Cardcaptor Sakura: Land Without Magic
CCS: LWM arc
Sakura and the Land Without Magic
"We should trust her," Sakura said.
Sakura sat on the subway train. Syaoran sat beside her. Meiling stood before them, holding onto a pole.
Syaoran said nothing. Meiling said plenty.
"You have to be joking," Meiling said. "Cards show up that are literally trying to kill people-" She said this in a harsh whisper as there were other passengers around. "She shows up with them, showcasing her own magical power-" She also said this in a harsh whisper. "And you trust her! Why?"
"I trust her because Tomoyo trusts her," Sakura said. "It took me some time to realize this, Syaoran helped me see it, that Tomoyo is aware, becomes aware of people and events much faster than most. This is especially true when it comes to the emotions of a person. She's emotionally perceptive, intelligent."
Meiling watched Sakura look to her and smile and Syaoran look to her and nod in agreement. Meiling sighed.
"You're right," Meiling said, remembering how Tomoyo helped her come to grips with her own emotions toward and about Sakura and Syaoran without saying much: without much being said between them. "If Tomoyo's on her side this fast, she must see something or know something already that we don't. Still, this girl is bringing trouble. Do we really want to get involved with her? Do you?"
"That's what I believe," Sakura said. "Tomoyo can't tell us: not yet."
"Jun didn't bring this trouble," Syaoran said. "It was here before she arrived. Remember, she did help stop the attacks."
"It might be because she was the cause of them in the first place," Meiling said. "All I'm saying is we can't rule out she might have a plot, conspiring against Sakura and maybe everybody connected to her and her…magic." She said her last word under her breath.
"That's why we should hear her out," Sakura said, drawing both their attentions. "I can see Jun wants to help people, save these cards, but she needs help. She needs me. After we hear her story, let's decide then whether we should become involved. Together. I've never been completely alone in anything I've done along my journey, give or take a few moments, so of course I want this to be something we all either disagree or agree to undertake."
"That will include Yukito, Touya, Kero, and Yue," Syaoran said. "We can do that."
"I'm game," Meiling said. "Whatever I can do you know I'll do it! But, I'm going to watch her."
"I wouldn't expect anything less," Sakura said, and she smiled as she rested her head on Syaoran's shoulder.
Syaoran wrapped an arm around Sakura after he and Meiling shared a worried look. He looked upon Sakura.
"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked.
Sakura felt his body tense. She laid a hand on his thigh. She felt him relax. She closed her eyes.
"I just want to get some rest," Sakura said. "That card I created required a lot of magic…"
"Don't push yourself too hard," Meiling said, "especially if this could be part of her plan: her intention."
"It's ok," Sakura said. "Those cards wanted to be saved. If only I can save them, I'm glad I can."
"Get some rest," Syaoran said. "I'll wake you when it's time."
Syaoran and Meiling nodded to each other.
Sakura went to sleep.
Syaoran didn't wake her when they arrived to the station. He carried her on his back walking with Meiling beside him back to the hostel. Sakura smiled and placed a hand on Syaoran's shoulder giving it a soft squeeze before they entered into their shared room. Jun and Tomoyo arrived first. Jun had told Tomoyo the real story, but she had to give her future parents a slightly different version. Tomoyo had understood and told Jun she would support her. Sakura sat on her bed. Syaoran sat on the other side of it. Meiling stood beside him. Tomoyo sat on the windowsill. Jun stood before them all. Before Jun could begin to speak, Syaoran started for her.
"You said Clow Reed sent you," Syaoran said.
"That is true but a little misleading," Jun said, holding her hands before her. "This wasn't your Clow Reed. This was mine: a young, gifted magician who I worked with. We had to combine our magic for me to get back here, but because I was going to need to use my magic for an unknown, extended period of time he sacrificed most of his magic to send me here. In the Land Without Magic, we don't know if it can be restored. The future is in trouble, and if we don't capture and purify the Sin Cards the future won't exist the way it's supposed to."
"What happened in the future?" Meiling asked. "Who is behind it, behind these Sin Cards, if not you?" She questioned her: almost sounding like she was interrogating Jun.
"Can you start at the beginning?" Sakura asked.
"I won't just tell you," Jun said. "I'll show you."
Jun pulled out her key: a Crescent Moon and a Single Star that rested at the end of it was enveloped by a Crimson Ring, with a Dove wing on one side of it and a Bat wing on the other side of it.
"Key that unleashes the destructive force from within!" Show me your true form! Release!"
It became Jun's Arm of Chaos. She spun it from one hand to the next around her until she held it in one hand.
Everybody saw Jun's magic circle come and go.
"Clow-Reed Li," Jun had told Tomoyo. "He's my younger brother. This started before us, but it's our fault that the future and the past are in jeopardy."
"Your fault…" Tomoyo had said. "How is that possible? How did it start?"
"This most unfortunate series of events started with an accident," Jun had said. "It started with a sealed book."
Jun pulled two cards from her brown leather pouch.
"Draw out my memories of the future, Recall! Gather my memories and show them to the others, Display!"
Jun threw them forward. They spun. When the two cards lined up, when they aligned, she shot a crimson bullet through them both.
A glowing ethereal white monkey appeared on Jun's shoulder. She greeted it with a nod and a smile. It bowed to those in the room. It amazed Meiling and Tomoyo. Sakura and Syaoran, who sensed the high level of magic emanating from it, it impressed them. Recall held out its hand and withdrew a few wisps of silver from Jun's head.
