right of the Emperor Penguin slide. “Do you feel it? This aura…”

“Aa,” Yue murmured, nodding. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure,” Sakura admitted, closing her eyes for a moment before she looked to him questioningly, but he merely shook his head. He had no advice. She sighed quietly. “I should have listened to you more carefully and done something about the book sooner…”

“There was little you could do until you knew more about it,” Yue countered, shaking his head. “I assume you were researching about it, considering the questions you were asking me.”

“Hai, I was,” Sakura agreed, as they continued to fly closer to their destination. “But I wasn’t in time…I shouldn’t have been so careless…”

“Accidents happen, even to the most powerful magicians in the world,” Yue said, reaching out briefly to touch her arm. She glanced at him, surprised, and blinked when he offered her one of his rare, gentle smiles. “I have some stories I should tell you, some time, about Clow Read…”

With that he folded his wings in slightly and dove, flying lower, and after a moment of contemplation she followed.

They landed on the ground in a small copse of trees and peered into the clearing where the feeling of magic that had surrounded the book was strongest, and a moment later Cerberus and Tomoyo caught up.

“Are there any civilians in the area?” Yue asked, and Cerberus shook his head.

“Not that we could see,” Tomoyo said, as she moved slightly and adjusted her grip on her video camera.

“Yue-san, Kero-chan…do you feel anything?” Sakura asked, her eyes sweeping the clearing ahead of them.

“Aa,” Yue answered, eyes narrowed as he too turned to survey the entire area. “But I can’t narrow it down to any one specific place.”

“Same here,” Cerberus said, with a soft sigh. “I can tell that it’s strongest in this general area, but…”

“Let me try…” Sakura said, and then she closed her eyes, clasping her hands over her chest and taking a step forward. Yue and Cerberus both came closer to her sides, keeping a close watch for activity in the area.

“I…can almost feel…” she began, but before she could go any further, she heard the soft sound of an intake of breath---Yue, just before Cerberus shouted her name---and then she felt herself gathered into Yue’s familiar grasp and she was lifted into the air just before a jet of fire burnt the grass where she had stood.

“Nani!?” she exclaimed, as Yue flew her over a hundred feet into the air, well out of the danger zone. He let her go as soon as she produced her own wings, and they drifted apart, staring down and watching with wide eyes as the clearing they had stood outside a moment before was suddenly surrounded by a wall of fire.

“Tomoyo-chan!!” Sakura cried, diving straight down towards the trees again.

“Sakura!” Cerberus’ voice cried out just then, and Sakura halted mid-flight, turning towards her Sun Guardian.

“Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo called, waving from where she was sitting comfortably on Cerberus’ back just behind his wings, video camera held in one hand.

Sakura placed a hand against her chest, letting out a breath of relief.

“Arigatou, Kero-chan,” she said with a warm smile before she glanced back towards Yue. “And you, Yue-san. What was that?”

“Firey,” Yue said simply. “And Watery.”

He pointed back down towards the clearing, which was now also surrounded by a wall of water which appeared to be bubbling and hissing just behind the fire.

“Hoe!” Sakura said, eyes widening. “All right, does anyone have any suggestions?”

“The book is obviously within the clearing, and as you said, it holds control over the four Elements,” Yue said calmly, folding his arms over his chest. “Although you no longer require the Sakura Cards to perform magic, the Element Cards are the four most powerful Cards and it may be difficult to capture them again…”

“Hoe,” Sakura said quietly again, gently chewing her lip as she mulled the problem over.

“You’ve done it once before, Sakura,” Cerberus said encouragingly. “You can do it again.”

“Not all at once, Kero-chan!” Sakura protested. “I didn’t have to catch all four Elements at once.”

“Sou da, but you’re stronger now than you were back then,” Cerberus said, with a friendly growl.

“And you always have your own spell, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said with a grin.

Sakura turned to her and smiled, winking.

“Right,” she said, and then she gripped her key tightly in her hand. “It’ll be okay for sure. Ready, everyone?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Cerberus said with a snort, and Sakura chuckled.

“Hai!” she said, and then she closed her eyes and spread her hands, letting her key float up in the air between her arms. “Hoshi no chikara o himeshi kagi yo! Shin no sugata o ware no mae ni shimese. Keiyaku no moto Sakura ga meijiru!”

The key started to glow, and Sakura opened her eyes.

