Identity's Past

by AlterEthereal

Hey there, folks, and welcome to the very last -sob- installment of my fic. I encourage you all to remember that this was not only a dream to begin with, but a very strange dream, at that. I do not want people complaining about things that I've included that happen to be physically impossible and/or socially unreasonable. It's just the way things worked. I would also like to thank all the people whom have reviewed so far (and those whom will review in the future, hopefully): Vi3t BaBiI, Hitaru, sapphire999, sweet-captor, tenshi cherry blossoms, orlha, Star Fighter Heart, shooting str, Sheruke, Crystal, unkown, AniMeCrAzy273, CherryBlossomYingFa, Shichinintai Jakotsu and Tramie! I wish you all a lot of luck in your in-the-works and upcoming stories, and I really hope that everyone has liked this one! Sorry it's pretty short, but enjoy anyway!

Alter-chan: ...

So: ...

Anaru: ...

Zuri: ...

Leif: ...

Althea: ...

Bob: ...

Ave: ...

Tycho: -still locked up- ...

the lizard picture hanging on the outside of my door: ...

all: -magically in sync- DISCLAIMER: Alter-chan hasn't owned Card Captor Sakura at all, anytime throughout this entire fic. Whatever possesses you to think that she may possibly own it now ought to be dragged out into the street and shot for being so misleading. Thank you.

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Chapter 24: New Beginnings

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"So, the Erase Card, then... The Fly, maybe? Or... I've got it! The Return Card!"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" A pair of amber eyes flashed warningly through the darkness. "You may not have recovered from the incident in the caves yet, you know." Syaoran and Sakura were both decked out in as much black clothing as they could find, so as not to be seen by anyone before they wiped the slates of the peoples memories. Sakura glanced once more in the mirror, still entranced with how strange she looked in black, though she found she somewhat... liked it.

"It's the only option," she replied for the 10th time, as if it were a no-brainer. Afterall, what else were they to do? There was no other way to get back to where they belonged, and even if that place was dank and dreary, they couldn't just abandon it.

The messy-haired boy sighed and nodded in defeat, casting his eyes toward the splintered, wooden floor. "This is so stupid," Sakura heard him mutter under his breath. She really did agree with him, no matter how adamant she was on using her Star Cards to get them home safely. Hell, not like it was her first choice, either. She watched as Syaoran turned slowly on his heel and made his way silently out of the little makeshift hotel (which was actually a spare tool shed that had been cleaned out and fitted with cots).

She let a sigh of her own follow his and stole out the door after him. Once caught up to him, she whispered as quietly as she could while still being audible, "You know, it's not too late to think up another idea. I mean, if there's someone you could call or something-"

Sakura's words were cut off by the abrupt cease of the warrior's footsteps. She also halted as she was faced with a bitter, piercing glare. Syaoran's fiery eyes burned into her, and she almost felt the need to cower against his gaze, though she hadn't done so since childhood. She let her own worried countenance drop to the ground, only to be brought back up suddenly by the press of fingers beneath her jaw. Much to her relief, she noted that the boy's glare had softened considerably already.

"It's alright, Sakura, but I don't have anyone left. Almost everyone in the clan either left or was killed off," he muttered, allowing a melancholy expression to cross his handsome face, "including me. The only reason I'm even alive now is... you," he admitted solemnly. "That's why I was in Tomoeda to begin with."

Syaoran's glare had all but disappeared as she looked up into his stare softly. "You don't even have a home in Hong Kong anymore?" she couldn't help but inquire. That would explain why he called my house 'home'... Dad must've offered to take him in... The boy's silence was the answer to her question, and all Sakura could do was wrap her arms around the weary wanderer. "Oh I'm so sorry..."

The boy returned her embrace and stroked her hair with an endearing hand. "You are my home now, Sakura. You and your father and your brother." Was it just her imagination, or did Sakura feel a drop of something wet on her shoulder? Could Syaoran be... crying? Suddenly, an uplifting thought crossed her mind, making her pull away slightly with a smile.

"Speaking of my brother, can't you just imagine the look on his face when he finds out about you and his little sister?"

This seemed to raise the boy's spirits a bit, and he let a finger wander to his face to wipe at his eyes. Guess he really was crying... "Yeah, I'll bet he'll be having kittens," he mused in a lighter tone.

