Author's note:  More than a year gone and now I'm back.  Rather a surprise to me.  So what if I did not get the 20 reviews I hoped for.  I had known at the time that that might be pushing it.  But I'm back to finish this story because of one person, LunaJade.

"Power of Friendship"– Part 1

Kero struggled to regain his ability to transform.  He could not make it past a mere glow.  He accidentally pushed the Sakura Book onto the floor, being careless in his efforts.  Exhausted, he stopped flapping his messy wings and landed his battle worn self on the cream colored table.  "Ah drat, I'm stuck this way, again."  Kero looked around the room.  Cards were scattered on the floor.  Natasha peered up from behind the back of the chair.  "Hey, this isn't the basement?"  Kero spoke with a clueless voice.  The two beds he saw were messed up and the suitcases were on the floor, as a result of the card battle.  A flower vase had it's contents spilled on the floor.  He finally noticed the girl, now standing in front of him, starring at him.  "Ah no, you must be…… you're not supposed to know of this."

"Huh?.....It's just a harmless stuffed animal."  Natasha said to herself, grabbing Kero as if a plush, dirty yellow toy in need of a wash.

"I'm no stuffed baby toy, idiot!"  Kero spoke back.

"Ah, and it has a smart mouth!  Where is it's "off" switch.  Someone needs reprogramming."

"Get your hands off of me!"  Kero demanded.  He forced his way out of Natasha's grip.  "I'm Kerberos, the guardian beast of the seal of the Sakura Cards."  Kero introduced.  Natasha watched him curiously.  "And you…"  Kero pointed at Natasha, "…are not supposed to have possession of that book."  Kero informed, now pointing at the pink, red, and gold book that lay open on the floor, levitating it into the air.  After placing it on the desk, Kero began to gather the remaining cards.  Natasha knelt by Kero on the floor.

"Strange.  I know it cannot be real, yet it is here walking, thinking, and talking.  This is impossible, magic is not real" Natasha rationalized.  "This is just a dream; apparently I ate some bad meat or something….."

"It ain't a dream."  Kero said annoyed.  He counted the cards as he sent them back into the book.  "The magic shall continue for those who continue to believe.  But don't worry, about that.  Right now, we need to worry about the present…."

"What's wrong with the present?" Natasha asked.

"….And just how much Sakura will be angry with me.  I wonder if she's still capable of those wild tantrums…"  Kero continued muttering to himself.  Natasha missed what he said, focusing on how her question was not being answered.

"What's wrong with the present!?" Natasha demanded.  Kero jumped, dropping the Dash Card.

"It must be hereditary."  Kero said, rubbing his ears.  He then picked up the Dash Card from its horizontal position.  "Poor thing.  You've had too many traumatizing experiences for one card.  The door to the room opened.

"Why are you screaming to yourself?"  Sarah asked walking into the untidy room.  The plush animal looking object that she saw walking on the carpeted floor, stiffened up and collapsed, pretending not to be real.  Natasha looked at Sarah.  "No way, I saw that thing move, you cannot deny it!"  Sarah said frantically rushing to the spot.  She grabbed Kero and shook him wildly.

"Lay off me!"  Kero ordered, releasing himself, flying out of Sarah's hands.  "People apparently have an obsession with touching me the first time they see me."  Kero dusted himself off with his paws.

"WOW!  Ultra cool!  We've got to go tell my mom!" Sarah said excited.

"Oh no, you don't!  Kero ordered, flying around to face Sarah.  "You are to tell no one of my existence, both of you." 

"How could such a little thing be so angry?"  Sarah said, watching Kero.  "Oh well, it could be like, our secret!"  Sarah purposed, jumping up and down.

"Little?"  Kero repeated.  "You are so pushing it…..."  Before Kero finished, a bright light lit up the room from the outside, through the windows, followed by a large crackle.  Natasha jumped onto the bed, hiding under the covers.  Kero flue to the window.  "Oh, that's not good."

"What just happened?"  Natasha nervously asked Kero, pulling the covers off of her head.

"Well, I've learned that it is best to stay calm in these situations."  Kero said with an insecure laugh, unsure of what to do.  Sarah looked out the window with Kero, watching the lightshow in the clouds.  A knock on the closed bedroom door frightened the three of them.  Natasha gathered the book with Kero and hid them under the bed's violet covers.  Sarah opened the door.

"That thunder was pretty loud.  I just came to see if you two got scared."  Madison said.

"Nope, no one scared in here."  Natasha replied quivering.  Madison smiled.  "Alright, you two had better get to bed if you want to get up early enough."

"Will do."  Sarah assured.  Madison closed the door behind her.  Kero rustled through the covers, finally escaping and went up to Natasha.

"That was a Sakura Card at work."  Kero informed her.

"So?  What does that mean??"  Sarah asked.

"Well, I'm going to need someone to capture it and bring it under control."  Kero told Sarah.  Natasha and Sarah looked at each other.  "And I elect Natasha!"