“Release!” she shouted. They all watched as the key lengthened to become the rod. Sakura caught it in her hands, twirled it several times for effect, then held it firmly in her hands, glancing once more towards her guardians.

“Ima yo!” she said then, before she started to dive back down towards the clearing.

They were only a few metres from their destination when abruptly the water wall dissolved away from the fiery barrier and solidified into the physical form of the Watery card. Watery gave a violent hiss and started towards them, arms outspread as she swam upwards, water rushing up into the air.

“Shield!” Sakura shouted just before the tidal wave hit them, and the water slammed against her magical barrier and crashed back down to the ground. Watery screeched out her frustration but retreated. Sakura held up the shield as she and Yue lowered themselves into the clearing, but she kept a close eye on it as flames started to lick at the edges. Cerberus appeared a moment later after depositing Tomoyo in a safe place.

“Do you see the book itself?” Yue asked, twisting and turning as he tried to spy the object in question.

“Probably there,” Sakura said, pointing towards the centre of the clearing, where several jutting crags of rock had spewed out of the ground recently. “It looks like Earthy is being used as a defensive measure.”

“Sou ka?” Yue said, narrowing his eyes before he lifted his arms. Sakura and Cerberus watched as two thin strands of iridescent moonlight appeared in Yue’s hands, quickly forming themselves into the vague shape of a bow. Yue pulled back his hand, and as he did so he nocked the bow with a moonlit arrow. His eyes narrowed further the instant before he fired.

Sakura’s eyes followed the arrow’s path and widened slightly when it hit Earthy, followed quickly by several more arrows, all perfectly on target. The four shards of rock shattered, turned to dust by the power of Yue’s magic, and for a brief instant, the form of the book was revealed, floating placidly in the air where the rock had been a moment before. In the next instant, however, just as Sakura started forward towards the book, Windy suddenly spiraled upwards from the spine of the book, an unusual look of malice on her normally kind face as she raced towards Sakura, arms outstretched, obviously intent on causing harm.

“Hmph,” Yue said, drawing back his arm to shoot another arrow.

“Yue!” Cerberus warned him an instant too late. The shout threw off Yue’s concentration, and his arrow went sailing off course, whistling past Windy’s shoulder even as Yue was thrown out of the way by the force of Cerberus knocking into him, shielding him under his expansive wings.

“Cerberus!!” Yue roared, furious. “Nani!?”

“Bakayarou!!” Cerberus growled back at Yue, glaring down at him for a fraction of a second before he rolled off of him, giving him a chance to get back to his feet. “They’ve broken through the barrier!”

Yue’s eyes widened when he saw what Cerberus meant; the place Yue had been standing in a moment ago was now a raging fireball, and as soon as Cerberus and Yue backed away, Firey and Watery advanced, snickering madly. They heard an ear-splitting roar, and turning, they could see Earthy splitting the ground behind them, making the earth around them shake as Earthy broke through and reached towards the sky.

“Sakura! Where is she!?” Yue demanded, looking around frantically.

“Over here, Yue-san!” Sakura called, and just as Yue turned his head, Sakura swooped down out of the sky and landed next to him.

“This could prove troublesome,” Yue said, and Cerberus rolled his eyes.

“Thank you again, Yue…I see you’re still capable of stating the painfully obvious,” Cerberus said with a low growl, and Yue returned it more quietly.

“I think we need to get to a more open area,” Sakura said, and then she shook her head slightly. “But I don’t know how to lure them out…”

“That’s simple enough,” Cerberus said, suddenly looking pained.

“Aa,” Yue agreed, turning to fix her with his usual intense gaze. “Give the book the opportunity to capture more of the Sakura Cards.”

“Nani?” Sakura gasped.

“Try to let it actually capture very few,” Cerberus hurried to say. “But the way to get it out into the open is to tempt it with what it was made to find…”

“Of course…” Sakura said, and then she closed her eyes, balling one hand into a fist.

“Everything’ll be fine for sure,” Cerberus reassured her, and she opened her eyes again to give him a slight grin.

“Arigatou, Kero-chan. All right. Let’s go again.”

Yue and Cerberus nodded and, at her signal, the three of them took off.

Yue and Cerberus automatically moved to either side of the clearing, and while Yue moved his hands to one side and started shooting icicle-like shards of solid moon power towards Windy and Watery, Cerberus shot a column of flame towards Firey and Earthy, distracting them somewhat as Sakura moved around to the middle of the clearing.

