Chapter 11: Card Captor of Star
Everyone's hurt, and I don't know what to do... I've failed...I've failed to save my friends. There's only me and Tomoyo now... What am I going to do?
What am I going to do?
The words tore through Sakura again and again, and the pain that came with this realization hurt more than any blow that could've been dealt. Sakura was so torn that she hadn't even bothered to shield herself from the rain. It was that bad. And Sakura knew that it would only get worse.
"Don't cry, Sakura."
Sakura looked up, wishing that whoever was there would end her troubles right then and there, but to her surprise, she saw 61-cards floating above her-53 Clow cards and 8 Golden Clow cards.
"You've come to encourage me." Sakura whispered. "But why you believe in us, when we don't even believe in ourselves?"
"You haven't failed yet, Sakura, because your friends are not yet dead. Trust in yourself. You can bring them back."
Sakura gazed at each of the cards in turn; at Syaoran's cards, Meilin's, Tomoyo's, and finally, her own. Fresh tears streamed down the Card Captor's eyes, but these tears were tears of gratitude.
"Thank you, Clow Cards, for trusting in us. I promise, with all my heart, that I shall not fail." Sakura said, and as she finished her sentence, the Clow Cards began to change.
One by one, the cards began to glow, until all of the cards, from Windy to Possess, shone with an ethereal gleam. Then, the cards floated past Sakura and Tomoyo, to form a circle around Eriol's injured form.
"The cards-they're acting on their own!" Tomoyo gasped.
A bright light burst from within the circle of cards and extended towards the sky.
When it faded, Sakura and Tomoyo gave bigger gasps of surprise, for standing before them, in the center of the circle of cards, was Eriol. What surprised Sakura even more was the fact that all of his wounds had disappeared.
"Eriol, you're all right!" Tomoyo rushed forwards and gave him a hug, which surprised both him and Sakura.
"The cards restored my life force." Eriol smiled. "I wouldn't have woken up if it hadn't been for you and Sakura."
Sakura and Tomoyo were caught off-guard by the compliment.
"It wasn't us," Sakura protested. "It was the work of the Clow."
At Sakura's words, her fourteen Clow Cards flew back into her hand.
"That reminds me," she said. "Two of my friends are still in need of aid ...and now, I know for sure that one of these cards can save their lives."
"Which one?" Tomoyo asked.
"If I tell you," Sakura grinned. "Then you mustn't tell Syaoran."
Syaoran's eyes burst open at the sound of Meilin's scream. He struggled hard to escape, but the same fate befell him a moment later.
"AHHHHHHH!" Syaoran cried.
Truly, Syaoran thought. There is nothing in the world that is more painful-than Tomoyo's hug
"Tomoyo!" Syaoran shrieked. "Get off me!"
"He's awake," Meilin announced.
"And this girl," Syaoran glared at Tomoyo. "Nearly killed me again!"
"But why," Meilin asked. "Are we here? We were supposed to be-"
"Sakura saved your life." Eriol gave his descendants an unnerving smile.
"The way that you say it makes me suspicious," Meilin started, when she finally realized what had happened.
"SAKURA!" Meilin cried. "How dare you erase my wounds! I was going to show them off to my classmates on Monday!"
"But if I didn't erase them, then you'd be dead!" Sakura cried.
"And that's why," Meilin grinned. "I'm going to thank you a hundred times! No! A thousand!"
Sakura smiled at that.
Even we still have 45 Golden Clow Cards to capture, she thought. We shall do it together, not as a team, but as friends. . . Best friends!
Sakura smiled at her four friends, and all of them smiled back. The five of them knew that the road ahead was a long and difficult one, but as long as they had each other, everything would be all right.
Everything except for...
"Syaoran?" Sakura gave her friend a nervous look.
"Sakura?" Syaoran answered, his face turning red with embarrassment.
"I wanted to tell you before I told anyone else. . ." Sakura said uneasily. "I saw Tomoyo's camera, hidden in the bushes right over there. It videotaped the entire thing, from the beginning to the end."
"WHAT!" Syaoran shrieked in a frantic, high-pitched voice.
Tomoyo, Meilin, and Sakura broke into howls of laughter.
Some people just never change.
The End
And yes, the very beginning!
