Author's Note: Now we'll take the long look back at Sakura's Final Judgment. We'll look back with different points of view, as you'll all begin to see.
Summary: We pick up where we left off. Everyone's still at Madison's house and are now looking back at Sakura's Final Judgment.
Episode 55- Recalling Sakura's Final Judgment: Part 1
Silence once again overtook the room. The atmosphere of uneasiness was filling the area once again. It wasn't easy to look back at this day, but it had been a long time since she reminisced about her Final Judgment. She felt like it was time to explore that fateful night once again.
"It was all just like my dream," Sakura said softly. "Exactly like it. And for a while…the dream started to turn into a nightmare…"
Flashback: The Shrine (Sakura's Final Judgment)
P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon
Sakura couldn't believe how badly Li had been beaten by the guardian Yue. It wasn't just that he was beaten, but he had also lost all his Clow Cards. Sakura felt her heart sink. She knew how hard he had worked and how much he had risked his life to get those Clow Cards. It had to be a crushing blow to him.
But Sakura didn't even have time to comfort him. Because she felt herself being lifted into the air. It was now her turn to face her Final Judgment…despite the fact that she didn't even know the purpose of any of it. Supposedly, the great disaster was averted when she sealed all the Clow Cards. She didn't understand any of this.
Sakura looked over at another building to see the guardian, Yue. She looked around to see she was atop Tokyo Tower…wearing the same costume…with Ms. Mackenzie right nearby. It was like nothing Sakura had ever felt…because it was all coming true…
~* This is it…it's…EXACTLY like my dream! My dream's coming true! *~
Yue looked towards Sakura. "Jump…"
Sakura wasted no time in stepping forward…and just like her dream, the wings of the Jump Card appeared on her shoes. Upon hearing Yue, the Jump Card reacted. Sakura went on to jump across the rooftop of each building until she reached Yue. The guardian only looked on coldly.
"Next is the proper candidate, a girl chosen by Keroberos the Appointor. To find if she is truly worthy to become our mistress, I shall now conduct the Final Judgment."
"I don't want to hurt you, Julian!"
"I, Yue the Judge, shall now conduct the Final Judgment. Now…you must use all of the cards in your possession…to defeat me!"
"I can't!" Sakura squeaked. "You may look different…but to me…you're still Julian!"
What Sakura couldn't see was that there was no Julian, because Julian would not attack the way he attacked. Yue immediately went on the offensive, sending ice crystals flying Sakura's way. Sakura was about to take a long fall, before she took out her saving grace.
"Fly!"
Sakura hitched a ride on her wand and stopped herself from plummeting to the ground. She could only think of one other thing to do. She started flying in the opposite direction. She couldn't bring herself to hut Julian, so she wanted to avoid him entirely. But when she looked behind her, she saw Yue catching up to her fast. In mere seconds, they were both side-by-side.
"You cannot win if you run away," he said emotionlessly.
He winded up and threw one of his powerful blasts of magic at Sakura. She was sent right at a steel girder and before she can even recover, Yue continues his onslaught with more blasts of ice crystals. All Sakura could do was scream. None of the Clow Cards had ever been this rough with her and she felt like she wouldn't be able to pull through, especially without any of her friends to back her up.
Now Yue was floating in the air, slowly and methodically planning his next attack. He formed a bow and arrow out of light and was now aiming directly at Sakura.
"If you refuse to fight, this will be the end," Yue said in his frigid voice.
Sakura looked up and saw her fate meeting her head-on and staring her right in the face. The sweat was rolling down her temples and forehead and there weren't any ideas coming to her head fast enough. It wasn't that she was completely defenseless, but she didn't want to hurt Julian.
~* I have to think of a card that won't hurt Julian. Hey…I got it! *~
Sakura quickly unleashed… "Wood!"
When Sakura used the Wood Card, she suddenly heard a gruff voice call out below.
"NO!! NOT THAT ONE!!"