"What! You cannot elect me!"  Natasha said, horrified.  "Wait a minute, what exactly is this "capturing a card"?

"Geez, just like her mother."  Kero said to himself.  "You brought the book here and now I need a cardcaptor.  A hard rain began pattering on the windows.  "The cards are alive, with real spirits with the power of nature and other magic backing them.  When let loose, they can become very mischievous."

"Oh no."  Natasha groaned, collapsing on her back onto the bed, bouncing once from the bed's resistance.

"I'm sure it'll be fun."  Sarah said, sitting down on the bed next to Natasha, bringing her into a sitting position and rubbing her back.

"I so see the family characteristics."  Kero said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Outside, Kero hid in the hood of Sarah's raincoat, the only sort of protection they had.  They all still managed to be supersaturated by the rain.  Standing on the sidewalk, they all observed the skies.  Natasha thought of the difficulty it would be to comb her hair and thought of a way to make that an excuse.  "Sarah," Kero began.  Sarah eyed him out of the corner of her eye, trying to see him on her shoulder.  "Are you any good at making costumes?"

"Huh?"  Natasha curiously looked back at them.

"Pay attention!"  Kero shouted at Natasha.

"I don't even know what exactly it is that I'm doing.  What if this key doesn't work?"  Natasha muttered.  Kero just shook his little head.

"I'm not too good at making things."  Sarah answered Kero.  "My mother is really the one who has that gift."

"I'm aware."  Kero mumbled in his mind.  A spiked, yellow colored, animal raced down from the clouds, charging at Natasha.  "Watch out!"  Kero quickly yelled at Natasha, unprepared for the action.  The sound of the rain made it difficult to hear each other.  Natasha, just noticing it, scrambled out of the way, hiding against a red-bricked building, on the rain battered grass.  The card hit the ground, scorching the grass around it and electrically charging the water on the sidewalk.  It stalked Natasha, approaching her.  "Use the magic!"  Kero yelled.  Natasha looked at the key, then at the thunder beast.

"This had better work."  She told herself, holding the key out in her hand.   "Key of the star, With powers burning bright, Reveal the staff, And shine your light! Release!"  She waited for what Kero said should happen next.  "Any day now."  Natasha said to the key.  "Release!"

"The key won't transform?"  Kero questioned, shocked.

"It can't do that!  Can it?"  Sarah asked Kero.

"If it can, like it has before, Natasha is in a lot of trouble right now."  Kero flue off Sarah's shoulder, racing to Natasha.  The bolt of light launched itself at Natasha.  Natasha froze in fear.  Kero swiftly rammed against Natasha's right arm, shoving her away from doom, into the muddy grass.  The thunder beast smashed into the building.  Lights flickered inside the complex.  It lay where it fell, moaning in pain.  Natasha picked herself up from the puddles, looking at the fallen beast.

"It didn't work.  I'm not the one meant to do this."  Natasha told Kero, wanting out.

"No way.  I elected you and it shall be you who holds the staff of Sakura."  Kero said, defending his decision.  They ran back to Sarah.  "We've got to go back inside."  Kero advised.  The rain got fierce to the point they couldn't even see each other's features.  Sarah agreed.

"The rain is almost unnatural!"  Sarah tried to shout over the rain and wind combined with the roar of thunder.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sakura walked along the pathway in her backyard.  A breeze blew through the flowers as the sun glowed.  Sakura heard a voice, "Just some book I found. I didn't know I packed it.  The odd thing is that I cannot get it open."  Sakura looked around for Natasha.  She realized that Natasha was not there.  The voice was just clairaudience of what has happened, from where Natasha was now.  "It's not supposed to be this way."  Sakura muttered, kicking the dirt in the flowerbed.

"Sakura" A voice spoke from the air.  Sakura quickly looked around.

"Chosen mistress of the Clow Cards and creator of the Sakura Cards."  Sakura began to become frightened.  She had not completely gotten over that fear of ghosts.  She stuck it onto her summer "to do" list each summer, only to ignore it.

"Who is there?"  Sakura quivered.  She looked at the door to the house, ready to bolt for it.

"Do not be afraid."  The voice spoke, "I come to deliver a message."

"I'm listening."

"Natasha will be safe.  She has The Guardian to watch over her."  The voice reassured.  "Just as you did."

"But it isn't supposed to be this way!  I feel that she is endanger."

"The cards who listen to you shall feel your concern.  Natasha will be fine and will learn the ways of the cardcaptors before her."  Sakura listened, tears in her eyes.  She didn't want Natasha to face the danger she knew of.  "You must not interfere with the quest.  While you are still capable of the capture of cards, you must not be a participant in the final judgement."

"I understand."  Sakura told the air, unsure of where to direct her words.  Ripples in the light before her revealed the Dream Spirit.  "This is a dream?"  Sakura asked herself.  The spirit morphed into a black-robed being that rushed at Sakura with a blue weapon.  Sakura screamed in the dream, awaking herself, she jumped from the bed, shaking.  Li jumped from the bed as well.

