Episode 32! The end is in sight!

Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon. And even if I made any revenue from this fanfic, Meowth and Persian would relieve me of it immediately. Destiny is mine though, as so is Charlotte.

Notes: Yes, in case you were living under a rock or skipping my notes, <> indicates telepathy, ** indicates thoughts, and italics indicates translated poke speech.

Dawn the Espeon – I will! Aw, don’t fade! Then I’ll lose a reader! And it’s a cliffhanger because the original Japanese series has the final judgment as 2 episodes, which the dub crammed into 1. Grr…

Pikacar/Marle – Hehehe, if I get enough reviews…

Ihire – of course I’ll write more!

Pokemon Reader – are you trying to say ‘hay Chihuahuas?’ Yes, of course, I know what’s going to happen, heh…

HurriCanine – be up soon!

Horse – another vote for Ash x Sabrina! Man, this pairing is actually fairly popular…

Ran – great guess! Yes, I completely forgot that I used Gary in the original! *Whacks self* How did you know? Do not worry, Todd will return! Next one will be up soon!

Silver – I’m glad you think so! Why did you send me the same review thrice?

Matt C. – Really? *Blushes* Aw, how nice. Wow. What a compliment. Thank you and the next chapter will be up soon!

The Pokemon Reader – Skymew was actually Sabrina, you know how Charlotte gave Skymew to Ash? She knew! Have a S’more! Yay, Gary’s gone! And Todd will return! As they say in the princess bride, he’s not ‘all dead’, just ‘Mostly dead’. However, you will have to wait a couple of episodes for Todd to return, I decided to give Ash some time alone…

Mistress of Richard Cox – of course you can have a S’more! *Hands you one* Aw, a fan for Pika-chan!

Goldfox133 – soon! Okay?

Episode 32: The end of the beginning

“Skymew was Sabrina?” Even with the evidence in front of his very eyes, Ash still found it very hard to believe.

Sabrina drifted down in front of her and took his chin in her hands. “Skymew was my false form, child. This is the first time you have seen me in this form, I believe. The candidate that Decision Maker Pikachu has chosen to be the new master of the pokemon cards.”

“Skymew…” Ash whispered. He still couldn’t believe it. * Why? She was just a friend, a pokemon, why? *

Pika-chan hopped towards him, but was prevented by a force field in her way. “Don’t worry, Ash! If it’s you, I know you can pass the final judgment!”

“Still as innocent as ever.” Sabrina said. “Just the way master wanted you to be, a child.”

“You haven’t changed a bit! You’re still as stern and cold as ever, with your eternal bad mood!” Pika-chan shot back.

“Then this is the… final judgment?” Ash asked.

“I told you. When all the pokemon cards are gathered, the final judgment will be administered.”

Sabrina flew up into the air. Behind her, the full moon shone, bathing the area in silver radiance.

“Cards created by Clow, the master you seek, Chosen by Decision Maker Pikachu, this young man, his name is Ashura!”

Sabrina paused, as Ash’s Pidgeot wand started to glow. The eye turned a brilliant shade of gold, scattering beams of light in all directions. The pokemon cards surrounded him again, spiraling around in eye-catching patterns.

“Now I, the Final Judgment Maker Sabrina, will administer the Final Judgment, and test whether this candidate is worthy of becoming our new master!”

“The Final Judgment…” Ash whispered.

“If you can defeat Sabrina using the pokemon cards you have gathered, then you will become the new master of the Kanto pokemon set.” Pika-chan said.

“If you are really the master of the pokemon cards, then you will have no trouble defeating the second guardian of the pokemon cards.” Sabrina declared. As she spoke, another group of red crystals formed in her hands.

“Watch out!” Pika-chan shouted as they streaked towards Ash.

“Golem!” Ash said, calling out the rock pokemon and hopping onto its back. He managed to dodge the first two blasts.

The third time he was not as lucky. He went flying off the pokemon, which went back into card form.

Gary pulled out the rest of his poke balls. “Arcanine, Gyrados, Pidgeot, go!”

“NO!” Pika-chan shouted. “If you disrupt the final judgment, Ash will automatically lose. And I’m not going to let you do that!” Her cheeks sparked, as energy shot out towards the three pokemon, paralyzing them.

“Not attacking, just trying to run?” Sabrina asked. “If you don’t work harder, the judgment will be over.”

“Wait a minute, Sabrina!” Pika-chan said. “Ash! Put more effort in! If you lose, then disaster really will befall this earth!”

“What is this ‘disaster’ you keep referring to?” Ash asked.

“It’s ‘forgetting’.” Sabrina told him, pausing in her attack.

“Forgetting?”

