"Yue! Yue, please, don't you remember me?" Sakura pleaded, but her words had no effect on him. She would have to fight him. Yue, without hesitation, fired an arrow towards her. As it came towards her, Sakura summoned the Maze. The entire top of Tokyo Tower seemed to be covered in a Maze; separating everyone.
Sakura held her breath. Even Yue could not fly above the Maze. "Yue can't be defeated by force, and I have to be careful not to use Cards under his protection." Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Mirror!" she shouted, summoning her second card. Instantaneously, the reflection of herself appeared.
"Don't get lost," the Mirror said to her. Sakura shook her head.
"I won't. Not if you stay here, and be the place I return to." With that, Sakura ran on ahead. Hopefully this would distract Yue long enough for her to form some sort of plan to defeat him. She did it once, surely she could do it again! But, how did she do it last time?
Suddenly there was a noise behind her. She gasped and turned around, but found nothing there. Sakura relaxed, but only a bit. "Sword!" she called, and instantly her wand transformed. "Right then, next, Thunder!" However, as this Card was summoned, everything around her went dark.
"Smart, using Cards that Keroberos controls, and not me. Unfortunately it will take more than running and hiding to defeat me." The dark around them seemed to pull out, swirling and twisting into the Dark Card.
"Oh no! Dark!" Sakura gasped, reaching for the Card as it was swept from her grasp. It flew to Yue, who absorbed it in his body. Gritting her teeth, she called for Thunder, who ran beside her. Jumping onto the giant cat's back, she rode it towards Yue, her Sword poised and ready. Syaoran had given her lessons in swordsmanship, but she was never great at it.
As she neared Yue, the Thunder leaped up, Sakura holding fast with the Sword in the air. Yue moved backwards through the air, causing the Maze to shift again. "Annoying," Yue said, and waved his hand. The Maze began to warp and fade but it did not relinquish. Sakura was momentarily distracted, however, allowing her to be knocked back by Yue; pushed down to the ground and tumbling off the Thunder. The Sword flew out of her hand as well. With the Thunder confused, it started to attack, but without orders, its power was weak.
It did not take long for Yue to suppress it, as Sakura scrambled for her wand, which had released the Sword. Both Cards now took on their sealed forms, subsequently being absorbed by Yue as well. Then, everything went black again. Sakura gasped and felt around for the wand, which she eventually found.
"Glow!" Sakura summoned, and the little fairy appeared, hovering in front of her, casting a small light in a circle around her. Everything happened so fast after that. Yue pulled back his bow, and let several arrows fly, heading straight for Sakura. With no more cards to her defense, she called forth Earthy and Watery, hoping the two powerful elements would be enough to subdue the Judge.
It was in that moment that she forgot the crucial bit of information. Watery was one of the elements under Yue's direct jurisdiction. It made a streamline for the Guardian, but Yue's eyes began to glow, and the Watery stopped short. With a loud hiss, it turned around on its former Master. Despite the Earthy being on her side, the Watery was too fast, and it surrounded Sakura and lifted her up, encasing her in a bubble of water.
Sakura coughed, trying to catch her breath, but the Watery would not relinquish its hold. Yue looked at her without emotion. "I cannot fault you for the cards you would use against me. But your power is obviously not great enough to wield them."
Yue lifted his arm, and made as if to throw Sakura to the ground. The watery prison burst as it touched ground, causing Sakura to gasp as she hit hard. The Maze and the Earthy both disappeared, their Master unable to sustain them in her weakened state. Soon, all the remaining cards in Sakura's possession sealed, and were absorbed by Yue. The space warped back into the roof of Tokyo Tower.
"I'm not finished yet," Sakura said, struggling to stand.
"I think you are," Yue responded. His eyes glowed once again, and he lifted Sakura from the ground, throwing her like a rag to the side.
"Sakura!" three voices rang out as Syaoran, Toya, and Tomoyo ran to her. Eriol watched, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Keroberos was distracted from his fight with Spinel Sun long enough to see Sakura land amongst her friends. "Sakura!" he shouted, and started to fly towards her, but Spinel stopped him.
"Was it too hard to handle, O Mistress of the Cards?" Darian said condescendingly, with a smirk on his face as he stepped forward.
Syaoran lifted Sakura up, his eyes full of concern. Toya and Tomoyo hovered over her as well. Sakura coughed, water coming up from out of her lungs. "She took in a lot of water," Tomoyo said, "When Yue captured her with Watery."
