Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Card Captor Sakura - Altered World ❯ Water is a Thing that Must Flow Part 3 of 3 ( Chapter 17 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Card Captor Sakura - Altered World
Card Captor Sakura - Altered World

Notes: This fanfic is S+S, and has mature concepts. Read at your own risk. I'm poor; don't sue. I don't own CCS at all.

Chapter 14: Water is a Thing that Must Flow - Part 3
Magical light shone with the old building, reflecting off the surfaces of the old clocks. Finally the light stopped flickering, and Sakura, Tomoyo, and Cerberus materialized in the building.
"Sakura-chan…" said Tomoyo in concern as she watched Sakura's downcast face.
After a pause, Sakura said quietly, "Everyone…"
"It's not your fault!" interrupted Cerberus, "It was the fault of that… In the book!"
Sakura raised her head suddenly.
"That book!" exclaimed Sakura, looking backwards towards the table to discover the book gone.
"Now that you mention it…" said Cerberus softly.
Sakura quickly walked over the table and cried, disbelievingly, "The book!"
"You probably didn't know, Tomoyo… But the place we were before was inside that book," said Cerberus as Sakura was searching frantically for the book.
"Then if we have the book, everyone…" said Tomoyo with hope, "What kind of book was it?"
"If I remember correctly… An old… with a strange aura to it…" Cerberus stopped suddenly in his description with an abrupt realisation, "The aura is gone."
"It's not here. I couldn't find it anywhere," said Sakura with anxiety.
"Sakura…"
"Li-kun. Meiling-chan. Onii-chan," said Sakura, almost in tears, "Yukito-san."
"Get a hold of yourself. Anyway, we have to do something about that sorceress!" said Cerberus, in attempt to distract Sakura from her sadness.
Cerberus suddenly straightened in recognition and yelled, "AH! That woman! Now I remember!"
Unfortunately, Cerberus was too loud and his voice travelled up the stairs to the second story.
"Are you a customer? Please wait a moment," said a voice of an old man from the second floor, obviously the storekeeper of the old building.
"Someone's coming," said Tomoyo hurriedly.
"For now, let's get out of here," advised Cerberus.
"Okay," agreed Sakura and the trio ran out the door.
"Customer-san. Japanese? What do you want?" said a bearded elderly Chinese man as he descended down the stairs.
"Ah?" he said in puzzlement, as he looked at his surroundings, empty of the "customers."

"That lady used to be a fortune teller in here, Hong Kong," said Cerberus, sitting on top of the backrest of a beige cushioned chair. Behind him, the harbour reflected an orangey-yellow light, signalling sunset. The trio were at Sakura's hotel room. Sakura and Tomoyo were standing beside the chair, listening attentively to Cerberus' recollection.
"If I remember correctly, it was fortune telling by water. That's were you make visions appear on water. It seems like she was pretty popular but…" Cerberus said and then paused.
"But?" said Sakura questioningly.
Cerberus turned his head away and concentrated, "One day, Clow Reed appeared. It wasn't that Clow was a fortuneteller, but his fortunes always came to pass. And that lady's business suffered."
"Oh dear," said Tomoyo.
"And then, no matter how much he refused, she challenged him to a battle," continued Cerberus.
"But if it was a person from so long ago, then haven't they already passed away?" wondered Tomoyo.
"It's a spell," answered Cerberus.
"A spell?" asked Sakura.
"After she died, she transferred all her desires into that book. It's very difficult spell. Unless you are determined, you can't cast a spell like that to last for decades. But now, she probably doesn't understand that she is dead, although… That lady must have really hated Clow."
"So that means, the purpose of the spell is…?" asked Sakura worriedly.
"Isn't it that she wants to imprison Clow inside the book?" wondered Cerberus.
"So Sakura-chan, since you have Clow Cards… you were called," concluded Tomoyo.
"But, what do I do to get into the book once more? If we don't hurry, everyone will…"
"Umm… With that kind of space, there usually is an opening, but… the presence has disappeared from the shop."
"And the book is gone too, so…" said Sakura sadly, "Book…"
Suddenly, she remember the book, on the dusty cover was a picture of a woman, sitting beside a well, as if she was waiting there for an eternity for someone to come.
"I know. The cover of that book. The place where the lady was. It's that well," said Sakura, breaking into a relieved smile.
"Sakura, do you know something?" asked Cerberus, standing up in excitement.
"Yes! I know where the entrance is. Yesterday, we went over there," answered Sakura animatedly.
"Then, we'll be able to go where everyone is?" asked Tomoyo enthusiastically.
Sakura nodded her head.
"All right! It's time for Card Captor Sakura!" said Cerberus, cheerfully.
After rummaging for a while, Tomoyo pulled out a pink outfit, with a purple overdress on it. The skirt was part of the purple overdress, shaped like cherry blossom petals. The shoulders were puffy and the sleeves long. On the waist, there was a pink sash, that formed a large pink bow at the back. Pink pants that went under the skirt were wide so that the wearer did not feel restricted to her movements.
"So let's hurry and change!" said Tomoyo blissfully, holding up one of her latest creations for all to see.
Sakura promptly fell on the floor with a groan.

