Chapter 17
After locking the door and going back to bed she found it impossible to sleep. While she was laying there thinking, she realized something. "Only my mind is going back and it will be in an earlier body; one that isn't tired. So I don't really need to sleep." So she picked up the cards off the nightstand where she had put them and pulled Return out. Then she realized that there was no way she could pull and store enough energy to use the Return card properly, so she did need to sleep. So the cards went back down on the stand and Tomoyo closed her eyes and thought some more. The Sleep Card could put her to sleep. But she didn't have the sleep card. So she just laid there with thoughts racing through her head. "I have Magic now like Sakura. And according to Eriol or Clow or whoever he is, I am the only one who can save Sakura... and Hong Kong. That is such an incredible fact that it still feels more like a crazy dream than reality. What happened? Less than a week ago I was just an ordinary girl with no power at all. And now Sakura and millions of people are depending on me and -my magic- to save them!" Then a tiny voice deep inside of Tomoyo said something she really didn't want to think about. "Now you are a Magical Girl like Sakura. And it is your job to save her. No one else can. Not Syaoran, not Eriol, no one but you. Doesn't this make you a "Magic Prince" worthy of her love?"
"NO!" she answered the little voice out loud. "I am still a girl! And girls can't be princes! My Sakura-chan needs a boy prince." Then as she kept trying to ignore that insistent little voice she finally fell asleep.
Tomoyo woke up six hours later feeling fine. After using the toilet she noticed in the mirror that something was hanging from her chin. "It's my blistered skin. It's all dead and dry now and my chin feels fine!" After washing her chin, it appeared perfectly healed. "And it was still hurting when I showered this morning. It must be my Magic. I guess I just needed some rest for it to work."
Then she had a thought that made her smile. "I tried not to be, but I really -was- envious that Sakura had Magic and I didn't. Not to mention Syaoran having Magic. But now I don't have to be envious of anyone! I love having Magic!"
"Okay, now I have to concentrate. This is the most important job of my life. I MUST do it right, or Sakura will die again! "I will draw earth energy and fill the Return card." she said to herself out loud. "Then when I give the command it will send my spirit back to last Sunday. And... My Tomoyo Cards! What if I need Fly, or Shield? Or even Saber? And what about my Magic? Will I still have Magic back in my past body? "Return! Will I have my Magic when I arrive in my past body?"
The spiral appeared before her but she didn't hear anything. She did feel a response from Return but she didn't understand what it was trying to tell her. "Time! Come out of your card!" And in an instant the old man was standing before her. "Can you talk to Return for me?"
"Of course."
"Ask Return if my Magic will go back in time with me."
Time looked at the Return card for a moment and then back at her. "Yes, you will still have your Magic when you move to your younger body since it is a property of your spirit."
"Now ask if it's possible for me to take my Tomoyo Cards back with me."
"...It is possible. But because that is a time before they were created, their bodies will have to be moved back in time. This will take much more power than just moving a spirit."
"So now I wonder if I can draw and hold enough power?"
"Ask Return what will happen if I don't have enough power to send me and my three cards."
"Not all of you will go." He replied in a moment.
And I won't know if my cards came with me until it's too late!"
But then Tomoyo had an idea. "Ask if I can send the cards one at a time before I go."
Again in a moment Time spoke. "Yes."
"And if I send the cards one by one and then go myself will we all wind up in the same moment in time?"
The pause was a bit longer now. "No, Return says it's not that perfect. However they will only be spread out over a few minutes."
"And will the cards appear close to my younger body?
In a moment Time answered. "Return can send them back so they are close, but not too close or they might appear inside your earlier body."
"How close is "close"? Tomoyo was suddenly worried that what Return called "close" might be like within a kilometer.
"They will be within the length of a card from the same hand you are holding them in."
"That should do fine!" Tomoyo thought with a smile. So she proceeded to draw as much energy as she could and poured it into Return, then held up her Fly card. "Send this card back to last Sunday, July 23th at five in the afternoon!" As she finished the Card vanished out of her hand. Then she repeated the same thing with the other two cards. And then finally she gave the command to send herself back.