Hoping to create as much confusion in as little time as possible, Sakura threw six cards into the air, shouting out their names one by one and watching as the Element Cards all turned their heads in her direction as they heard her voice.

“Dark! Flower! Glow! Mist! Rain! Snow!”

Then, with a final twirl of her wand and tossing a final card into the air, Sakura started running towards the book as she shouted her last command.

“Sword!”

Both Yue and Cerberus halted their attacks, preparing to retreat as they watched their mistress take flight just as her wand altered itself into the sword and she took a fierce stab at the book, watching as it suddenly shifted backwards, out of harm’s way, just in time. The Element Cards screamed in rage and turned to go after her, but just as they did, the six commands Sakura had given before went into effect, and it began to snow and rain even as large globules of warm green light, a horribly corrosive green mist, and fat pink flower petals began to drift down out of the sky. Finally, the clearing was suddenly overtaken by a darkness so extreme no one could see anything at all.

“Yue-san! Kero-chan!” Sakura’s commanding tone came again, and both of the guardians took flight, following the sound of her voice.

They broke free of the clearing a moment later, flying at full speed after Sakura as she headed towards an area of the park where she knew there were less trees.

“Onegai…onegai, follow me,” she whispered as she flew.

Yue and Cerberus kept glancing back, and they weren’t disappointed. After only a few moments four more forms broke through the dome of darkness, and the Element Cards flew after them, followed closely by the small, vulnerable-looking form of the book.

“Do you know what to do, Sakura?” Cerberus asked, as Sakura finally stopped and stood firmly in the middle of the open field she’d chosen.

“Hai…I think so,” Sakura said, turning to give him a smile.

“Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo called from where she was hiding not too far away in the trees. “Daijoubu desu ka?”

“Hai, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura called, waving. “Stay there in the trees, ne? Promise!”

“I promise!” Tomoyo called back.

“I’m afraid I can’t promise the same thing,” a new, lower voice said, and all of them turned.

“Onii-chan!” Sakura exclaimed, startled, watching as Touya slowly walked across the field towards them.

“I had a feeling something strange was going on here,” Touya said, before glancing off to one side, towards where the Element Cards and the book were speeding towards them.

“Onii-chan, you have to get away from here!” Sakura said urgently. “I know you’re worried about us, but this isn’t the time to be overprotective!”

“Sakura is right,” Yue said, and Touya turned to him, surprised by the concern in his voice. Their eyes met, and Yue glanced to one side, almost as though he couldn’t hold Touya’s gaze. “You are not equipped to deal with this, To-ya.”

“Onegai shimasu, Kinomoto-san, come over here with me,” Tomoyo called out towards him, and Touya looked like he was about to argue, but Yue sent him a *look* that seemed to make him reconsider.

“All right…I’ll be over there,” Touya grumbled, sauntering off to join Tomoyo in the trees.

“Sakura!” Cerberus called warningly, gesturing with his head. “Here they come!”

“Hoe!” Sakura said with a gulp before she lifted her wand. “All right! Ready, minna?”

Yue and Cerberus nodded.

“Yue-san! Kero-chan!” Sakura said, her tone becoming commanding once more, as it so rarely did. “Go!”

They both nodded once more and then took flight, moving swiftly towards the Element Cards.

“Cerberus!” Yue shouted, waving out an arm towards the two cards that were directed by the sun’s influence.

“Hai! I’m on it!” Cerberus shouted, opening his mouth to let out a jet of flame, and the Earthy and Firey cards screamed and let loose their own magicks towards him.

“Let’s see how you handle this,” Yue said quietly, narrowing his eyes before he sent several hundred shards of moon power towards the two remaining cards. Windy merely winced, but Watery shrieked her rage and spun down towards him, claws stretched out towards him, obviously intent on revenge. Yue again drew his bow out of the air and shot an arrow towards her, but changed his aim at the last second, aiming for the book.

Watery screamed again and lashed out at him, both physically and with her magic, but he flew backwards, avoiding her. He could sense powerful magic stirring behind him but knew he couldn’t afford to look back and see what Sakura was doing; he had enough to deal with ahead of himself, with two Cards to face and an unknown in the form of the book.