If one looked at the sky clearly at night in Hong Kong, that person would see two rather large wings and the figures of two people on them. The person would blink rapidly, look away and look back up to notice it was gone. Then the person would happily tell him or her self that it was just an illusion concocted by his or her devious brain and then bid him or her self goodnight so he or she wouldn't sign into the loony bin.
Sakura flew over the tall apartments and landed on the area, where previously Li-kun had saved her that lead to her meeting with Yelan. What would have happened if Li-kun had not saved her? Maybe, everyone would have…
"Is this it?" asked Cerberus as all of them faced the roofed well.
"Yes," replied Sakura, fully dressed in the costume that Tomoyo had chosen a few hours ago. Behind her left ear, the clip Yukito bought her was attached to her hat.
"I definitely feel the presence," said Cerberus as Sakura took a step forward.
Taking a few steps forward, the trio gave gasps of as the ground began to glow. Sakura quickly stumbled backwards. Rays of light began to burst under the ground at certain points around the well and a barrier materialized.
"What's going on?!" asked Sakura as she used her wand to strike the barrier.
"This is a barrier," answered Cerberus.
"Barrier?"
"A very strong barrier around the border of the well."
"What shall we do?" asked Tomoyo wonderingly.
"It annoys me, but there is nothing that we can do with the amount of strength we have now," answered Cerberus in distress.
"That can't be!" said Sakura disbelievingly.
"What's wrong?" asked Tomoyo as Cerberus suddenly turned his head.
"Someone is coming," answered Cerberus uneasily. The two girls turned their heads around in succession to see a figure approaching them through an alleyway.
"This way please," said Tomoyo, holding out part of Sakura's bow for Cerberus to hide in. Cerberus promptly flew inside.
The shadows began to disperse as the figure stepped into the light.
"Li-kun's mother," said Sakura in surprise, identifying the figure.
"Stand back," Yelan ordered, and Sakura and Tomoyo took a few steps backwards.
"Um… why?" asked Sakura, as Yelan began to raise her fan.
"Syaoran's life force has been interrupted," replied Yelan simply.
Sakura looked downcast and said, "That's because I…"
"You are mistaken. It is simply because Syaoran is not strong enough," Yelan said with her fan pointing at the barrier.
Concentrating on the fan, Yelan made the fan emit a strong blue glow. Slowly, she began to push the fan into the barrier, making a gap appear.
"Very strong magic," commented Cerberus quietly, while hiding behind Sakura's shoulder.
Using both hands now, she plunged the fan completely into the barrier, making it gust apart so that a person could walk into the barrier itself.
"Go now," said Yelan, holding the gap.
"Yes," said Sakura, then turned her head behind her, "Tomoyo-chan, you stay here please."
"Sakura-chan," cried Tomoyo as Sakura ran into the barrier, "Be careful!"
"This dress, it's so easy to move around in," said Sakura, giving comfort to Tomoyo.
"It's made in water resistant material, so it should be okay in water," explained Tomoyo, touched by Sakura's thoughtfulness, yet concerned about her departure.
Yelan withdrew her fan from the barrier and Sakura turned away. When the barrier fully closed, there was a great burst of white light, informing the two of Sakura's entrance to the dimension.
"Sakura-chan."