“The ‘Forgetting’ created by Clow for his cards…” Pika-chan said in a hushed whisper. She landed next to Ash on the platform. Sabrina let her stay for the time being since they weren’t fighting seriously yet.

“The ‘Candidate’ chosen by Decision Maker Pikachu to become the new master of the Clow Cards, if they do not have to the power to defeat the Judgment Maker Sabrina…” Sabrina continued.

“The cards, and the people related to the cards, ‘their favorite person’, their memories will all vanish.”

“Their memories?” Ash asked in shock.

“The cards do not like being deceived. If they find out that their favorite person who they thought was their master betrayed them, they will forget them to spare themselves any pain. And they will erase the memories of anyone connected with the Clow Cards as well.”

“Then, the cards will return to the book and wait for their new master. The ‘disaster’ Clow created, was not to destroy this earth, or to change the shape of this planet, or bring about needless violence.”

“But to forget everything, that is the most painful punishment of all.” Pika-chan finished.

“Everyone… will forget ... their most favorite person…Todd, Gary, my Mom, Giovanni, Storm, Pidgey, Butterfree, Skymew, Oddish, and all the cards…” Ash closed his eyes and winced as he realized the implications.

Sabrina and Pika-chan waited.

“NO!” Ash said, propping himself up with his staff. “I’m not going to allow this!” The cards swirled around him with renewed energy, as he stood.

“Pika-chan, I cannot attack Sabrina, because she is Skymew, and I would not hurt Skymew!” Ash told Pika-chan.

“And, Sabrina, like you, is one of the guardians. I want to be her friend.”

“But if you do not attack Sabrina, you cannot possibly win!” Pika-chan said. “No! It does not matter, because if you use the cards to attack, there is no guarantee you will succeed! If the card is one of Sabrina’s, the attack will fail and be bounced back towards you! And if that is one of the powerful cards, you will die!”

“Even though I do not know what to do, I will still try my best.” Ash said.

Confidence crept into his tone, as he continued. “And I know that I won’t fail.”

Sabrina floated down in front of him. “Are you ready now? Then, the real final judgment will begin!”

Ash picked up a card. * To defeat Sabrina without hurting her, I will need a card that can incapitate her. Pidgeot… *

He was about to activate it when…

“WAIT!” Pika-chan shouted. “Pidgeot is one of Sabrina’s cards! It’s like what I said earlier! If you use one of them, then the attack will fail and bounce back at you! And tonight is the full moon! That’s when Sabrina’s power is at its strongest!”

“The Decision Maker is not allowed to interfere in the final judgment.” Sabrina said coolly.

“I’m not interfering!” Pika-chan shouted.

“I overlooked it this time, but next time, there will be consequences.” Sabrina told her.

Pika-chan blushed. “Sorry, Ash… I can’t help you any more. But Ash, remember this… even if you fail the judgment, I will never forget you… Neither will the cards that you have captured.”

“Because we all like you, Ash”

“Thank you.” Ash said, deeply touched. He turned to face Sabrina.

“Machamp, disable her!” Ash called. Machamp charged. However, Sabrina teleported away and took it down with Psychic.

She also knocked Ash over with the backlash, so he landed facedown on the platform.

“The test is over, Pikachu.” She said quietly, as an arrow of light formed in her hands. “You understand, don’t you? I will now administer the ‘disaster’. After all, only Clow could defeat the judgment maker.”

“No!” Ash said. The cards suddenly formed a protective shield around him.

“Impressive.” Sabrina said, raising her eyebrows. “But you cannot defeat me this way.”

Ash didn’t reply. He closed his eyes and gripped his wand tighter, channeling his chi and magic through the staff. * I need to defeat her… I can’t lose! * Rings of multicolored energy spiraled around him, closer and closer.

“Trying to beat me with just pure magic?” Sabrina asked.

The rings finally collapsed around Ash, before soaring upwards into a column of energy, enveloping him.

< It is time. > A voice whispered.

Ash found himself floating in an expanse of gray. “Where am I?”

< This, child, is your soul. You are still confused and uncertain. Until you learn to accept yourself as you are and break the seal that was placed upon you, here you will stay. >

“But I need to defeat Sabrina!”

< The answer lies here. Unlock the secret and you will be free. >

Ash rolled his eyes. * Well, the person’s talking in riddles. How am I supposed to figure anything out? But how did I wind up here, anyway? Maybe if I focus my chi, I can get out. *

Ash again refocused his chi on his staff. This time, the energy simply bounced back at him and was absorbed.

< Think back to your past. > The voice prompted.

Ash closed his eyes and tried to recall what had happened, but he remembered Delilah talking about how he had amnesia. * Will this really help? * He kept trying to think, until finally, there was a flash of memory.

