Chapter 2

"Hey, who are you?" Aura interrupted curiously, before it had a chance to speak. The creature opened its mouth again. "I'm Keroberos the guardian beast of the star cards. You can call me Kero for short." He answered. Then after a moments silence he continued," Who are you? And why did you let all the cards out?" And gritted his teeth under his smile.

Aura tilted her head again. "Bug." She said. Kero blinked. "Your name is bug?" He said, disbelievingly. Aura shook her head. "No. I'm Aura. And you look like a bug." She explained. A sweat drop appeared on the back of Kero's head.

'I look like a bug?' He wondered, looking puzzled. 'As if plush toy wasn't bad enough.' Aura grabbed his tail. "Fuzzy buggy." She stated.

Kero grabbed his tail back. "Hey, no grabbing. I'm a guardian beast, not a stuffed toy. Or a Bug!" He exclaimed. Aura grinned like a happy idiot.

"Mouse." She said agreeably. Kero slapped his forehead, gritting his teeth harder. Aura reached out a finger and began to pet him. "Awww, mousy no be sad, I'm just hyper." She explained, and then continued into a little poem she had heard, and that she though perfectly explained the situation at the moment.

"Flappity-Floppity-flip. The mouse and the Mobius strip. The strip revolved. The mouse dissolved. In a chronodiemensional skip."

Kero blinked. 'Isn't the seal supposed to keep nutcases like this out?' He thought to himself. Aura replaced the grin with a curious look. "So, are you a mouse? Why did the fox- bunny turn into a card? Why did a transmutation circle appear just now, and how did you fit into that thin cover?" She asked, pointing at the book again.

Kero floated in the air and began to explain. "I am not a mouse, the Dash is a card and that was it's true form spirit, it's the sealing symbol, and magic." Aura nodded, not really getting some of it, but not caring yet.

"Also, since you dropped the cards and caused them to scatter, you have to get them all back. Just so you know." Aura picked up Dash and the book. "Kay." She chirped. Kero floated after her as she walked to the door. "What, just like that? No arguing or anything? What a change." He muttered. Aura reached with her free hand to pet Kero.

Sure, why not? It gets really boring around here anyway. Why do you smell like pudding?" She asked out of nowhere. Kero grinned sheepishly.

"What can I say, pudding's always been my favorite treat. "Aura grinned. "Bet you don't know what pudding is though." She challenged. Kero turned around. "What?" He asked. Aura grinned a creepy, toothy grin.

"In the medieval periods pudding originated as a meat based product. There were two types, black or white pudding. Black pudding was sausages filled with fat, blood and edible cereal or vegetables to soak the blood up. Do you want to know what white pudding was?" She asked.

Kero looked like he was going to be sick. "Err. No I don't think I do." Aura laughed at the look on his face.

"But I swear, it's true. I found it online. Three different sources agreed." She continued. Kero looked creeped out, and had to ask, "Why, were you researching, that?"

Aura shrugged as she opened the door to her room. "Anyway, It's almost diner time. Wanna come?" She asked. Kero raised an eyebrow. "What if I'm seen?" he asked. Aura grinned. "Everyone knows I'm crazy, and I collect stuff. Just don't move or talk and we'll be okay, they'll think you're a toy," She said. Kero sighed and landed on her shoulder. She curled his tail over the opposite shoulder and walked towards the kitchen.

Kero sniffed the air. "What's for dinner anyway?" He whispered. Aura shrugged. "Don't know. Probably mush again." She answered. "Smell's awful." Kero said. Aura nodded in agreement. "Always is."

At dinner, Aura sat down at one of the tables. It looked like spaghetti and meatballs, except the noodles were a grimy yellow and the cheese was clumped together in chunks. Aura gulped it down in three bites. Not because it was good, of course, but so she wouldn't taste it.

"Eww… You really have to eat this slop?" Kero asked. "Yup." She answered, downing the milk, which was the only good part of the meal.

Suddenly, the idiot from earlier came up, looking angry. "Hey, why'd you scratch me, *! That hurt my hand!" He shouted.

Aura put down her empty cup, and raised her head up slowly, with a snarl and growled, "If you want you're hand to be in one piece, don't touch my stuff, moron."

"Hey, a dumb chick like you shouldn't talk that way to me, *!" He spat out.

