~Flashback~

"Sakura, the portal is open!" Tomoyo informed, smiling at her best friend. She had done her part; now it was all up to Sakura.

"Now go!" Touya ordered. Wasting no time, Sakura turned and ran into the portal without hesitation.

~End of Flashback~

As Sakura entered the portal, the people who were left alone to watch Syaoran's unmoving body lay on the floor as if nothing had happened. Those who were chosen to maintain the portal remained in their positions as they continued to focus their chi to maintain the portal open for Sakura's return.

But that had been an hour ago and still there was no sign of Sakura and Eriol could see that the people in the circle were slowly losing strength. The wind currents that were being controlled by their combined chi were slowly diminishing and the portal was getting smaller and smaller.

"Eriol-sama…I can't keep it any longer." Nakuru cried falling from exhaustion. Tomoyo and Meiling were quick to rush by Nakuru's side to help her sit up so that she could still channel her chi into the center.

"Eriol, how much longer do we have to keep this up?" Touya gritted.

"As long as Sakura needs! We must keep it open or else she won't ever be able to come back!" He answered while keeping his eyes focused on Syaoran's body in the center of the Yin-Yang. He didn't know how much longer they could keep the portal open when the members of the circle were slowly losing their energy.

"But what if she runs out of time? We can't know what's going on in there and you can only keep this portal open for another hour… what if she doesn't make it?" Touya managed to shout over the loud wind that was blowing around the room.

"If we can no longer keep this portal open then we will pull her out whether she has succeeded or not." Yelan answered with a slight difficulty showing to everyone that she too was beginning to feel drained.

Eriol simply nodded his head in understanding before focusing on the portal once more. 'Sakura, please hurry up!'

SsSsS

"You forget, Void, that I have another card!" Sakura raised her sealing staff to strike and seal Void but she quickly avoided it.

"Why do you have another card? There should only be 52!"

"There are 52 Clow Cards; this one is a card I made all on my own."

"I don't really care if you have another card because whatever it can create, I can erase like it never existed! I'm not afraid of you, Card Mistress!" Void shouted as she ran towards Sakura but instead of a dark ball of energy, this time she wielded an onyx sword at Sakura and her card.

Without any weapon Sakura did the only thing she could do: run.

"What do you think you're doing Card Mistress? You're just wasting my time!"

Sakura was not fazed by her taunts and continued to hide wherever she could hoping to find any thing that may help her defeat Void. She was not going to go down without fighting because after everything that Syaoran had taught her, shown her, she had decided that she would protect them all. She would return Syaoran to his family and friends because this time she knew she would not fail.

"You can't hide from me forever, Card Mistress!" Sakura would hide behind objects but these all proved to be futile for Void would simply make them vanish. Void turned around but Sakura was nowhere in sight. "What do you plan on doing now?"

Just then Sakura jumped from behind Void and with her Sealing Staff she keeps Void's arms trapped keeping her from using her magic. Void flailed around the room as she struggled to free herself from Sakura's grasp.

She pushes the Card Mistress against Syaoran's hourglass, and the impact caused Sakura's head to collide with the hard material. Void immediately broke away from Sakura and wasting no time plunged the sword into Sakura's chest.

"Sakura!" Syaoran cried.

Using the sword that was stuck in her body she wrapped her arms around Void and called forth the power of her card. Instead of creating a shield over Sakura, the last card created a ball of energy that encased Void in it. "You can't trap me! I'll only erase it!"

"No, Void. You can't." Sakura whispers, tightening her grip around the girl. "Because this card's power is from nothing, it was created from nothing… Because it is only when all is lost can it come out."

From Sakura's arms Void was able to catch a glimpse of the card hovering above her head. "Hope?"

"Clow didn't make you to erase things." Sakura rasped with difficulty as the wound in her chest began to open and blood was spilling on to her clothes as she breathed. "You were created as a source of power for my first card, you are not Void…You are …Hope."

"I am Hope?"

The arms trapping Void soon became limp allowing the girl to join with the Sakura card and with a joy she has never felt the girl's lips were soon graced by her first true smile. "I am Hope!"

As the card encircled the girl, the hourglass and the entire mansion that Void created was shattered. She looked up at them to see the girl being sealed in her card and a smile graces her lips as a blinding light came forth from their union. And from a distance she heard the faint shout of her name.

"Sakura!"

As soon as the light disappeared Sakura opened her eyes to see the faces of her brother and friends. They were all saying something to her but she couldn't hear them.

'I'm cold.' Slowly but surely she felt a comforting cold embracing her, she could see everyone in the room going about and saying things to one another. She turns to look at her side in time to see Syaoran waking up. He immediately rushed to her side, pulling her limp form into his arms

Sakura could only smile in relief to see the face of her beloved Syaoran full of fear and concern.

