The End Chapter 6- The Decision part 1
Written by Sakura Showron

Everyone stopped. Sakura's heart was beating so fast and so loudly she feared she would give them away, if she hadn't already. She stepped back, away from the noise. She walked through a shield and stepped back towards Li. She felt her hand getting grasped.

"Don't worry, we'll be okay. Just take my shield off. Eriol can make himself and the shield invisible, but I can't." he whispered.

"But you'll faint again!" she whispered back, her eyes darting back, not daring to move her face.

"I'll be okay! Just do it!" he said urgently. The person was getting nearer.

"Okay. If you're positive you'll be okay!"

"Shield!
From Li,
Return!
Shield Card!"

She said it as quietly as she could. Li's shield flew off, and Sakura could immediately feel his pain as his grasp tightened.

"Staff!
Go back to your key form!
Star Staff!" (Me: Sorry1 I don't know what she says, I've never seen her")

Sakura stepped in front of Li, and looked towards the person. Looking around, she saw that everyone else had disappeared. She looked back to the sound, and her eyes grew wide. The Clow cards were still standing there, shining and frozen over the tree trunk! But it was too late. As Sakura looked back once more, 3 figures stepped out. The four of them and Sakura gasped.

"Dad? Tori? Julian? What are you doing here?" said Sakura.

"I don't know exactly. Something told me to come here, to see what was here. I had a feeling that you were here and then as I came here, I came upon Dad, whose flight to America had been canceled for some reason. He said he'd come with me, and we came here. I found Julian, and we came here, and now we've found you! What are you doing here- with that CHINESE GAKI?!" said Tori, his face turning angry as he spotted Li. As he stepped forward, he was blocked by a sudden appearance of Keroberos, looking confused. Sakura looked around and gasped again. Everyone had appeared, in full form.

Spotting Eli in a corner, Sakura ran and said, "What's the matter? Why'd everyone become visible?" Eli opened his eyes with great effort and looked up at Sakura.

"I don't know! Your shield just disappeared and the headache came back! With all my attention focused on keeping everyone invisible, I couldn't make another, and then the headache became too much." He closed his eyes again, then snapped them open. "I remember something now! I think this must be the deci-" All of a sudden Eli stopped.

"Eli? What are you talking about?" said Sakura urgently, ignoring the fact that Tori and her dad were pinching themselves and staring at everything a million times, as if to prove to themselves that it was a dream. Eli didn't answer. As Sakura looked closely at him, she noticed that his eyes had become yellow. Quickly looking around, she noticed that everyone else's eyes had turned yellow, including her brother, but what was happening to her dad? He turned yellow, and then disappeared. Sakura looked around, but he wasn't there.

"Dad! DAD! Where are you?" said Sakura, feeling tears springing already to her eyes. "Dad! Come back! Dad!" Sakura sat down on a rock, some tears falling freely. Then someone put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. We'll find him." said the someone. Sakura looked behind her. It was Li!

"Li! But your headache."

"I don't know what happened, but my headache disappeared. What was Eli saying?" said Li gently.

"I don't know. I think he started to say 'decision', but then again, what decision?" Li started to open his mouth to say he didn't know, but he was cut short as a blast of light shone from the 4 cards. Li felt Sakura hang on to his arm tightly. Smiling slightly with his eyes closed against the blinding light, he shook his head. Sakura and her fears. When the light stopped, Li blinked his eyes a bit. They were all hanging in midair, suspended-

"Are we in space?" said Sakura, her tone disbelieving.

"I-I think so." said Li, looking around. "What's happening?"

"I don't know." said Sakura, still not letting go of Li's arm. All of a sudden, the 4 cards, which were still suspended over the tree trunk (hanging in midair) started to glow. As they continued to glow, Sakura let go and stood up.

"Is that Eli and my Dad?" Li looked up and nodded slowly.

"But what are they doing?" she said, squinting at them.

"I don't know Sakura. I just don't know." said Li.


(Me: sorry for the interruption, but I've done two things. I've created 2 different next parts, a short version that briefs over costumes and descriptions, and a nice long one that has detailed descriptions of the magic and things that lead up to the 'decision'. Read the long one, it's much better, but if you're in a hurry, read the short one. If you are planning to read the long one, DO NOT read even a word of the short one, unless you want to be bored to death during the long one. Below, first is the short one, and below that, where there are 3 solid lines, is the long one. Just go to the one you want. Now sit back and enjoy the read!)

