Author's Note: I never thought I'd reach this point. We're at the final 3 (maybe 4) parts of this long story/recap. You know it's leading to a new story which will be up soon (hopefully). I can tell you one thing about it. It WILL include a fair share of cameos and I may think about putting it in the Anime Crossover section. I guess I'll leave that up to the readers, but for right now…


Summary: Just like when this all began, it begins with a simple scrapbook. Sakura takes a look back at the final Clow Card capture.


Episode 53- Recalling the Earth Card: The Final Capture


Sakura knocked on the front door. There was no answer. She sat on the porch holding her secret scrapbook close to her chest. She didn't want to think Madison wasn't there. Then an idea hit her. If Madison wasn't in her own house, then she might have been at Li's guesthouse. So that's where she went.

She walked down the tremendous estate, looking for the guesthouse of her love, and found the big dwelling. Li's guesthouse was almost bigger than her own house, which made Sakura marvel even more at how rich her best friend was. She walked towards the door…and suddenly spied a certain someone by the window.

It was Madison. She was looking into Li's window…with her video camera. Sakura frowned and walked up to her.

"Don't you have enough surveillance cameras?" Sakura muttered dryly.

Madison gasped upon hearing Sakura. "S-Sakura…this isn't what it looks like."

"Then what…?"

"SHH! Look."

Sakura kneeled right beside her best friend and looked into Li's window. Li was inside practicing with his sword. He moved so slowly…yet so gracefully. It was something to behold and Sakura could understand why Madison was getting it on tape. All they had to do…was stay quiet. And they were…until…

"Hey, what are we looking at?!"

Everything was silent until the boisterous Kero flew out of Sakura's pocket and landed on the windowsill. Li almost dropped his sword from the sudden outburst and he finally looked towards the window. Madison didn't have enough time to put her camera away.

Li put his sword away. "Like what you see?"

Sakura nodded. "I love it!"

"You might as well come in," Li sighed.

Sakura and Madison went around and came in through the door. Kero flew in through the window and landed on Sakura's shoulder. They all sat down on the plush carpet and everyone had their eyes on Sakura.

"So what's up?" Madison asked.

Sakura pulled out her scrapbook. "I know we've been looking back a lot lately. I was just wondering…if anyone remembered THIS picture."

Sakura reached into her scrapbook and pulled out one of her personal favorite pictures. It was a picture that symbolized one of her ultimate triumphs. A picture that proved she had matured as a Cardcaptor. It was the picture of her posing with the sealed Earth Card.

"We could never forget THAT capture," Li responded. "Especially what came after it…and before it."

Sakura thought deeply about that. "Hey…I never thought of that."

Madison gulped. "I don't think any of us could ever forget that capture. We never saw it coming. And it all started off so normally."

"You call THAT normal?" Li asked dryly.

Madison blinked. "Well…for US it's pretty normal…"


Flashback: The Side of the Shrine

P.O.V.: Madison Taylor

The day had been lots of fun so far and after everything that's been happening, Madison knew it was just what poor Sakura needed. While the day started off so cheerfully with Sakura and Madison remembering that there's only one Clow Card remaining, Sakura was particularly freaked out earlier when she told Madison about something she saw in her dream. She said the costume she was wearing in her dream…was just like the one on the doll Madison gave her in fourth grade…which came BEFORE Sakura became a Cardcaptor.

~* It's so weird. It's like all this was just destined to happen. *~

It only took a few hours of seeing Julian and Ms. Mackenzie go neck and neck in the archery competition to get Sakura's mind off everything. And Madison was happy about that, because she didn't want to see Sakura tense. But the weirdness didn't end there. Kero had vanished without a trace.

"Where would he go, Sakura?" Madison asked.

"I thought I heard him come this way," Sakura replied.

Sakura, Madison, and Li Showron all turned the corner of the building but didn't find Kero there. Instead, they only found their teacher.

"Ms. Mackenzie…what are you doing here?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I thought it'd be better to talk in a quiet place," Ms. Mackenzie answered.

Before anyone could ask what she meant by that, Ms. Mackenzie pointed at…

…Kero.

Sakura blinked. "Kero?"

~----------~

[Li: I should have seen that coming. I knew she wasn't normal.]

[Sakura: Yeah…but that wasn't the strange thing I had in mind. I was thinking of something else. Something like…while we were on our way home…]


Flashback: The Walk Home

P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon

Sakura felt like this was the weirdest day of her life…and she had had a LOT of weird days. But to see Kero and her teacher…TALKING to each other completely caught her off-guard. But when she said something, all she got from Kero was 'expect the unexpected' as usual.