It was the voice of Keroberos, but it was too late. There were already dozens of vines heading towards Yue, but the guardian remained collective. Yue remained with his stone cold expression. As the vines headed for him, his eyes began to glow. The vines immediately did an about-face and…turned on Sakura. The vines roughly wrapped themselves around her. Sakura struggled to free herself, but there was no escape. She was stuck.
Yue slowly started descending. "Wood is one of the cards under the moon. The RIGHT candidate would have known that."
Sakura looked up, a defeated look on her face. "S-So…I lost?"
"The Judgment is over," Yue said callously. "Since you've lost, the cards now have no rightful owner."
"Please…" Sakura pleaded. "Give me another chance."
"THAT is impossible," Yue said coldly. "No candidate can ever take The Final Judgment twice."
Sakura slowly raised her head. "T-The cards. W-What'll…happen to them?"
"Since you have lost, the seal will now be broken once again. And disaster shall befall the world."
~* There's that word again. What is that supposed to mean? *~
"What IS the disaster?"
Yue slowly uttered those ominous words. "It is to forget."
~* Forget? *~
Yue continued with his explanation. "If the candidate chosen by Keroberos the Appointor fails The Final Judgment and cannot defeat me, Yue the Judge, then the Clow Cards…and everyone INVOLVED with the Clow Cards will forget what it is…to love the one person they love the most."
Sakura looked down to see the distressed look on everyone's faces. The whole concept of the great disaster was starting to sink into everyone. Like Kero said, it wasn't like an apocalyptic disaster…but a much worse one.
~* Everyone will forget what it is to love the person they love the most? My friends will forget what it is to love the person they love the most? My family will forget? I'LL forget?! No! I can't let that happen! *~
Sakura lunged out with all her strength and desperately reached forward. "LET…ME…GO!!!"
Sakura almost reached Yue, but she fell short. The vines were strong and their grip on Sakura was growing stronger. Sakura was pleading with all her heart, but Yue wouldn't have any of it. He wasn't moved at all.
"You show a lot of heart," Yue said with his frigid expression. "But I am not as sentimental as Keroberos. You have lost! You cannot defeat me! Only CLOW can defeat me!"
Yue coldly raised his hand…and there was a flash of light.
"Everything could have ended right there," Sakura continued. "By all rights…it SHOULD have ended there. And I couldn't believe that's how it all could have ended."
"It's just what I was thinking," Kero added. "I had total faith that everything would work out in the end. But it wasn't easy to watch everything that happened.
"Let me tell you everything I saw…"
Flashback: The Shrine (Sakura's Final Judgment)
P.O.V.: Keroberos
There was one thought running through the head of the guardian beast Keroberos. The mighty Yue hadn't lost a step at all. He was just as strong as he ever was, making short work of the Li kid. Sakura quickly ran over to his side.
Keroberos knew Li had a lot of heart, but he could not defeat Yue and to think he could was foolishness. Li didn't have what it takes. But Keroberos knew who would.
The guardian beast looked ahead to see Sakura being lifted into the air. She was placed onto Tokyo Tower. Sakura looked around to see where she was…and it was as if she had seen a ghost.
~* I have faith in you, Sakura. I believe you can do anything! *~
Yue looked towards Sakura and mouthed one word. Suddenly, Sakura stepped forward and began to jump across from rooftop to rooftop with the aid of the Jump Card. In mere seconds, she was standing on a rooftop looking towards Yue.
"So Julian knew about Sakura the whole time?" Madison Taylor asked.
"I don't think Julian is aware of any of this," Keroberos explained. "Yue the Judge is not needed until The Final Judgment and his false form is not to know of his existence."
Madison blinked. "Meaning…?"
"Meaning…Julian is unaware of Yue's existence. He just thinks he's a normal human being."
"But there's one thing I still don't get," Li said. "You came out when Sakura scattered the Clow Cards. But Julian's been in Reedington for years. How can that be?"
"Perhaps someone has wished it to be so," Ms. Mackenzie attempted answering. "There are no coincidences in this world. There is only the inevitable."