A rainbow-colored peacock extended its highly elongated upper tail covert feathers. Before Jun, it winked at her. Jun returned the wink. Meiling, Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Sakura took in the lovely sight and felt the strong power. Display encapsulated the silver wisps in a rainbow-colored orb.
Recall held out Jun's memories that hovered above its hands. Display absorbed into its body the orb containing Jun's memories. Recall funneled Jun's memories to Display, and Display projected the scenes, events, and images of those memories onto its feathers for everyone to see.
Jun explained her story to the group and showed her story to the group. Tomoyo watched the events as Jun had explained them earlier.
"The beginning starts with a sealed book," Jun said, "but before that it started with magic history. Clow-Reed and I began to learn about magic history from Master Li. The Clow Reed you all know was connected to his and Cardcaptor Sakura's families."
Jun's memories didn't show Master Li or Cardcaptor Sakura. However, it did show her, and Clow-Reed: a young man, who was taller than her by a head, with long brown hair in a ponytail and green eyes, wearing thin-rimmed glasses. A sword hilt could be made out on his back. They were looking over an extensive library of books and reading over a scroll or two as a masculine figure spoke to them.
"We found this book we learned was connected to Clow Reed," Jun said.
Jun and Clow-Reed were shown in ruins within a cavern around a pillar with a suspense sealed book. This book was Black and Dark Violet: a Wolf creature was emblazoned on the front of it and on the back the symbol of a Pentagram.
"We thought it might've been Clow Reed's blueprint," Jun said. "We thought he created these cards first and modeled the Clow Cards after them. We were wrong. Together, we used our magic to procure the book and break its seal. We unleashed a Dark magician that Clow Reed had sealed away with the Sin Cards that magician created in response to Clow Reed's Clow Cards. That magician calls himself Dark As Sin. We call him DAS (pronounced dace). We unleashed his cards on the land, the future, and while individually they were trouble on their own, together they, in conjunction with DAS, began to drain magic from everything and everyone."
Sakura looked toward Meiling. Meiling had been right. Jun had been behind this event, but Sakura realized and possibly Meiling too that nothing needed to be said in regards to Jun's involvement. They saw that her and Clow-Reed's actions or rather the consequences of them pained her. They were suffering enough: still suffering.
"Cardcaptor Sakura rose to meet this challenge with Master Li," Jun said. "They fought back. Cardcaptor Sakura created a card after using her cards to combat DAS."
The others watched The Sakura Cards and The Clear Cards against The Sin Cards clashing on the ground, within the seas, and across the skies. No sign of Cardcaptor Sakura, Master Li, or DAS was present.
"To prevent his defeat," Jun said, "DAS sent the Sin Cards to the past. He used the magic he had drained to accomplish this feat: World Ending. Cardcaptor Sakura created The Preserve to halt his actions, preventing him from stopping her becoming The Master of the Cards and preventing the complete loss of magic."
The world was shown. Everything was gray, dull, and without color. The Preserve crystallized life and the world, as they knew it.
"This included Master Li," Jun said sadly. "This included Cardcaptor Sakura herself as well." She paused. "Time can't go forward. It won't: not without magic. Slowly, DAS is draining Cardcaptor Sakura. If he gains her magic, he'll use it to do what he planned to do in Clow Reed's time: to wipe himself, everything and everyone else, of magic. He wants to get rid of what he considers an abomination against humankind."
Sakura stood and went and took Jun's hands into her own.
"I'm sorry," Sakura said. She turned toward Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Meiling.
Jun noticed that Kero, Yue, Yukito, and Touya watching the scene as well. She found herself surprised. She noticed the absence of Eriol Hiiragizawa and Kaho Mizuki and Akiho Shinomoto and Yuna D. Kaito.
"Cards that threaten the world…" Yukito said.
"They can decimate the past," Touya said. "They can erase Sakura from history."
"That isn't going to happen," Yue said.
"We're already in agreement!" Kero shouted.
Jun watched Syaoran nod, next Tomoyo nod, and finally Meiling nod.
Sakura turned back to Jun.
"We're all going to help," Sakura told her. "We're going to prevent a tragedy and save the future. We'll stop DAS."
"Even though the Sin Cards can appear anywhere in the world?" Jun questioned: almost of the brink of tears. "Even if they might hurt or even kill us?"
"Magic has to exist in the world," Sakura said. "For happiness. For love. So, let's work together to ensure that it does."
Jun broke down into Sakura's arms. The others watched her. Some understood the weight of her mission (Kero, Yue, and Yukito). Others felt bad for their initial thoughts of her (Meiling and Touya). Still others wondered what the future would bring (Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Sakura). Sakura embraced Jun.
Preview:
Kero: It's going to take all of us to get this done!
Momo: What about me darling?
Spinner: What about me?
Kero: Good questions. Where were you two?
Momo took a bite out of some chocolate, and Spinner put a whole cookie in his mouth.
Kero: Mums the word, huh? Doesn't matter. One thing I know when it comes to Sakura, the truth always comes out!
Kero eyeballs Spinner and Momo.
Kero: We're going to track down and purify the Sin Cards! It'll take all of us! We better get to work!
Other Sin Cards are beginning to appear. They're not only appearing in New York but also around the world. The group goes to work. Sakura plans to make everything right. While Sakura takes on capturing all the cards, she considers whether a trip to the future might be the better course of action…
Next Time: Sakura and the World Tour