Sakura, Madison, and Li decided to discuss this latest discovery on the way home. But they kept it down to a dull roar because Ms. Mackenzie and Julian were walking behind them.

"I knew it all along," Li said. "I knew there was something different about her." Then he glared at Sakura. "But it's not like you'd ever notice. Instead, you'd always go on and on about how happy she makes you."

Sakura got a dreamy expression on her face. "Yeah…"

Li shook his head. "There you go again."

It didn't look like anything would get Sakura out of her dreamy state…until she ran into a guy in a bear suit. The guy handed Sakura a balloon.

"Oh, thank you!" Sakura smiled.

But that's when things got a little out of control. The bear started to shake Sakura's hair furiously.

Sakura tried to step back, but couldn't. "Hey! Stop that!"

Li wanted to come to her aid. "What are you doing?!"

But a familiar voice sounded from the bear. "Relax, brat. You too, squirt."

~* Not THAT voice. Anyone but him! *~

The bear finally removed his head to reveal…Sakura's brother, Tori. Sakura fumed when she discovered this…if for no other reason, then because she didn't figure it out earlier.

"Hi Tori," Sakura snarled. "Is this ANOTHER new job?"

"Hi Tori!" Julian said cheerfully. "Wow! What a coincidence!"

Tori shook his head. "There are no coincidences in this world…"

"…there is only the inevitable," Ms. Mackenzie finished.

Sakura paused. Tori was looking right at Sakura when he said that and she found that strange. She found it even stranger that Ms. Mackenzie knew exactly what he was going to say.

~* What's THAT all about? *~

~----------~

[Sakura: There it was again. There's another clue I completely missed out on. I should have seen it all there.]

[Kero: To be fair…you didn't have much time to think about it. Because we didn't think we'd go back to find…the Earth Card.]

[Madison: I remember when that happened. We almost got killed…and we never saw it coming…]


Flashback: Back at the Shrine

P.O.V.: Madison Taylor

Everyone quickly realized that the lunchboxes were left behind. So everyone rushed back to the shrine to pick them up. They found the lunchboxes and Sakura was about to pick them up…when Madison noticed Sakura stick her head up. Ms. Mackenzie twitched as well.

~* I don't like the looks of this. *~

Having known Sakura for so long, she should have seen it coming. She should have known it was a Clow Card, but Madison didn't notice it until the ground started to shake. Madison fell to her knees and when she looked ahead of her, she gasped in horror.

There was a massive fissure headed right for her. She felt frozen and couldn't move. But before Madison could even scream, she felt someone move her out of harm's way. It was Sakura. The fissure missed them both and they were both safe…for the moment.

~* Sakura…you saved my life. *~

"Are you two ok?" Julian asked.

"We're fine!" Sakura answered loudly, to overcome the noise of the rumbling.

Madison kept silent. The shock had overwhelmed as she had just come within inches of, at the least, being seriously hurt. Sakura ran over towards Li while Madison stayed behind with Julian. Sakura and Li had a brief conference before they decided on a plan of action. Madison could see Sakura taking out her wand…and unleashing a familiar blue dust.

~* The Sleep Card! NO! I'm not going to be put to sleep again! Not now! NOT THIS TIME!! *~

Thinking quickly, Madison hid behind Julian and held her breath. The only idea she had was to avoid exposure to the dust completely. Madison couldn't even bear to look, but she suddenly felt a huge dead weight fall on her. It was Julian. He had fallen asleep and Madison managed to catch him. But she noticed something else.

~* I'm awake! It didn't get me! I'm still awake! *~

Then Madison looked up and saw Sakura taking to the sky on the Fly Card. Madison had a look of grave concern on her face, because she knew that this final Clow Card obviously wasn't messing around. But at that moment…Ms. Mackenzie put a hand on her shoulder. The Sleep Card hadn't affected her, either.

"She'll be fine," the enigmatic teacher said. "She's an Avalon……uh…Sakura…I mean, she's Sakura."

~* Huh? Why'd she say Avalon? *~

But that question quickly left Madison's head. She felt much more at ease. She was confident in Sakura's abilities. And she felt much better that she had managed to avoid the Sleep Card.

Madison now had a chance to not only witness, but also tape, Sakura's final card capture. And that's all she really wanted.

~----------~

[Madison: And I'll never forget what I saw. You were amazing, Sakura!]

[Sakura: I couldn't have done it on my own. I had some help. Right, Kero?]