Sakura turned to face the midnight air and the clear crescent moon. "Yep, and I can't wait to see it," she murmured against the night's cool breeze. Breathing in a healthy dose of the fresh air and sweeping her viridian eyes over the landscape, she entwined her fingers with Syaoran's. "Isn't it beautiful?"

The boy whispered his agreement and squeezed their laced fingers together tightly. Sakura took a moment to look back over her shoulder to give a silent farewell to the kind town and the villagers dispersed within it, in particular a big-hearted boy with sapphire eyes whom had given her joy in the midst of despair and befriended her when she was lonely.

Little did she know, her farewell was voicelessly returned by the boy whose sharpened hearing wasn't for nothing.

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While the small, Romanian village was in the depths of night, a certain dreary city was being stricken with the first rays of sunlight--or what would've been sunlight if it weren't for the massive amounts of smog pouring out of the factory it housed. As it were, it more resembled a dimly colored house fire. Nevertheless, it was home to the two tired warriors just arriving near the misty lake via a bright flash of light.

"Syaoran... am I really... home for good now?" the auburn-haired girl asked somewhat shakily from within the boy's arms.

"Not quite," the Chinese youth responded. "You claim you still have power left?"

Slightly surprised, but honest, the girl replied, "Absolutely. I'm not a weak little girl anymore, Syaoran." She gave the boy a cheeky grin before settling herself against his chest and resting the pink wand she carried against his shoulder. "Why do you ask?"

Syaoran leaned in close to the girl's ear and blew a few silky strands away before answering. "Make a wish, Sakura."

What seemed like instantly the girl caught onto the boy's suggestion, letting one hand fall to her waist to draw a deck of thin, pink cards from her pocket. She began to leaf through them one by one, stopping after a few moments and plucking one out. The card sported a picture of a red heart decorated with a crown and small, white wings, and at the bottom was the phrase, "The Hope." The girl holding the card smiled serenely, as if remembering a moment of bliss.

"It already gave me one wish, and now it's time you should do the same. It's your card, afterall," Syaoran mumbled against her shoulder before adding cockily, "though you already have me. And what more could you want?"

Sakura giggled despite (or because of) the boy's comment. "I know exactly what I want."

"That's the Sakura I know," the amber-eyed boy gave the girl one last squeeze around the waist before backing up and out of her way as the Star symbol appeared beneath her feet. Flicking her wand around for what she decided would be the last time for a while, she let her hopes guide her to the activation of the card for the very first time.

I wish things in Tomoeda would return to the way they were before I left...

And lo and behold, the light of The Hope manifested into a beam of stellar light, encompassing and bathing the city of Tomoeda in it's grasp. Syaoran rejoined Sakura as they both shielded their eyes from the amazing spectacle and squinted to see the heart-stopping change the place was taking.

All the smog around the buildings began to dissolve and clear away, while the towers themselves began to de-rust and shine with all their former industrial glory. The factory, meanwhile, completely erupted and disappeared, revealing in it's wake the site it had been built upon: the amusement park. The ferris wheel and the roller coasters reappeared, and the scent of cherry blossoms drifted all the way out into the meadow. Some warehouses disappeared. Some small shops reappeared. Syaoran and Sakura watched as the city restored itself to the beauty it had lost over the last 5 years. And finally, the light itself faded and uncovered a brand new, beautiful city radiating with happiness and life instead of the dim, inanimate mass of fences and steel it had been only moments before.

The two teenagers stood numbly in each other's grasp, almost daring for the image before them to be false. "Syaoran... do you think its..."

"...Yeah, everything is back to normal," the warrior reassured as Sakura drifted out of his arms and took a few hesitant steps toward her home. Syaoran wasn't late to follow, and soon was directly at her side again. There was just one thing that had been nagging at him for some time now. "Eh, Sakura, back in the caves, I wondered about something: if the Star Cards are your children, does that make me their father?"

After thinking it over momentarily and an effort to ignore the randomness of the question, the girl turned her emerald eyes to him and smirked noticably. "Nah, I don't think our kids would be made of paper."

"Do you want to find out?"

Sakura's eyes went wide.

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The end.

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Alter-chan: the title of this chapter has been courteously brought to you by a lovely little band called Finch.

So: it's screamo... [a cross between 'screaming music' and 'emo'] -shivers-

Zuri: okay, now we have to all get together and sing Kumbaya!!

everyone else: -looks at Zuri oddly-

Zuri: um, nevermind.

AlterEthereal