Aura stood up with her snarl even fiercer. She glared at him, the creepiest, meanest glare she could get. "Guess what * Bag, I'll talk however I please, and that's to you or any of your other creeps. " She snarled fiercely.

He was getting really mad now, and started to clench his fists. "Guess what *, you shouldn't have said that. You're a real dumb * *! You still play with your stuffed toys!

*!" He exclaimed, grabbing Kero off her shoulder. Aura gave an angry hiss and grabbed the thug's wrist, squeezing hard. "OW!" He screamed, dropping Kero. Aura caught him.

Then the moron swung at her and hit her in the cheek. He hit her again in the eye. "You * *, you fight like a girl!" He crowed. Aura roared and swung her knee up. His eyes bulged as he knee hit him hard, right between the legs. He doubled over, crashing to the ground in pain.

She looked down at him, with an irritated scowl. "Yes, I do fight like a girl. And you fight like a guy." She snarled, stepping over him and making her way back to her room. She calmly stepped inside as her face began to show the bruises and her swelling eye.

She locked the door and put Kero on her bed. "Who was that?" Kero asked. Aura plopped down next to him. "One of the high-and-mighty-morons as I call them. The think they run the orphanage and the school. They're actually kind of like a gang around here. That's why I usually try to hang out in the woods, with its hidden escape routes, or in the crowd, where they won't dare attack." She said. "Anyway, I'm going to bed, kay? You sleep somewhere else. You can sleep in the other pile of plushies. They make good blankets." She advised, flopping onto the bed and pointing to a pile of assorted stuffed carnivores.

Kero stared at the pile of toys, before deciding it was better than the floor, and the two were soon fast asleep.

Later that night the doorknob jiggled. The lock unturned and the moron stuck his head into the room.

Kero lay awake thinking. 'Why can't I remember what happened to me. I know this isn't my first time out of the star card book, but I don't remember anything at all. I don't get it.' He thought, in confusion. He perked his ears at the sound of footsteps at the doorway, sticking his head out of the pile. It was that jerk Aura had fought at dinner, but this time, he wasn't alone. Two other muscled teens were with him. "Look, there's the chick that had the * to attack me. Let's go." He snarled at his two minions. They picked the lock and crept into the room, each holding a knife.

Kero shot out of the pile. "AURA! Wake up!" He yelled. Aura's eyes flew open and she looked around the three guys' turned to stare at Kero. "Dude, did that toy just warn her!" One yelped in surprise. The leader turned back to Aura. "Who cares, we'll destroy it later if it did, but right now, we're going to make mince meat out of this * here!" He yelled running at Aura with the knife.

Aura ducked down under the swing and elbowed the thug in the stomach. His breath left in a whoosh as he fell over. She leapt out of bed, landed on all fours and leapt at the next one. She roared and gnashed her teeth.

He stepped back as Aura lunged. She bit down hard onto his arm. He screamed as blood flowed onto the floor. Kero was beating his wings into the face of the third goon as Aura knocked the second unconscious. The first idiot staggered to his feet and lunged at Kero. His knife was buried in Kero's right hind leg in a heartbeat.

Kero yelled as Aura knocked the moron down. The last gangster turned and fled. Aura kicked the others out of her room, then locked and barricaded the door. Then she rushed over to Kero. "Kero? Kero, come on, you okay?" She asked. Kero shuddered and held his leg in his stubby arm. "No." He groaned. Aura looked around the room and grabbed a pillowcase. She opened the window and hoisted Kero onto the pillowcase. Then, grabbing the card, she looked at Kero.

"Kero, how do you use this thing? It was fast when it ran around the room earlier. Could it help carry you to the place where I have my bandages, or…" She trailed off. Kero flinched and held his leg.

"Bring the book and put it under me. Then step over there." He pointed to a spot in the room, and Aura what he told her to. Kero started to recite the words to summon a card captor's key, and a bright little light floated out of the seal. It floated into the center of a circle and hovered there. The key stretched into a staff. It had a crescent moon shape on its tip, and above the points on the moon were two tiny spheres. The blue white staff hung there. "Aura, take the staff. Hurry!" Kero yelped, as more blood seeped past his paws. Aura entered the circle and grabbed the staff. "I, Keroberos, now declare Aura, a card captor." He ground out. The light faded and Aura held the staff. "Now, summon the Dash. It should be instinctive." He said. Aura let instinct take over and began to speak her summoning spell...