[Kero: That's right. I knew you were more than capable, but I still didn't want to let you take on Earth by yourself. We were partners. So I was right there by your side…]


Flashback: The Shrine

P.O.V.: Kero

With the fissures coming out and the Earth Card coming out in her visible form, Kero knew the final fight had begun. And Sakura looked more than ready to handle it.

"This is it, Sakura!" Kero told her. "This is the final Clow Card! It's the Earth Card!"

Sakura looked around and saw all the rising pillars. "The whole town will be ruined. Is this the great disaster that's supposed to befall the world?"

~* Oh…why'd she have to ask me THAT?! *~

Kero sweatdropped. "Um…the great disaster isn't that ordinary."

"THIS is ordinary?!"

"You know what I mean! I told you the great disaster isn't THAT kind of disaster. It's something completely different."

"Then what is this?!" Sakura demanded, referring to the rising rock pillars.

"The good work of Earth," Kero answered.

It didn't look like that was good enough, because Sakura looked nervous. But Sakura got that brave look on her face and decided to take Earth out.

"Water!"

The Water Card came out and made a beeline for Earth. Water dashed straight through Earth, seemingly knocking her head off. But to Sakura's shock, Earth's head grew back and she attempted to attack by throwing rocks. That's when Kero got an idea.

~* I may not have ALL my powers. But I have to try! *~

Kero flew right in front of Sakura…and breathed a flame of fire at the incoming rocks. But that didn't help much, because the rocks exploded into smaller flaming rocks. Before they could be hit, Sakura and Kero flew out of the way.

"Earth cannot be defeated by magic," Kero told Sakura.

"Then what do I do?" Sakura pleaded.

~* I wish she hadn't asked me that, either. *~

"I can't give you the answer to that, Sakura," Kero replied. "You have to figure it out on your own. Come on! You can do it!"

Sakura tried to think, but she had to think on her feet, because rocks were flying her way.

"Jump!"

Sakura leaped away from the incoming attacks and started to look around. Kero noticed she was looking at Ms. Mackenzie. Then she looked over at the trees.

~* Come on, kiddo. What are you thinking about? *~

Sakura reached for a card, but Kero was very skeptical about this choice.

"Um…Sakura…if you use the wrong card…"

"I know what I'm doing, Kero! Wood! Release and dispel!"

Sakura released the Wood Card and a series of branches rose. The branches headed straight for the Earth Card and they wrapped around her. Earth put up a great fight and Kero could hear the branches snapping.

~* Uh oh…hurry up, Sakura! *~

Sakura went up just before Earth broke loose. "Earth Card! Return to your power confined! Earth!"

For the last time, Sakura threw her wand down and sealed the Earth Card. This was the moment of truth. When the smoke cleared, the final Clow Card was sealed.

~* She did it…SHE DID IT! And t-t-that means… *~

Kero couldn't even finish his own thought…because he felt something surge through him. It was a feeling he hadn't felt for many years. But it was a very familiar feeling. It was a feeling of power. Kero closed his eyes…and when he opened them…he sensed he was on four legs.

~* I…I…feel…good. I haven't felt this way since…before Clow died. It's finally happened! I'm ME again! THE REAL ME! *~

Sakura cautiously approached the transformed guardian beast. "W-W-Who are you?"

"Sakura, it's me, Keroberos."

"K-K-Kero? Is this your true form?"

Keroberos grinned. "I told you I looked really cool!"

Sakura nodded and giggled. "NOW you look like a Keroberos!" She obviously thought about the first day they met when Sakura said he didn't look like his name. But her opinion had now changed.

Keroberos hung his head down. "I am sorry. I could not help you in time. If Earth had not been the last card…"

"What are you talking about? Of course you helped me! I could never have sealed Earth without your help! And you were by my side from day one! I couldn't have done any of this without you, Kero! You didn't even have to help me, either." Sakura scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "After all…I'M the one who scattered the cards in the first place, right?"

Keroberos wasn't convinced at first. "Sakura…"

But Sakura gave him a hug before he could say anything else. "Thank you, Kero!"

Keroberos couldn't help but have a warm feeling in his heart. But he also felt a sense of dread.

~* It is almost time. Sakura…I hope you are ready…to meet Yue. *~


Sakura blinked. "I have to admit. I wasn't ready to meet Yue."

"You think ANY of us were?" Li pointed out.

Silence.

"I guess you're right," Sakura said. "None of us were really ready for Yue. And we weren't ready…for the Final Judgment."


Author's Note: Next time, we finally commence with the Final Judgment. Expect these chapters to be the longest in the series because it will conclude this long series and lead into the next story, which will be a crossover. Come back for more, readers!


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!