Sakura found herself gradually falling through a dark hole. Not pitch black but a deep blue. There was nothing there except herself, descending through a seemingly endless hole.
" Where is this?" she wondered out loud with her voice echoing against the "walls", staring below her and waiting for an end.
Cerberus flew out of his hiding place in her bow, and answered, "A tunnel between dimensions."
Suddenly, it was no longer endless, but many portals appeared, shining their light and brightening the tunnel.
"It's connected to a lot of dimensions," said Cerberus and then he warned, "If you get lost here, you'll never get out."
"What should I do?" asked Sakura.
"You think," answered Cerberus to Sakura's confusion.
"Huh?"
"As long as you have a strong will, we'll be sure to get there," answered Cerberus, with faith in Sakura's abilities.
Sakura closed her eyes in concentration.
Syaoran breaking into a rare almost smile.
Meiling grappling Syaoran, calling his name happily.
Touya calling her Kaijuu as Sakura descended from the stairs.
Yukito smiling gently and calling her, "Sakura-chan."
To where everyone is.
Suddenly, under Sakura a plane of bright light appeared, its luminosity brighter than all of the other portals.
"That's it!" yelled Cerberus as they fell through the portal.

Sakura landed, on top of water but gently enough not to create a splash. She looked around her not recognizing her new surroundings. It was a broken down house, Chinese styled. Instead of a whole building, rooms where adjoined by an open area outside in the middle of the house. The open area was flooded though, and water continuously streamed down the broken water pipes, never leaving the area dry.
"This is not it. What should we do?" asked Sakura worriedly, wondering if she slipped through the wrong portal.
Cerberus flew from his position on Sakura's shoulder and sensed, "No, this aura is definitely it."
Suddenly, they heard the chirping of birds as the pair of lavender "birds" flapped their wings frantically, putting distance between themselves, and the Card Captor and the guardian.
"Over there!" yelled Cerberus, directing to the entrance of the house.
Sakura ran out of the house with Cerberus tagging behind her. As she ran, suddenly her surroundings disappeared and the area went black. When she exited the darkness, she found herself on a street with many birdcages and stalls.
Sakura pulled herself to a stop and said with confusion, "Bird Street."
But unlike the real Bird Street, there was no sky, it was rather the opposite, the sky was "reflecting" the surface of water.
"It looks like there is a lot of dimensions mixed up in here," said Cerberus, noticing the oddity about the sky, "Let's go."
"Yes," agreed Sakura and they began to run again.
Passed them went old parts of Chinatown in ruins and they made their way into the residential part of town. Laundry fluttered on the clotheslines, as they caused the air to shift during their run.
"It's getting stronger," said Cerberus, as they made their way into another alleyway.
Their surroundings shifted again, and Sakura halted to a stop. Many broken pillars surrounded them, but what made her pause was the sight of the immensely large doors in front of her.
"The presence seems to be coming from here," said Sakura warily, as she approached the closed doors.
"Yeah," said Cerberus almost breathlessly, in unease.
Sakura stepped forward and pushed against the doors. The doors began to give in and Sakura took a startled step backwards at the sight of within. Instead of air, a mass of water was in front of her. Unlike normal water though, it did not flow out of the room, like if there was an invisible wall keeping it there. Ripples appeared across the surface of the water, cause by the movement of the double doors.
"Sakura," Cerberus said gently, calling Sakura out of her surprise.
"Yes," Sakura said walked slowly into the water. With a deep breath, Cerberus followed.
Suddenly, the door faded away and they were in the ruins once more. Rays of light shone down towards them, and in return, they swam up towards it.