Sakura's dad and Eli slowly came closer and closer until they merged into, Clow Reed? Clow Reed put up both his hands and a bright orange ball flew up from them and covered the entire space. When the light dimmed, everyone in the space looked different. For one, Madison was older. Much older. And everyone had mystical-looking costumes on. From a bright pillar in the center of the cards, emerged-

"Mom?" said Sakura.

The figure put her hands up and pulled from the air 2 things: a crown with a single purple stone and a large circular bronze disk hanging by a string with a mallet. She struck the disk with the magic and spoke up in a distinct, kind feminine voice:

"Let the judgment begin."


As Li continued to look, he felt someone take his hand. Trying hard not to blush, he turned his attention back to the scene beforehand. In front of him, Sakura's dad and Eli had stopped coming forward and were now coming towards each other at such a fast pace that Li was certain they'd crash. When they crashed, Li shut his eyes. Opening them a bit, he saw not a boy and a tall dad, but one figure. Opening his eyes fully, he looked, and then blinked hard a couple of times. The figure there, it couldn't be.

"Is that-"

"Clow Reed?" finished Li.

"But it can't be, Kero and Yue saw him die!" said Sakura

"But it is! I've seen that picture so many times in the meeting hall that I dream about him! It's him, I tell you, it's him!" said Li with disbelief.

Clow Reed, or whoever he was, slowly raised his hands up and together. When he brought them together, a small, bright orange ball formed and slowly went upwards. As Li and Sakura watched, it went up until it stopped and began to grow, until the entire group was covered in the ball. Sakura and Li flinched, because the magic was defiantly Clow Reed's, and Clow Reed's magic was so strong that even Sakura couldn't use most of it, even though she needed a tremendous amount of magic, having transformed all those cards. As they looked again at the group, Li and Sakura stepped back and gasped.

In front of them, everyone was changing, one by one, in someway or another. First Yue and Ruby Moon joined together. Li kept his eyes open this time. There was a blast of light, and when it cleared, a creature stood. It had red robes that resembled Yue's, and its hair was like Ruby's, except white. When it opened its eyes, Sakura recoiled slightly. They were the same harsh eyes Yue had, only red. The creature bent its head and opened its wings. They were like large white butterfly wings. Taking flight, Yue Moon went off to the sidelines and stood there, watching the next transformation.

When Sakura looked back, she saw Keroberos and Spinel Sun rushing together. When the light cleared, there stood a black Keroberos with off-white butterfly wings. Around its neck was a band like Spinel's, only it had a large red stone on it, like Kero. The creature opened its eyes. They were the same shape as Keroberos's, only Spinel's color. Kero Sun went to the opposite side. Simultaneously, the two creatures clapped their hands, and Sakura felt a sudden sense of peace. Smiling, she turned and looked at the next transformation.

Madison was glowing. She kept on glowing until she became around the size of Ms. McKenzie, then stopped. When she was visible again, she wore a dress like Meilin’s, only it was green, longer, and it had a Chinese symbol on the front.

"It says 'recorder'." whispered Li. "But it's in the Old script."

Madison's hair flew up as she floated to a space right beside the tree trunk. She kept her eyes closed and her head down, waiting.


Behind her, Ms. McKenzie started to glow too. Instead of growing, her clothes just changed to the same as Madison's, except with a different symbol.

"That, I think says 'giver' in the Old script," whispered Li again.

Ms. McKenzie floated right next to Madison, with her eyes closed and head down, looking identical to Madison except for the hair, waiting, as Madison was.


Next Tori came forward, glowing. He didn't grow either, but his clothes changed. When he stopped, he was wearing robes similar to Yue's, only simpler and green, with another symbol on the front. He floated to the other side of the trunk, opposite from Madison.

"And I think that's 'orator'." said Li, daring to take his eye off the scene to look at Sakura. With the wind blowing everywhere, her hair was blowing over her face, making her look prettier than before. Li closed his eyes and thought hard. How could he have fallen for Sakura, when he knew he would have to marry within the clan? His thoughts drifted back, way back to the time card, and Sakura's disbelief when Li had helped her, to the erase card, and how they were always fighting, but no, when exactly had he fallen for those emerald eyes? Maybe it was when... Li gave up and looked again to the battlefield- what else could you call it? Before him, Julian was changing, and when the light stopped, he was wearing identical robes to Tori, except-

"Those say 'awakener', I'm positive his time. Those words were written in the Meeting Hall now, talking about how you "awakened" the Clow Book." whispered Li, not looking back. Slightly behind him though, Sakura was staring intently at him. Why, why was it that every time she was scared or in danger from the Clow Cards, Li was always there? Back, way back to the Thunder, Erase, Fight, Li had always been there, backing her up, helping her. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't have done it without him. She had been shocked when he had left; she had imagined that he would be staying until after the Clow Cards had been transformed. Sometimes, she still put her hand out behind her, expecting Li to be there, or when Madison was not there the first few times, she almost got hurt from those strange things that happened, like the dash card running up the side of the building, expecting Li to be there with his elements <>. But he wasn't. But now he was. Sighing with contentment, she put her head on his shoulder and watched.