He watched, eyes widening, as suddenly Watery backed up a bit and buoyed herself against Windy, seeming to combine powers, twining herself around Windy before the two of them dove towards Yue. He set his face in a hard frown, gripping his bow before he started towards them at an equal speed. He was just about to reach them, an arrow aimed directly at the middle of their entwined shapes, when out of the corner of his eye he saw the book flash suddenly, and his eyes widened, because something was very wrong…suddenly his bow was gone…and that wasn’t all…his wings…his wings were gone, and he was falling…

“Yue-san!!”

“Yue!!”

The screams were coming from all directions, but he could hardly hear them…all he could heard was the wind rushing in his ears as he fell towards the ground, and all he could feel was the relentless leeching of his power away from his body, towards the book. So, it could do this as well. Any power that had originated with Clow could go to that book…was that how it was? Then how would Sakura…?

He closed his eyes, wincing slightly as he felt the air currents changing and knew he was approaching the ground.

“Yue!!”

That shout was distinctly familiar, and he fought against the urge to smile. So, even he couldn’t keep out of this, could he? Couldn’t he even do what he was told? It wasn’t safe for him here…

Then Yue heard something strange…a few words, spoken in a foreign tongue…it sounded like Chinese. The gentle sensation of wind…and then he was being gathered into Touya’s arms, warm and gentle, and held tightly against Touya’s chest.

“Yue! Yue!! Kuso…Yue!” Touya’s voice was frantic, and Yue felt Touya’s fingers brushing his hair back off of his forehead.

“Yue-san!” That voice was familiar too…Daidouji Tomoyo? He felt her small hand against his arm.

“Yue-san!!” Sakura was rushing towards them, erecting a hasty Shield as she dropped to her knees in the dirt by Yue’s side. “Doushita nanda!? Onii-chan!?”

“Sakura…the book…” Yue whispered, fighting to open his eyes, just for a moment…he could see them, all of them, gathered around him, their eyes panicked. “It can take our power as well…be careful…”

Then his head slumped against Touya’s shoulder.

“Yue!” Touya whispered, his hand against Yue’s head. “It’s no use…he’s out cold.”

“He’s just unconscious,” Cerberus said, and then he turned to Sakura. “He’s right, Sakura…I managed to get to the ground before it was too late, but my power is fading too.”

“Taku,” Touya whispered, glancing towards his sister, who was frowning deeply.

“Never mind; it’s too late,” she murmured, getting to her feet, face set with determination. “I need to finish the spell.”

“Sakura!!”

All of them turned towards the sound of running feet, but no one looked especially surprised at the sight of the young man who ran up to them, panting slightly.

“Daijoubu ka?” he asked, his eyes first on Sakura and then on all the others. When they nodded, he turned to look down at Yue, cradled gently in Touya’s arms. “Yue…is he…?”

“Hai…he’ll be fine, I think. Arigatou, Syaoran-kun,” Sakura said with a warm smile, reaching out to place a hand on her friend’s arm. “Your timing is perfect.”

“I came as soon as Tomoyo called me,” Syaoran said, coloring slightly now at the way everyone was looking at him. “I hope I haven’t missed much.”

“We’re just getting ready for the big finale,” Cerberus said pointedly. “So take your position, brat.”

“Urasai,” Syaoran said, giving Cerberus an irritable push before he followed Sakura out of the shield and onto the field once more.

“All right,” Sakura said loudly as she took up her former place in the field. “I was willing to let you play with my guardians for a little bit, but now that you’ve tried to hurt Yue-san, I’m not willing to be as patient. I won’t forgive you for this!”

She pointed a finger at the book, then raised her wand.

“Syaoran-kun,” she said in a lowered tone of voice, “would you mind occupying them for me for a little bit? I should only need a couple more minutes…”

“Why not?” Syaoran said with a shrug, turning to grin at her before he lifted his sword. “I could always use the practice.”

Sakura chuckled before she turned and twirled her wand, focusing her magic again, attempting to complete the spell she’d been trying before.

“Oi! Omae-tachi!” Syaoran shouted, focusing the point of his sword at the four Element Cards, all of whom turned their attention towards him. “Care to play?”

None of them seemed to require much more invitation than that. Watery and Firey screamed, Earthy growled, and Windy sighed before the four of them dove and started towards him.

“Unten shyourai kyuu kyuu ryoumitsuryo! Ha!” Syaoran shouted. A small bolt of lightning arced out of the end of his sword and sizzled to the ground between the four Cards, scattering them all across the field. Despite the fact that the magic couldn’t possibly have hurt them, they all seemed mildly annoyed by it.