Keroberos shook his head when he saw the blank expressions on Li and Madison. He had a feeling that the enigmatic teacher only confused them even more. But those questions weren't their immediate concern. The focus was all on Sakura. There was dialogue being exchanged between her and Yue that was barely audible. But the exchange didn't last long, because Yue started his attack.
He sent a series of ice crystals flying at Sakura and she couldn't keep her balance. The barrage wouldn't stop and Sakura fell off the roof to the horror of everyone present. But Sakura couldn't be done in that easily. She quickly saved herself by hitching a ride on the Fly Card. But rather than rushing towards Yue, Sakura was flying in the opposite direction.
~* No, Sakura! What are you doing?! You can't just run away! *~
Yue wouldn't tolerate his opponent trying to run, so he quickly took flight and followed. He was flying at tremendous speeds, because in a matter of seconds, he was side-by-side with Sakura. And Yue tossed a powerful blast of magic at her, sending her plowing into a steel girder. Before she could even recover, Yue continued with his onslaught of ice crystals. Sakura could only let out an agonizing scream.
"That's IT!!"
Keroberos turned around and saw that Li was about to come to Sakura's rescue. So the guardian beast quickly intercepted him.
"No! If Sakura receives help from anyone, she will automatically fail!"
"We have to do something!" Li retorted.
"I still believe in her," Keroberos replied. "I believe she will convince Yue."
Finally, Sakura fell onto another rooftop. Yue was getting ready to deliver the finishing blow. He was forming a bow and arrow out of light and aiming it straight at Sakura. Keroberos knew Sakura wouldn't just take that. He knew she'd have something in store. Then she unleashed one of her cards.
"Wood!"
~* WOOD?! STUPID! *~
"NO!! NOT THAT ONE!!"
It was too late. Sakura was already throwing out the Wood Card. Dozens of vines came out and headed for Yue. Li and Madison were getting their hopes up, but Keroberos knew better.
And sure enough, Yue's eyes began to glow and the vines did a total about-face. The vines turned on Sakura and started to tie her up. Sakura was stuck and couldn't even move. Yue began his slow descent.
"Wood is one of the cards under the moon," he said coldly. His voice was clearly audible now. "The RIGHT candidate would have known that."
Sakura tried to speak, but she was too weak. None of them could hear her, except Yue.
"The Judgment is over!" Yue said callously. "Since you've lost, the cards now have no rightful owner."
Madison looked over at Keroberos. "The cards have no rightful owner? Then…what happens now?"
As if on cue, Yue continued. "Since you have lost, the seal will now be broken once again. And disaster shall befall the world."
~* Oh, Yue…not the disaster! *~
"What is the disaster?" Madison asked Keroberos.
Once again, Yue answered on cue. "It is to forget! If the candidate chosen by Keroberos the Appointor fails The Final Judgment and cannot defeat me, Yue the Judge, then the Clow Cards…and everyone INVOLVED with the Clow Cards will forget what it is…to love the one person they love the most."
Everyone gasped. Keroberos hung his head down. He had warned everyone that the disaster wasn't of an end-of-the-world type nature. But it would far worse for anyone involved with the Clow Cards. They would forget what it was to love the one they loved the most.
Keroberos continued. "The Clow Cards most treasure the person who sealed them. If this person fails the Final Judgment, then they forget about the person so they may not grieve. Unfortunately, everyone else tied to the Clow Cards is also to forget. It is very unfortunate."
In a final show of courage and defiance, Sakura lunged forward. "LET…ME…GO!!!"
Sakura was showing that spirit and fire that Keroberos knew only she possessed. But it wasn't enough to convince Yue. He just remained there, still emotionless as ever.
"You show a lot of heart," Yue said with his frigid expression. "But I am not as sentimental as Keroberos. You have lost! You cannot defeat me! Only CLOW can defeat me!"
Yue coldly raised his hand…and there was a flash of light.
Author's Note: That's two views, but we'll keep going with a little more. Come back tomorrow to see what's next.
Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!