Julian stepped forward, eyes still closed. He took out from inside his robes a strange staff- like object, but much, much smaller and with a little green jewel set atop it. Sakura gasped, because her father's wedding ring had the same stone on it. Holding it in the air, he said, in English:

"Oh staff of choice
If your seekers are true,
I call upon the power invested in you!
Choose!"


The jewel set atop the staff glowed and sent out a beam of light directly to Li and Sakura. As it hit them, Li closed his eyes, prepared for the worst. Instead, the light surrounded him and Sakura, making his skin glow an unearthly green. All of a sudden, Li felt Sakura leave his shoulder. Looking back, he realized that they were both floating up and glowing, similar to what the rest of their friends had done. Looking at himself, Li saw that he was wearing robes similar to Clow Reed's, except with a green color tone. Li floated down and immediately looked up at Sakura. Something different was happening to her. The light slowly changed her clothes too, from the strange outfit that Madison had given her, to an extremely pretty kimono-style dress, except looser on the bottom with a full skirt and long, long sleeves. When the glowing stopped, Li's heart started to beat very, very quickly. She looked so beautiful. The dress was actually a crystal-white that seemed to be made of some material that wasn't real. But the light hadn't disappeared. Looking at himself again, he realized that on his stomach was a spot of green light, while on Sakura's, there was a spot of pink light. Suddenly, Li felt something take a bit of-of- him. There was no other way to put it. The light shot out from his stomach at the same moment that Sakura's did. The two beams of light swirled together and went to the small staff. Suddenly, Sakura stopped floating and began to fall.

"Sakura!" Li yelled. He reached there just in time to catch her. As she sat there in his arms, he prayed that she would be okay. Suddenly her eyes fluttered open.

"Tori?" she said, and then realized it was Li.

"Li!" she yelled, jumping out of his arms. "What happened? Why am I wearing something different? You are too! What just now happened? I feel as if someone drained me of some of my Clow magic and replaced it with this new magic."

"I don't know. Just stay still and watch. It's okay, I'll protect you from anything bad."

Li looked back quickly, feeling the blush on his face making him so hot that he could've boiled water. Something was happening. The small staff that had shot them was slowly lengthening into a new staff with wings. The top jewel slowly went up an inch or two, staying suspended in the air between the two top prongs of the staff. <> Two wings appeared on either prong, they looked like the wings on the school's logo. In between the prongs, underneath the jewel, a small 4-pointed star formed. The staff finally stopped glowing, and Julian, if that's what you wanted to call him, picked it up. Turning to the twosome, he said: "You have been accepted by the jewel." The taking the staff and holding it high, he chanted:

"Jewel of the night and day,
before you stand the chosen,
bring forth the power of the crystal staff,
lest the new star be broken!"

The jewel at the top of the staff quivered, and then started to rise. When it had suspended itself about 5 inches above the staff, it started to glow. Around it a ring started to form, and when the glowing stopped, the jewel was hanging above the cards inside a circular ring with spikes. Li stepped back, the ring seemed to be made of the same material Sakura's dress was. Julian put down the staff and focused his attention to the jewel saying:

"Go forth and bring the crystal star hidden within!


REALEASE!"

The ring around the jewel began to spin. The green jewel began to grow until it reached the ring. Then it stopped for a second, and then burst into a pillar of light. From inside it, Sakura could see faintly the outline of a person. Instinctively reaching for Li's hand, she looked on with wonder.

The figure continued to become clearer until it was so clear that Li would bet anything it was a woman. Suddenly the pillar dimmed, and the figure raised her head.

Behind him, Li could feel Sakura gasp with utmost surprise, then say, "It can't be, it can't be, no!"

Turning back to her, Li said, "What can't be?"

Li looked at Sakura with concern. She was petrified as she was when he'd started to disappear from the Erase card.

"That's- that's my mom!"

To be continued...