But before we get to all that fun stuff, we have to sit through the same three minutes of the previous episode plus flashback. Not even a "Last time on...". Do they think kids are that stupid?
So yeah, Kero, Yue, memories erased. By who? "I can tell you." Oh noes, Eli's smug smile! He reveals that in a past life, his name was...Clow Reed. No way, I can't believe this!...despite all the obvious clues. Spinner reveals himself, telling Kero to open his mind. It's been thirteen episodes, and it only feels like yesterday since that fateful bake sale incident. And Ruby isn't one to miss the party either. Eli calls upon his sun staff as Spinner and Ruby float onto the shrine entrance. And now it's time for them to go One-Winged Angel. Showtime.
The gang is slowly coming to terms with the scene in front of them. Kero is pissed that "Clow Reed" could just stand around watching Sakura put her life in jeopardy, to which he gives his usual "You'll understand soon" while a temporary projection of Clow Reed's image flashes. With a short maniacal gaze, he announces the apocalypse.
A pillar of light rises to the sky as black waves ripple outward. They eclipse the sun and moon, and Madison becomes weary and falls asleep. Tori and Yue rush to the source, which Yue recognizes as Clow Reed. Tori too succumbs to the darkness. As night falls, scenes show the city inhabitants have fallen asleep. Eli announces that he's cast the entire world into darkness. Everyone and everything has fallen asleep. Including those driving, doing heavy construction work, swimming, yeah. Some of them may never wake up at all. And so Clow Reed is willing to sacrifice a fraction of the world just to test Sakura. What a guy.
And if the darkness is not lifted by sunrise, the people of the world will continue to sleep...forever. Not that anyone would be able to see the sun rise, but Sakura insists he make them wake up now. In his smug tone, he announces that the only way to do this is for Sakura to break his spell. She persistently asks how, but he merely taunts her with time moving forward. He calls his butterfly-winged black cat to battle with Sakura's angel lion. At first Keroberos manages to deflect his Hyper Beams, but Spinner has an assist character. With Eli enhancing his powers, he blasts Kero to the ground. He then proceeds to attack the kids with a violent wing flap, but luckily Yue's shield protects them in time, all while carrying Tori. He explains that the spell got him too because he gave away his magic. His former master greets him with a smile, and Yue wonders why he didn't reveal himself sooner. Eli claims it's because his mission would have been in vain. Yue is pissed that Eli pulled a Jesus on him
and forced him and Kero to choose a new master, but Ruby simply readies him for battle. She barrages him with enhanced red crystals, then slashes at him repeatedly with crimson lightning, taunting him that she has a stronger master. Keroberos is pissed and declares that they will teach both Eli's accomplices a lesson, but suddenly, Sakura yells at them to wait!
She entrusts Madison with Li and confronts Eli. She demands to know why Eli is making her fight against the one who guided her all the way. As uninformative as ever, he simply tells her to break his spell. "Come on, Sakura. The morning is approaching. Don't you care if everyone in the entire world never opens their eyes again?" What nerve. A strange red light surrounds his staff and Sakura readies her Shield to protect Li and Madison from the energy blasts. As she Jumps to dodge the shots, Keroberos and Yue rush to protect her, but are halted by Spinner and Ruby. Eli's magic eventually gets the best of Sakura and luckily, Li rescues her with Element: Wind. Unfortunately, this severely exhausts his energy. Sakura rushes towards him, telling him to hang in there while Eli cajoles her, saying that if she is unwilling to try, she has already decided the fate of the world.
Wait, this sound familiar. Unfortunately, Windy is nowhere near as effective on Eli as it was on Yue. Again he fires his crimson lasers, and this time, Sakura attempts to Fly towards him. If at first she doesn't succeed, this time she gets her wing burned and crashes to the ground. Keroberos and Yue, determined to protect her, break past Spinner and Ruby while they comment on their immense loyalty.
Somehow, Sakura manages to be uninjured, though Clow Cards start spinning around her head. They are worried about her, and she reassures them that it will be all right. She notices that she still has 8 untransformed cards left, so she'll just take a wild guess and transform them all! So much for transforming one card at a time and for a good reason. And of course, there's still one arbitrary handicap to deal with.
Eli directs her to the two cards that have been left untransformed: Light and Dark. Keroberos explains that they are the most powerful cards next to the Elementals, yet she could transform them just fine while she apparently doesn't have enough power for them. As she holds the cards her in her hands, she connects The Dark to the night, when everything sleeps (well, not the nocturnal creatures). And she knows now, that the card she needs...is light! Unfortunately, despite her desperate pleas, the card merely glides to the ground untransformed. Keroberos and Yue now know it's time. Kero explains that Light and Dark must be transformed together and they then suggest they could go inside the staff so their powers can reach the cards. And of course, Eli has yet another threat: if she can't transform the cards, they will be trapped in her staff of weeping and gnashing of teeth...for eternity.
To be Continued...
