Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from "CardCaptor Sakura". They are all owned by the ladies of CLAMP who are much more talented than I. (smile) I also do not own anyone from "Sailor Moon". They are all owned by Takeuchi Naoko whose vision will live eternally. (smile) (Much to Elflina's dismay...) All other characters are my own. Feel free to steal them.

I do not hold chapters ransom for reviews, but I sure appreciate compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think.

Five. Five whole reviews. Hurray! Did you ever think you'd hear an author cheering over five reviews? (grin) I'm getting so spoiled.

Greetings to yaoifanboy (your begging is tempting me to write a Touya story... And I already have enough that I need to get down! grin), Taeniaea, aserene, Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85 (partly because they are both Moons, partly their looks, partly other things which may become evident if I write the stories in my head), and Mangaka-chan (Now you've done it... Partial Maenad story coming shortly if I get time to finish writing it. As for how the two worlds are connected, the Card combos (possibly) for the Quartet, and what Sakura comes up with... Read on. I think I've come up with a relatively logical explanation, although I had to think about it. Thank heavens it was already there! If you can't figure out the connection by, say, Chapter 41 let me know...). Haha, I feel like I'm getting my own fanclub going. Thanks, aserene and Taeniaea!

And now for a little CardCaptor Sakura... Or a lot. Back to back chapters! And then... (grin) Enjoy! - Raya

Moonlit Sakura

Chapter 29 – "D… D… D… Dreaming. Dreaming..."

Lost in thought, Sakura opened the front door and walked into the house. "I'm home," she called automatically as she slipped off her shoes and walked towards the stairs.

"Welcome back," her father called as he stuck his head out of the dining room. "I just got home myself, so dinner will be a little late tonight," he added as he watched her climb the stairs.

"Okay," she replied without stopping or turning around.

As she disappeared around the corner, his face grew worried. "This business is really starting to get to her," he said softly to himself as he turned to go back to the kitchen. "I wish there was more I could do to help..."

"I'm sure she will be all right," he heard a soft voice say. With a start, he spun around. He smiled as he stared at the guardian angel floating in his dining room. His wife smiled back.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked gently, still not convinced. "This has been going on for weeks, and she hasn't been able to figure it out, much less stop it." He looked towards the stairs again and then back to her. "She's tired, frustrated, and worried. I... I don't like seeing her like that."

Nadeshiko floated closer to him and smiled as she gave him a ghostly kiss on the cheek. "She's very powerful, fairly smart, and full of intuition. All of which she got from you," she teased. "She got one other thing as well."

"Eh? What?" Fujitaka asked as he blinked and adjusted his glasses with embarrassment.

Nadeshiko giggled. "She's stubborn. She won't give up. If you add that to her intuition, intelligence, and power, she can do anything."

"I suppose..." he agreed still looking unconvinced. "Can you give us any hints to help?" he asked suddenly, turning to look at her curiously. His shoulders slumped a little as she shook her head.

"No, I haven't asked, and even if I had, I wouldn't be allowed to say," she replied. She gave him a curious look because such a question from him was unusual.

He gave her a wry smile in response. "I can't stand seeing her like this," he admitted. "I want my cheerful little girl back, and I'm willing to grasp at any straw to get that."

Nadeshiko gave him an understanding smile. "Me, too," she said. Then, she shook her head. "I don't know what's going to happen or how this is going to be resolved, but..." Her husband gave her a curious look, waiting for her to finish. "But, it's going to be soon, I think. Something tells me she is on the verge of a breakthrough of some sort."

Fujitaka smiled then turned towards the stove. "If you say so, then I'll believe it." He chuckled. "At least part of that intuition of hers came from you. Along with her eyes, her cheerfulness, her gentleness, and her love of life." He looked over his shoulder and gave her a smile.

Nadeshiko blushed, and then began to fade away. "Trust in her..." she said. "It will be all right." Her voice lingered and then slowly faded as well.

Fujitaka took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then nodded his head as he let it out. "Trust in her. If you say so, love."