“That was Sunny, but where was I? Maybe thinking about Sunny will help.” Ash began to recall his past memories, until finally one significant one popped in. Destiny and Sunny were swimming together in the river.

“That’s me. I know it somehow, but I can’t summon up my name. This is really strange.” More time passed, and the mist grew thicker. It began to coil around Ash threateningly, trying to choke him.

“I can’t lose!” Ash said. “If I cannot even escape my own soul, how can I hope to defeat Sabrina?” His staff shone brightly, and a golden light suffused his body. When the light cleared, Destiny stood where Ash had been. Around his neck hung a tiny thumbnail-sized bronze mirror on a golden chain, with a single red tassel hanging from it. But Ash knew what it really was.

The misty barriers went down, and Ash found himself standing opposite Sabrina again.

“Yay!” Pika-chan cheered.

“Mirror for the new candidate, your purpose is now fulfilled. Let your power come into my key. Key created by Clow, Accept this new moon power! Under a new seal of contract I command you to, RELEASE!” The tiny mirror dissolved in a burst of silver light. Ash’s staff gave a triumphant spin and the Pidgeot head suddenly changed into a golden five-pointed star surmounted in a blue moon with two pairs of white wings at the sides. The body of the staff was a darker shade of blue.

“Become a reprimanding chain, Articuno!” Ash commanded. The silver-blue titan of ice streaked towards Sabrina.

“I told you already. Moon-based cards cannot affect me.” Sabrina said solemnly. So she was shocked when Articuno’s chain of ice constricted around her.

“What?!”

Articuno dropped Sabrina in front of where Ash was standing. Ash walked over and helped her up.

“Sabrina, I know that I’m nothing compared to Clow. And I know that I’m just a child, I oversleep all the time, I’m terrible at history, and I’m not the best trainer either. And I know I won because of the mirror of moonlight. But I like Pika-chan, and I like all the cards. I don’t want to be your new master, but your friend.”

“So I’m sure it will all work out.”

Sabrina stood up and sighed. “All right, close your eyes.” Her wings rustled softly behind her.

“Eh?”

“I, the Final Judgment maker Sabrina, accept Ashura as the new master of the pokemon cards.”

Ash found himself floating in midair. Standing amidst the stars was a man dressed in long robes with the sun and moon embroidered on them. He was smiling.

“Sabrina, Pika-chan, and the cards. Take care of them for me.” He said.

“C-Clow?!” Ash asked in shock.

“Yes.” He smiled at Ash’s shock. “The staff you carry now has a new magic. Not the power of the sun, or the power of the moon, but the power of ‘Star’. For even though the light the stars give out is faint, it is your own light.”

“In the future, ‘I’ will bring you trouble, but if it is you, there will be no problem.”

“What?” Ash didn’t get to say anymore, because then he was jerked back into reality.

Sabrina and Pika-chan were waiting.

“Even though you have become the new master, you still do not have enough power to support the guardians. We will stay in our false forms.” Sabrina told him.

“That way we can be you your side.” Pika-chan said, nuzzling him.

“That way, if you ever run into trouble in the future, we will be there to protect you.”

“Until then!” Pika-chan said cheerfully. Energy swirled around both of them, turning Sabrina back into Skymew and Pika-chan back into a tiny winged Pikachu.

Ash caught Skymew as she fell over. Pika-chan hopped onto his shoulder.

“When Sabrina changes back into Skymew, she loses all her memory.” Pika-chan said.

Ash nodded and Skymew was recalled back into her poke ball. “But what about Gary?”

Pika-chan pointed to Gary, who lay fainted on the ground. “He won’t remember any of this. Kind of handy, too much shock can do this to a person. We’ll just nudge the amnesia along a little bit.”

“And Todd?”

“Well…” Pika-chan scratched her head. “He wasn’t supposed to die. But, I’m not sure what we can do…”

“Let’s give him a proper burial at least. He deserves that much.”

Pika-chan smiled to herself. She and Ash finally decided that the quickest way would be to cremate Todd. So they set him on fire and scattered his ashes to the wind.

Ash detransformed and changed into normal clothes. Then, he picked up his backpack.

“Come on Pika-chan, let’s go!” They climbed onto Ponyta, and streaked towards the next stop, Saffron City.

End Episode 32. Thus ends the ‘Card Captor Ashura’ arc. The following arc will be the ‘Ashura cards’ arc.

Comments and Constructive Criticism accepted. Flames will be used to flame-thrower all those stories I hate! :)

Question: Do you want me to make a new story called ‘Card Captor Ashura – Season 2?’, or do you just want me to keep adding chapters to ‘Card Captor Ashura?’ I’d prefer just adding more chapters, but its up to you readers… so drop me a review and tell me! Oh yeah, 8 reviews for the next arc.