The next morning we gathered together again.
"Kurogane and Fai are both in their original clothes." Mokona noted. They were a little worse for wear, but both men looked as they should in the clothing from their home worlds. The dress I wore the night we met was long gone… a stage costume probably wouldn't be best for a battle anyway. So instead, I was dressed in magic-created clothes inspired by our team. Dark blue cloak inspired by Syaoran, all-black pants and a sleeveless top reminiscent of Kurogane, and a small white necklace with a charm representing the symbols of Celes. Our lost home.
I watched as Syaoran entered the room, dressed as our clone companion once had been.
"Those clothes…" Mokona started.
"I was keeping them." Yuuko explained. "They're Syaoran's."
"They're perfect." I said to our young friend as everyone looked sullen.
"Mokona. There's only one chance to go to Clow Country's stopped time. Watanuki paid with his memories in order to give you the chance to go to where Fei Wong is. Do not let this opportunity escape." Yuuko told us.
"Yes." Mokona nodded, understanding her.
"Then, go to Clow." The witch told us, extending her arms. I watched as a magic circle surrounded us as well as Yuuko. Even from this other world, I could feel her immeasurable power. She used her magic to create a tether between where we were and where we needed to go. She threw that line into her world, out of our sight, and I watched it connect with something. But only a moment later, the line loosened and lightning came crashing down on her.
"Yuuko!" I could hear the other Mokona yell.
"Now!" Yuuko demanded.
"Thank you." Syaoran said as we started to disappear.
"I hope that your beloved will return to your arms." Tomoyo said, clearly watching her own love disappear. Poor Kurogane.
As we left Kurogane's Tokyo, I could feel all of us using whatever combined powers we had to propel us toward Clow. I tapped into the same power I used to find my way back to Fai all those months ago and followed the line that Yuuko had cast for us.
After what felt like both an eternity and an instant we dropped from the sky into a desert.
"Mokona!" I called as our guide fell after us, clearly drained.
"Are you ok?" Syaoran asked once I caught her.
"You've used your magic to its limit." Fai said.
"I'm ok." Our little mascot said. "Mokona will do whatever Mokona can."
"Are we there?"
"Yes. This is Clow." Syaoran told us. Behind us were the ruins we saw in the memory from the library and in front of us was a long staircase leading up to the town.
"Is it beyond the gate?" Kurogane asked, clearly itching to get to the violence.
"That's the district where I lived. Beyond that is the castle." Syaoran explained.
"What could 'isolated time' mean?" Mokona questioned from my arms.
"I don't know. It could mean that time has stopped or…" Fai tried to answer.
"Or maybe a pocket outside of time?" I ventured a guess as we climbed the stairs.
"Who knows what it means. But what we seek is beyond this area." Kurogane added.
"Let's go." We let our youngest companion lead the way into town. As we reached the top of the stairs we were shocked to find a bustling marketing place filled with happy villagers.
"This…" Syaoran started to speak but was quickly cut off by a young boy carrying a basket of apples tripping over his own feet and nearly crashing into our group. Syaoran caught him easily, helping steady the boy back on his feet.
"Thanks, big brother!" The little boy smiled. "Are you a traveler?"
"Yes…" our friend answered, unsure.
"Thanks a lot! Clow is a great place!" the young boy called over his shoulder as he took off running through the market again.
"Everybody seems so happy…" Mokona said as we walked through the market.
"What's going on here?" Kurogane asked.
"These people don't seem to be aware of anything amiss." Fai added.
"But what is this eerie feeling? I feel like I just stepped into the start of a horror movie." I gently took Fai's hand, feeling anxiety twist my stomach into knots. He squeezed my hand back easing my panic slightly.
"I wonder where Sakura is…" Mokona pondered, jumping to Syaoran's shoulder.
"Hey! Big brother!" The kid from earlier called out as we approached his family's shop. "Thanks for before. I made it back without dropping our shop's produce!"
"Not at all…" Syaoran said.
"Thank you so much." The boy's mother thanked us. "He's always in such a hurry."
"They seem genuinely welcoming. I doubt we have anything to worry about from them." Kurogane whispered to us.
"Indeed." Fai agreed before leaning over Syaoran's shoulder to hear the conversation better.
"Those clothes. Are you from another country?" A young man asked us, taking notice of our group.
"Yes. We've just arrived here in Clow." Fai answered.
"All of you have such different-looking clothing. Do you all come from different countries?" Another asked us.
"We were all born in different countries but now we're traveling together." Fai smiled, squeezing my hand gently again.
"How nice!" The local said with a large smile.
"Traveling alone is nice, but traveling with friends is definitely nicer!" Another man laughed.
"Yes, it is." Fai answered, smiling down at me.
"We hope you like it here! There's a festival coming up soon, too!" Another local informed us.
"A festival?" Syaoran asked with a look on his face as if that sounded familiar to him.
"Yah! Over there, at those ruins." The local explained.
"Have you already decided on lodging for tonight?" Someone asked.
"No, not yet." Fai answered.
"You could stay with us!" The child cheered.
"Yes, please do." His mother added.
"Oh, but…" Syaoran tried to think of something to say. But if he were anything like me in the moment, he was a little overwhelmed by the crowd surrounding us asking question after question.
"That's great for you! If you're in the middle of a journey you need to save up." A man told us.
"Besides, the nights here are incredibly cold. There's no way you can sleep outside." the boy explained.
"We certainly do need to secure a place to sleep." Syaoran told him. Fai leaned in close to our friend to hear him whisper, "Besides, right now we don't know where Princess Sakura is. I want to get more information." We all nodded in agreement.
"The sun is already setting." Our young host for the evening said. Hadn't it just felt like midday?