She tried to move her lips but no sound came out, except for rasped breaths and pained groans. He was saying something to her but she couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything or feel anything; she couldn't even feel his arms as it shook her.

She wanted to ask him what he was saying, she wanted to tell him the words she promised to say to him, she wanted to hold him, there were so many things she wanted to do but couldn't.

Just as she was about to close her eyes once more she felt drops of water falling on her face and for a while she had thought it to be rain. She forced her eyes open to find Syaoran crying and although she couldn't hear him, she understood what he was trying to say.

And with all the strength she could summon, she gathered her last breath, "I love you."

Now that she has finally given Syaoran her answer Sakura finally surrendered to the peaceful void that has been calling for her. Syaoran embraced her body as sounds of the ambulance echoed into the house. Sakura cards were scattered around them, all of them dim as if mourning for their mistress, except for the one card that Sakura had in her hand.

~It is only in the darkness can a star shine its brightest and it is only in misery can we find hope.~

Sakura lay in the hospital, the machines attached to her body indicating that she was fine but she has yet to wake up. Touya and Yukito were seated on Sakura's bedside while Keroberos lay beside Sakura's head watching for any signs of her waking up.

On Sakura's other side Nakuru, Tomoyo and Mei Ling drank tea and chatted with one another Syaoran's sisters were playing with Spinel Sun by the window. Eriol, Mizuki and Yelan were the only ones who remained quiet and unmoving as they each held tea cups by the couch making sure not to disturb the other sleeping visitor.

As soon as he saw Sakura's eyes fluttering open, Keroberos announced, "She's waking up! Everyone shut up!"

"Sakura? Can you hear us?" Touya asks.

She was about to ask what was going on when the memory of her fighting and sealing Void returned to her immediately causing her to get up from her bed. The movement caused a searing pain to burn through her entire body.

"Sakura-chan, be careful. You can't move around too much, you were badly injured." Tomoyo warned as she helped Sakura into a sitting position.

"We thought we'd lost you." Eriol added.

"S-syaoran. Where's Syaoran?"

Everyone turned to one another with smiles on their faces at the question. Yukito was the first to speak up. "How are we supposed to explain this?"

"Ugh, this is so embarrassing!" Mei Ling muttered as she ran a hand over her face in annoyance.

Slowly Yelan moved aside to reveal a sleeping Syaoran on the hospital couch. Nakuru sniggered and answered the questioning look that Sakura gave them, "The brat fell asleep from watching over you for so many days."

Meanwhile, Spinel was kind enough to wake said brat by poking his claw at the young boy.

"What in the –" Syaoran was no longer able to continue whatever it was he was going to say when his eyes caught sight of Sakura fully awake. Forgetting the embarrassment of falling asleep on the job, he slowly approached the hospital bed and its occupant.

"You're awake." He said as he caressed his fingers over her face as if to prove to himself that this was not another dream of his. Sakura nodded her head as she leaned closer to his touch. Quickly tears begin to burn its trail on her cheeks once more, but this time there were tears of joy because finally everything was going back to normal.

"Syaoran-kun… do you, I mean can you…remember me?"

Syaoran could only look back at her with a blank expression on his face before as the hand that was on her face slowly trailed towards her hand. Gently he lifted the hand to his face, his eyes strained on Sakura's green eyes.

"How can I ever forget the girl I love?" Then allowing a smirk to grace his features he kisses Sakura's hand.

"Hey brat, do you have a death wish?" Touya asked as he landed a blow at Syaoran's head.

Mei Ling sprang into action in defending her cousin while Yukito tried to hold the other back so that he wouldn't do any more damage than he already has.

"Card Mistress Sakura, can you hear me?"

Sakura turned to the source of the voice and on the bedside table she finds her Sakura Cards all glowing and at the very top of the deck was her Hope Card.

Sakura smiled as she held the card close to her heart and beside her she watched in amusement as everyone continued to bicker.

Everything was back to normal and everyone is at peace in Tomoeda.

"Thank you, Card Mistress."

~owari~

Author's Note: Parteeeeeeeehh! I've finally finished a story on FanfictionNet! Sorry for the long wait and sorry if it seemed like after the long wait I was only able to give you such a short chapter but there was really nothing else I could write but the ending as the climax already happened in the previous chapters. ^__^

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers for your AMAZING patience towards this story, I know that there must have been times wherein you wondered if this story was ever going to finish. But thanks to your encouragement I was able to finish it. Also a big shout of thanks to my new editor. Thanks Jin :P So if there are complaints just take it up to her XD

I hope you liked it all!