The sorceress materialized in the centre of the room once more and Sakura stood on top of a broken pillar, with determination set in her face. It was to be their final battle against each other.
"You again? Why have you returned?" asked the sorceress vehemently.
"Please, give everyone back!" pleaded Sakura, not wanting to battle with her.
"Should you want them returned, bring Clow Reed to me," said the sorceress without emotion, her will set on having Clow.
"No matter how hard we try to bring him here, it's not possible. Clow is already-" argued Cerberus in frustration.
"I've been waiting all this time…" the sorceress interrupted, for a flicker of a moment, her eyes looked almost sad and with her head faced down, she spoke again, "For Clow to come… For all this time…"
"Listen to someone's story until the end!" Cerberus yelled angrily.
But Sakura did not overlook the sorceress's expressions as Cerberus did, her eyes were wide with surprise and then she understood.
"That person…" Sakura said softly. Suddenly she felt a tremor and then turned her head to see ripples created by a vibrating pillar.
"What is that?" cried Cerberus in alarm.
All at once, the pillars began to crack and pieces of stone fell into the water below creating splashes of water. A pillar collapsed near Sakura, and she shield herself with her arms. When she brought them down, she saw four spheres hovering in front of the sorceress, the people she cared about.
Without a word, the spheres disappeared and from there rays of magic flew into the sorceress. Light fled from the sorceress and darkness descended upon her. A sickening red glow began to emit from the sorceress, incredible but cruel power.
"Everyone," said Sakura, staring helplessly at the sorceress.
"This is the end," stated the sorceress, and with persistency she demanded, "Where is Clow Reed?"
"That's what I've been saying! Clow Reed is not here," said Cerberus angrily.
"Then here will be your last breath!" cried the sorceress furiously.
The sorceress's figure shimmered red and it fled out of the ruins as it continued to collapse.

The well no longer contained just water, where there had been water was glowing an intense red. Yelan moved to shield Tomoyo as the ground began to quake harder, and the well erupted in a red glow. The well completely shattered to pieces as the red light escaped the opening. Above the city, the sorceress materialized.
She looked at the many city lights and tall buildings around her in surprise. She turned but the view remained the same, completely alien to her.
"This is…?" she said in astonishment.
Yelan withdrew from Tomoyo and Tomoyo looked on with anxiety at the remains of the well.

After an onslaught of falling stones from the collapsing roof, Sakura exposed herself. She was unhurt, none of the stones had landed upon her
"Sakura," said Cerberus, calling her back into reality.
"Right," said Sakura as she unleashed her key, "O Key which hides the forces of darkness, reveal thy true form before me. I, Sakura, command thee under contract. Release!"
"Fly!" chanted Sakura, transforming her wand once more.

"Sakura-chan," called Tomoyo as she edged towards the well. Yelan placed her arm in front of her to stop her movements. Tomoyo looked at Yelan questioningly, and Yelan stated, "She will come."
Light seemingly gathered into the well, and then it swelled and burst as Sakura escaped from the other dimension.
Flying up high into the Hong Kong night sky, Sakura looked warily around her, "And her?"
"Above!" said Cerberus, noticing the figure from above as water swirled and gathered into the sorceress's hand.
Sakura dodged the oncoming spouts of water as the sorceress aimed them for her.
"Where is this?" said the sorceress angrily, with water gathered in her hand, "Where did you put Clow Reed?"
"Clow-san is already-" said Sakura as she was cut off from her words as another burst of water plummeted towards her.

The people of Hong Kong looked upwards as water fell from the sky. There had not been a forecast of rain but you could not trust forecasters anyway. A few signs shorted out and a sign itself collapsed on the sidewalk. Heavy rain indeed.

Sakura dodged as more streams of water plunged towards her, sliding right and left and between attacks.
"Sakura, just running will get you nowhere!" said Cerberus, seeing that they were not making any improvements on their situation.
"But, everyone…!" said Sakura as she narrowly dodged the surges of water.
Water collided with the walls and windows of an apartment as Sakura sped past it. Furious, the sorceress extended her ribbons and they wrapped around Sakura, holding her from escaping.
"Sakura!" yelled Cerberus, as he fell from Sakura's shoulder as she struggled against her bound state.
The sorceress pulled Sakura to a building under construction, and let Sakura land on top, with her wand held in one of her hands, her arms bounded.
"Tell me, where is Clow Reed!" insisted the sorceress angrily.
"Clow-san isn't around anymore," said Sakura softly and sadly.
"You lie!" yelled the sorceress stubbornly
"It's true! He died a long time ago," said Sakura earnestly, raising her head to the sorceress.
"It's a lie!" cried the sorceress, shaking her head desperately.
Sakura eyes widened and watched the sorceress as she hovered above her.
"It's not possible he would die," said the sorceress, her voice racked with emotion, "Clow Reed…"
Power began to crackle around the sorceress, and Sakura looked instinctively behind her to see water from the Hong Kong harbour rise. Immense spirals of water rose and surrounded the building and power continued to crackle ominously.
"Clow Reed…" continued the sorceress in anguish.
Sakura struggled as it began to darken when water rose above her.
"Would NEVER DIE!" screamed the sorceress, and in a sudden outburst of power, three streams of water swirled into a sphere that broke apart. A barrier formed at the perimeter of the top level of the unfinished building, encasing it so that the water could not escape.
Streams of water gathered in the sky, flowing together into one of the three main streams that continued to relentless pour in Sakura's prison.
"I waited so long. So long," said the sorceress forlornly as she watched the water pour into the building. The water ceased to pour, as the whole level was completely full.
"With the whole of my power… I kept calling Clow. No matter how many years it'll take… No matter how many decades it'll take… "