“At least that got your attention,” Syaoran said with a smile before he took a firmer fighting stance. “Kocchi koi!”

The Cards continued their dive towards him, and he smiled before throwing a series of four fuda cards into the air. All of them flattened against his sword, and he drew his fingers along the length, his eyes narrowing as he focused on his targets.

“Lei di zhao li! Feng hua zhao li! Shui lou zhao li! Huo shen zhao li!” he shouted, focusing his attacks on the opposite element in each case. His fuda attacks had grown steadily in power over the years, and the Element Cards were driven backwards by the power of his magic. He pushed forward, slicing out with his sword to throw them back even further.

“Sakura! How much longer?” he shouted back towards her as he kept the Cards from advancing, binding them with his magic.

“Ima yo, Syaoran!” she shouted back, and he nodded before releasing the Cards with a last yell that sent them all spinning back with four cries of rage. He quickly jumped out of the way, knowing that Sakura’s magic would probably be just as dangerous to him as it would be to the enemy.

“Hai! Shot!” Sakura shouted, distracting the Elements momentarily with the shot card as she too jumped out of the way with two more whispered commands of “Mirror” and “Illusion”, leaving a shadow of herself complete with an illusion of her magic signature in her place for the cards to follow as she flew out of the way, hoping desperately that the book couldn’t follow her true movements as she tried to get around behind it. She could feel Syaoran following her, trying to keep track of her, acting as her guardian, and she smiled at his concern.

“Sakura, what are you planning?” Syaoran asked as they finally came around behind the book. “Tomoyo told me everything on the phone…”

“What do you think?” Sakura asked, smiling slightly as she drew the fifty-third Sakura Card out of her pocket. Her grin only grew wider when she saw Syaoran’s eyes widen with shock.

“Wish me luck,” she whispered, not giving him a chance to answer before she leaned in, stole a quick kiss, and then took off, flying at full speed towards the book.

“Chotto!” Sakura called, just as she reached the book and grabbed it with both hands, slamming it open the instant she had her fingers around it. The moment it was open, she stuffed the card in her hand into the open space inside the book, ignoring the way the Element cards abruptly turned away from her illusion and started towards her.

“Hope,” Sakura whispered in command, and then she closed her eyes before she shut the book. She winced, squeezing her eyes more tightly shut as a brilliant flash of light radiated outwards from the book. Then, abruptly, the book seemed to fall open in her hands again, and she stared down into the book at where the Hope card---the final Sakura Card, the combination of Clow’s last Card, Void, and Sakura’s own card, Love---now rested. The book seemed totally docile.

“Yatta!” Sakura said with a grin, before she glanced up at the Element Cards, who blinked for a moment confusedly before the three attack cards amongst them turned and focused on her, seemingly intent on making a run for her again. Windy, meanwhile, turned and started for the trees.

“Machinasai!!” Sakura called out towards Windy, even as she winced, looking at the three angry Element Cards headed her way. She heard Syaoran preparing his spells again, but she shouted at him to stop. “Never mind, Syaoran-kun, I’ll handle this.”

She settled herself on the ground and held up her wand, twirling it into position.

“Nanji no arubeki sugata ni modore! Sakura Cards!” she shouted, focusing her energy. Power radiated out from the wand---for a moment, it was the Rod of Capture once more---and the four Elements were all stopped in their tracks, all of them abruptly turned to swirling energy before they all became spinning cards in the air which then blew down through the breeze and landed neatly in Sakura’s outstretched palm.

“Hoe,” Sakura said, shaking her head as she pulled out a pen and wrote her name on the Element Cards again. “What a night.”

“Here’s the book,” Syaoran said, gingerly holding the now-quiet volume as he walked up to her.

“Arigatou,” Sakura said, sighing as she accepted it from him. She turned to Cerberus as he walked up then, Tomoyo trailing behind him, with Touya just behind her, Yue held gently in his arms. “Kero-chan, what do you think I should do with it now?”

“I think we should put a seal on it until we have a chance to study it some more,” Cerberus said, sounding exasperated. “It’s caused enough trouble for one lifetime.”

“Agreed,” everyone chimed, and then they all laughed.

“So,” Cerberus said then, perking up his ears. “Who’s up for keki?”

Which of course made everyone laugh again.

*****