"Where is it?!  I'll capture it!"  Li unexpectedly shouted, coming out of his dream into reality.  Sakura looked at him with a giggle.  "I mean…….did you have a bad dream?"

'It was the Dream Card.  The cards are loose."  Sakura told Li.

"I knew that stuffed toy was too incompetent for his own good."  Li said to himself, running his right fist into the palm of his left hand.  Li looked at the clock on the endtable.  It was time for him to prepare to leave for the dig again.  He got up and went into the closet.

"It was odd.  Everything was peaceful and then a robed thing appeared."  Sakura described.  "It held a blue trident."  Li popped his head out of the closet.

"Describe that trident."  Li demanded.

"Well, it was a solid blue."  Sakura giggled.  Li glared at her.  "Alright, besides the blue, it had a yellow ring around where the prongs emerge.  It was also pointed at the end and the tips of the trident looked like arrowheads, each with a lightning bolt on it."  Sakura moved into the bathroom.  Flowers lined the sink, bathtub, walls, ceiling, and every other corner.  Li always considered it a bit girlish.  On her agenda of the day, she was to gather the needed flowers from her greenhouse and take them to her shop, "Kero's hut".  It was mainly a flower shop, but it also had a small café.

"That sounds like something my team pulled out of the dirt…."  Li thought to himself.  He moved to the phone.  Then the phone began to ring, followed by a small shaking.  Li picked up the receiver.   "Yeah….. How?......When?.......I'll be down there right away."  Sakura poked her head out of the bathroom doorway. 

"What was that all about?"

"That was Mark.  He says there was a theft.  A blue trident and six cubes we uncovered."  Li responded.  Sakura looked worried.  Li turned on the white television to see if there was any news coverage.  A weather report was being reported on.  "Hey Sakura!  It appears there's a heavy rainstorm over in Readington."

"Ah, that means Natasha and Sarah won't get to do what they planned today."  Sakura replied.

"Um… a rainstorm that is only located over Readington."  Li added.  Sakura eyed the television.  "They say it's so terrible, corporations are canceling their workdays."  Sakura looked at Li.

"Li, the cards, I can hear them."  Sakura said dazed, looking around.  "They know I would not like Natasha to hold the staff.  Their asking me what are my wishes."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Natasha and Sarah sat up on their beds, watching the Thunder Card perform acts of defiance outside the window.  Kero had toyed with the key all night and thought of the cards' powers, "The Thunder card doesn't have the power to create such a terrible storm.  Other cards must be in corporation with it."  He thought.  Sarah was enjoying minuscule visions of dressing Kero up like he was a doll.  Madison walked into the room.  Kero was on Natasha's bed, her body concealing him from Madison's view.  "Well, I guess we won't be able to do anything outdoors today.  There's a pool down on the lower floor if you'd like to go swimming instead."  Madison told the two.  Kero tapped Natasha's hand.  She glanced down at him on the white sheet.  He was shaking his head.

"Perhaps later during the day."  Natasha purposed.

"Yeah, we were awake all night."  Sarah informed Madison.  Madison nodded and walked out of the room.  Sarah scurried over to the door and closed it slowly.  Kero brought the book to him and opened it.  Some of the most loyal cards remained, with a few exceptions.  Of the cards hovering around him, he noticed the Dream and Light cards were absent.  He chose three of the ones there and let the rest back into the book.

"Natasha."  Kero began.  She and Sarah had been watching.  Behold these three cards, Windy, Fly, and Shadow.  They were the allies of the chosen one before you…."

"She was my mom, right?" Natasha asked.  Kero hesitated.

"Well, I'm really not supposed to answer that.  It's one of those forbidden rules to protect privacy."  Kero knew the lie would fall threw eventually.  "Anyway, these three are the most influential at this moment.  You shall have allies as well, but right now, these are the most unquestionable."  Kero turned to the cards, "Listen to the mistress, she will choose what is right."  Kero petitioned to the cards to allow the release of the staff.  If a cardcaptor was not reached, he knew the danger would spread.  The cards glowed with the key, floating in the air above Natasha's bed, finally settling down.  "That's it, round two."  Kero told Natasha.  "Believe in yourself."

Author's note:  I wish I knew the Japanese translation for when Sakura summons the star staff.  I'm aware at just how much a lot of people dislike the dubs.  I subconsciously chose to use "Sakura Cards" instead of "Star Cards", I'm not too sure why.  Geez, I hate cliffhangers, but this is the 5th page according to my computer.  I remember when I started this story (I don't know how I remember these small things) that the chapters would be about 5 pages long, just to put a limit on the amount I write so I don't get too carried away and have nothing for the next chapter.  Though I'm sure this next chapter might end up pretty predictable.  A lot of things seem different on Fan fiction.  For one thing, I noticed the fan fiction I was reading (almost 2 years ago as well, about the time I dropped off), has still not been edited/completed.  A let down sort of.  I won't have to catch up on any chapters in that story but it feels like something missing without it going on *sighs*.  I also remembering not having to use HTML tags to center things…….