A drop of water descended into the mass of water below.
Sakura awakened in the water. She struggled her restraints until she saw something shimmering in side the water.
Suddenly an image appeared before her, just like the cover of the book. Except that the woman was standing, and there was a man before her.
"There is no reason for me to accept such a thing from you," said the sorceress haughtily.
"Today is your birthday, is it?" said a male voice. The sorceress looked at the man in shock.
"I have given it to you. If you have no need of it, please discard it," said Clow Reed as he walked away from the sorceress. Placed on the sorceress sleeve, was a beautiful fan like ornament with two wings extending out of a green gem.
The light emitting from the tear faded away as so did the vision. Sakura blinked and looked towards the sorceress and smiled.
This person, after all…
Sakura began to struggle again, but she began to tired. She looked longingly above at the surface of the water. The surface began to glow and she heard the familiar voice, "Water is something that must flow."
Water… must flow…, thought Sakura as she slowly was sinking deeper into the water until she landed at the bottom.
Sakura's eyes suddenly widened.
That's it!
Sakura flicked a card from her pocket under her skirt and turned her wand around so it faced backwards. Quickly twisting her body around, she hit her wand against the card and yelled, "Arrow!"

Lilac streams of magic flew and broke surface, making the sorceress grit her teeth in anger. The streams combined together to form a violet, and cherry sprite, with its hair tied at the sides. With its body facing the water, and a glowing arrow aimed at downwards, it fired and the arrows multiplied. The arrows ripped apart the ribbons and cracked the floor, smashing it apart. Water began to gush out the sides of the buildings until there was no more to flow.
The sorceress looked furiously around her, and turned backwards at the sound of Sakura landing behind her.
"You…" uttered the sorceress venomously, power crackling around yet again.
Sakura walked towards her without fear, making the sorceress move her head in surprise. Stepping so that she was almost under her, Sakura looked at her with pitying eyes.
"You really loved Clow-san, didn't you?" said Sakura, making the sorceress's eyes widen in response.
Sakura looked downwards and said with understanding, gained through her recent experience, "It's really hard, isn't it?"
Sakura wiped her eyes and said between sobs, "When the person you really like is taken away.
"It's hard, isn't it?" Sakura repeated with a sob with Yukito firmly in her mind.
"Is Clow Reed… really dead?" the sorceress asked quietly.
Sakura nodded solemnly and continued to cry.
The sorceress's eyes narrowed in pain. A single droplet of water flew past Sakura as the wind blew.
"So long…"
More droplets of water began to descend around Sakura.
"I waited for so long…"
Sakura looked upwards, feeling water slide down her face, but not her own tears. The sorceress's dress seemed to transform into water at the edges where it crumbled apart. Droplets of water descended from there, as if the woman was endlessly crying.
"For a long time…" said the sorceress sadly as her ribbons began to form into water, "So long…"
Sakura watched sadly at the figure slowly become into liquid, it was never real. Just a single wish made with water and hope.
"I waited… to meet him," said the remains of the spell, almost turned completely into water, "There are some things I wanted to tell him…"
Sakura watched as the woman became no more, but water slowly breaking into droplets until there were no more droplets to fall. Looking downward, Sakura noticed the woman's hair ornament. She bent down so that she was on her knees and gently held in her two palms.
"Water is something that must flow…"
That voice… It was Clow-san's," Sakura reflected as she gazed at the sky.
The hair ornament broke apart suddenly, brittle with age. A blue glow appeared as four unconscious figures began to materialize on the ground beside her.
"Li-kun. Meiling-chan. Onii-chan," said Sakura, with tears wavering in her eyes.
Almost breathlessly with great relief, she called the name of her most important person, "Yukito-san."
Sakura wiped her eyes, and smiled. There was no longer a reason to be sad. Everyone was back.