Yue descended, his wings spread out gracefully. "It is time for the next Candidate to come forward."
Darian stepped forward, his red hair draped over his shoulder and his own wand in hand. He wasted no time. "Jump!" he shouted, and little black wings appeared on his shoes. He jumped towards Yue, summoning Firey as he did so. Firey burst into action, its searing heat closing the distance between itself and the Guardian. Yue was forced to fly backwards, but not for long. For now he had at his disposal all the Cards previously used by Sakura.
The Watery came out first, tangling with the Firey. Both nymphs were fierce, but even Firey's sheer power could not overcome its polar opposite. As it fought, Darian brought forth the Illusion. In Yue's hand appeared the Sword, and he came speeding towards the human he was fighting.
"Shield!" Darian shouted, and the Shield appeared on his right arm. He carried his staff in his left hand. As Yue came down, he lifted the Shield to block the attack. Darian disappeared before Yue made contact with him, causing Yue's eyes to widen just slightly, then narrow again as he spun around.
As they did whenever Yue began to subdue a card, his eyes glowed brightly, causing the Darian he had just attacked to glow as well, and vanish, transforming back into a Card. Yue immediately absorbed it and looked around for the real Darian. His question was answered the minute Windy materialized out of nowhere, being directed by Darian. This Windy was different, however. Instead of graceful and beautiful, she was black, twisted, and warped.
"Windy, huh…" Yue said, unimpressed. He raised a hand to stop the Windy, but at first she kept on coming, surprising Yue. "What?"
"You forget, Great Guardian," Darian said with a laugh. "You are not fighting Clow Cards, or Star Cards… those cards are guarded by yourself and Keroberos. These are not like the Cards you control. They have different Guardians now."
Yue narrowed his eyes and looked at Ruby Moon, who, although she was holding tightly to Eriol, was smiling. Her eyes were glowing.
The Judge then landed on his feet, the Sword disappearing from his grip. "You, who are not fighting me with your own power, have no claim to be Master of the Cards," he said coolly. Suddenly his entire body began to glow and a wind seemed to pick up around him, pushing against Darian. Seeing that he and Ruby Moon were both distracted, Eriol summoned what magic he had, breaking free from Ruby Moon's grasp. Although he had been severely weakened by Darian's seal, it was broken now.
In the instant that Ruby Moon's concentration was broken, the Windy became subdued by Yue, turning instantly around on Darian. As she sped towards him, her body transformed back into the real Windy.
"This can't happen!" Darian shouted. "Erase!" If he couldn't control the card, he would simply Erase it. But his power was severely weakened; without Ruby Moon's support, Yue proved too strong. The wings on Darian's shoes disappeared, also becoming absorbed by Yue.
"The Final Judgment has ended," Yue said clearly, pulling from Darian the last of his Cards. "The Cards… will be without a Master."
Keroberos growled. "If that happens, the Cards will run rampant again!"
"Then so be it, until someone who is worthy of being called "Master" comes along."
"Sakura is the Master!" Syaoran and Keroberos shouted together. Kero's fight had ended; Spinnel was more distracted about Darian than the fight, and both Ruby Moon and the black panther hastened to his side. However, Darian pushed them away angrily.
"Sakura is not the Master, and she never was." Yue replied.
"This is unbelievable!" Syaoran said, his hand clenching into a fist while he held Sakura, who seemed to be barely conscious. "Her powers were stolen from her! By him! He stole the Cards she had captured and transformed, yet you let him even be a Candidate!"
"I do not pick the Candidates. Any who have Cards may challenge me to become the new Master."
"That's absurd!" Syaoran started, but he was stopped by a gentle hand.
Sakura looked up at Syaoran gently. "It's alright, Syaoran. Yue is right."
Syaoran looked down at her in disbelief. "Sakura?"
The young woman smiled, and struggled to stand, which Syaoran helped her do. "Thank you, Syaoran." Sakura let go of his hand and stood up straight, her eyes determined. She walked forward to Yue. "The Final Judgment is not over until all the Cards have been sealed by you, isn't that right, Yue?"
Yue turned his gaze on her. "That is correct. Therefore, the Final Judgment is over." As if to show this statement as the truth, nineteen Cards appeared in a circle around Yue. "I have them all."
"No, you don't," Sakura said defiantly. From out of nowhere, she pulled one last card.