Yao looked at the Clow Demon intently. There must surely be a way to defeat it.

"It will only heal itself if we hurt it, so it cannot be killed.." he thought.

"Watch out!" yelled Li.

"Huh?" He looked up just in time to see the Clow joker charging towards him in great speed, ready to kill him.

"Yao!" screamed Sakura in horror.



"If you really are the reincarnation of Clow Reed , then why don't you go hep them? The Clow demon is your creation!" screamed Meiling.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"The Clow Demon keeps the negative forces of the cards. If it dies, the Clow cards will absorb those forces again and wreak havoc in the world."

"But the cards will only obey their mistress, right?"

"Wrong," replied Eriol. "Sakura's power over the cards is not yet enough. The cards might just destroy her."

"This is all Clow Reed's fault! He shouldn't have bestowed such enormous power over that card!"

"It is mandatory. Keeping the balance of forces of all the cards is a tough job. The Clow joker should be as powerfula s the cardcaptor to ensure that no chaos happens."

"The end does not justify the means!" reasoned Meiling. "Because of your foolishness, the Clow demon became invincible!"

The boy shook his head. "Not quite."

"What do you mean?"

"There is one way to defeat it."

"How?"

"Keep it alive somewhere it could do no harm."



Li stood in front of Yao, his sword blocking the claws of the demon. "Don't you dare hurt my friend!" he hissed.

"Syaoran.." Yao's eyes shook. Suddenly memories of their childhood frienship flooded his mind.

The three of them- he, Li and Mei- picnicking, sparring as Mei watched them, playing hide and seek..

He paused. He remembered the game where they played it in a big forest nearby where the tag's clue in finding one's playmates was making noises wherever one was hiding. The playmates couldn't be seen, but their presences could still be felt.

"That's it!" said Yao. They're in his masamune's dimension, and he owns this world! He could control this world! If he could find a way to lock the Clow Joker in this dimension, it wouldn't be able to hurt his friends anymore, but it still could dispense its powers as the Keeper of The Clow's negative forces!

He turned to Li. "I have an idea."



Eriol felt his energy dissipating fast. The portal was taking too much of his powers. He sent a telepathic message to Sakura.



Sakura's eyes flapped wide open. She could hear Eriol's voice in her mind!

"Listen, Sakura. You have to tell your friends that I cannot hold this portal much longer. Destroy the Clow Joker..we have no other choice. I will take care of destroying the negative forces that the Joker will unleash once it dies," he said.

"Won't it be dangerous?" she asked fearfully.

"Nothing is dangerous enough for someone like me," he replied.

"I-I'll tell them right away." She faced her friends. "Everyone, we have to get out of here, fast! Or else, we'll get locked in this dimension!"

Everyone, including the Joker, was stunned.



Li couldn't believe it. They had to get out of here quickly!

"Syaoran."

He faced Yao. "What is it?"

"I want you to do three things for me."

"Of course!"

"First, I want you to keep your promise you made on Mei's seventh birthday," said Yao.

Li remembered that Yao made him promise that if the latter canot do so anymore, he would take his job as Meiling's cheerful inseperable companion.

"Second, I want you to tie a lotus blossom around the handle of my masamune," continued Yao.

Li was puzzled. "Whya re you talking this way?"

He ignored him. "Finally, will you please make a flower crown made of jasmines and give it to Mei? Tell her that wherever I may be, I will be gathering all the prettiest petals of jasmines to make into the most beautiful crown fit for someone as dear as her. Someday, when we meet in another lifetime, I will give it to her."

Li choked. "Yao.."

"Promise me," he said urgently.

"I-I promise."

He smiled. "Very well, LI Syaoran. Hsieh hsieh. Thank you for being a friend to me..a very good one. Too bad I realized it too late."

"What-"

With that, Yao touched a pitch-black wall of the dimension and a portal opened. He then ran towards the demon and with all his might, grabbed it and pulled it with him towards the portal.

"Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled the demon.

"Yao!!!!" screamed Sakura and Syaoran.

The portal closed.



************final chapter out soon!!!**********