The boat rocked back and forth gently upon the waves, as it made its way from Hong Kong Island. Seagulls flew past the ship, calling out their cries. The sun shone brightly, like it always does after it rains.
"What do you think would be a good souvenir for my father?" Touya asked Yukito, looking up from the travel brochure.
Pausing for a moment, Yukito thought, and then replied, "How about something like tea?"
"Tea?" wondered Touya, and returned his gaze back to the brochure to find a well known tea store.
"Tomorrow, we'll be in Japan already, right?" asked Tomoyo as held her camera, at Sakura's side.
"Yes," replied Sakura, as Tomoyo's face fell in worry by Sakura's absentmindedness.
"Oh, boy wasn't that something? Especially yesterday," complained Cerberus, lying on top of Tomoyo's camera, and half hidden by her hair.
"That's not true," disagreed Sakura, looking at her hair clip, "I want to say it too. My true feelings. I want them understood."
Tomoyo and Cerberus looked at each other in confusion.
"That person had something to tell Clow-san. Something she really wanted to say," said Sakura, closing her fist around the clip and gripping it tighter. She looked towards Yukito longingly as he gazed at the passing scenery.
She thought with a slight smile, it would be nice if I could say it someday.
Tomoyo smiled sadly while watching Sakura and then raised her camera and replaced her sorrowful smile with a joyful one.
"It would be nice to come to Hong Kong again, wouldn't it?" asked Tomoyo.
Sakura turned her head and smiled, "Yes!"
Such moments in life were precious, Tomoyo would reflect. Sakura's smile was one of them. And she caught them all on tape.

"Syaoran," said Yelan as she approached her son from training.
"Yes, mother," he said, lowering his sword and straightening in respect.
"What do you think of Kinomoto Sakura?" Yelan asked, looking straight into her son's amber eyes.
His eyes flickered for a moment and he replied, "Not very strong in magic but very determined. Do not worry, I will get the cards for myself."
"Not that Syaoran, I mean as a person," said Yelan, noticing her son grow in discomfort.
"I don't understand. I mean no disrespect but why do you ask?" he said, almost stumbling over the first sentence.
"She is… special, is she not?" said Yelan, deliberately making a pause, to make her words carry more weight, "Her heart is very pure, an extraordinary thing in this age and time. She also possesses some of the cards that you were to capture."
Syaoran barely avoided wincing in front of his mother and spoke, "She is very kind hearted, but that makes her not strong enough for the task."
No Syaoran, you're wrong. It only makes her stronger.
"Syaoran, I would like you to watch over the girl. I still want you to capture the cards, but I wish for nothing to happen to her," said Yelan, thinking back to her last conversation with the girl.
"Yes," said Syaoran without hesitation but Yelan sensed he felt wary unlike the person she asked a similar request of.
What are you planning, Mother?

"Could you take care of Syaoran for me?" Yelan asked Sakura, during the aftermath of the battle. They stood beside the remains of the well for a final conversation before Sakura headed back to Japan.
"Yes, I will Yelan-san. You were worried about him? You really love Li-kun don't you?" asked Sakura, innocently enough for Yelan to tell her the truth.
"Yes, he is my son."


Author's Notes: (To cut down on a few things I have written other stuff on my page) There is actually info on my next fic somewhere there. Also I guess a few updates on my health (more like my mental state.)
To the few who reviewed last chapter, domo arigatou gozaimasu! (Thank you very much (super polite)). I was in the dumps because I worked so hard on it and it felt like almost no one was reading it.
On a weird note, to tell you how my exams affected me, my mom found 10 white hairs on me in one sitting and I'm only seventeen and a half… Must not get stressed anymore…
Chapters will come out a bit slower because I find having a little time to go over it makes it much better.

July 4, 2001, Christine Chan aka Kinomoto Sakura of Ffnet