A sudden hissing and popping sound quickly distracted him from thoughts of his dead wife and their troubled teenage daughter. With an exclamation of surprise, he removed the over-boiling pot from the stove and reached for a cloth to clean up the mess.

Kero sat in front of the TV looking at the resource book for the latest Solar Warriors game. Although he normally preferred to get the biggest score without cheating, this particular game had a lot of secret rooms and treasure that could only be found if you knew exactly what sequence to use or what brick to push.

He looked up and smiled as Sakura came into the room. "Welcome back," he called cheerfully as he turned back to the book.

"I'm home," she muttered absently as she walked across the room and sat down at her desk. Slowly, still lost in thought, she sat her book bag in her lap and took the Sakura Book out of it. After setting the Book on the desk, she allowed the bag to fall gently to the floor.

She stared at the Book for a few moments. In her mind, the conversation she had had with Yukito a few days before played out again. She bit her lip as she wracked her brain yet again for some connection between the planets and her Cards. 'The answer is here,' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes. 'I feel as if I already have part of it.' She turned to look towards her bed. 'The dream I can't remember. The one that tells me something important. That must be it. I wish I could remember that dream. Why can't I?'

Kero looked up from his book once more as he realized that he hadn't heard Sakura respond to his welcome. He blinked and thought back as he turned to look at her. 'Well, I guess she did,' he thought to himself as he watched her turn to look at her bed. 'It just sounded more like she was talking to herself.'

Sakura turned back to her desk and opened the Sakura Book. Curious, Kero closed his book and flew up to the desk to see what she was doing. She leafed through the Cards then pulled out the Fire/War Card. "Dreams," she whispered as she gently traced Dream's face.

Kero's eyes widened in shock as he felt the Card begin to sluggishly respond. Quickly, he batted it out of her hand. As Sakura started and looked at him in surprise, he began to yell angrily. "What're you tryin' to do? You can't use those Cards! We don' know WHAT they'll do! And the Fire/War Card on top of that? Are you nuts? Idiot!"

"Hu-e? Wha… What are you talking about, Kero-chan? I can't use the changed Cards. You know that…" she asked shocked and puzzled.

"Oh yeah? Well, that Card jus' started t' respond t' you. Who knows what would'a happened! You have GOT to be more careful, Sakura!" he said in a slightly softer voice as he continued to glare angrily at her.

Sakura looked over at the Fire/War Card in surprise and studied it carefully. "Are you sure, Kero-chan? It seems the same as before…"

"Am I… Am I sure?" he sputtered. "Of COURSE I'm sure! I'm the Guardian Beast of the Sakura! I know my Cards! Besides, that one is partly Firey, AND known as Fire. That makes me more sensitive to it!"

Sakura looked at him again, and then reached out and caught him into a hug. "Sorry, Kero-chan. I didn't mean to scare you," she said as he struggled a little to get away. "I didn't feel anything. Really. I was just thinking out loud. I didn't mean to activate the Card." She released him finally and he flew about a foot away from her, gasping and calming down.

"It… It's ok. Jus'… Jus' don' squeeze me so tight," he managed to get out.

Sakura looked a little guilty and stared down at her hands. "I'm sorry again, Kero-chan," she said softly.

"Ma, well, don' worry 'bout it," he said reassuringly as he flew closer and stroked her hair. "Jus' be a li'l more careful next time, 'kay?"

Sakura looked up with a bright smile, and nodded her head. "Okay." Her smile faded as she looked down at the Cards once more. "Kero-chan… How can I remember a dream?"

"Eh? A dream? Wha' kinda dream?" he asked curiously as he landed on the desk in front of her.

"I've been having this dream the past few nights… It tells me something important, but I can never remember it when I wake up," she said pensively.

"Hmm…" he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "It mus'n be time f'r you t' remember it yet. Otherwise ya would."

"Hu-e?"

He looked at her seriously. "You're a natural dreamer. Tha's where y'r intuition's the strongest. Y' said ya dreamed 'f me, righ'?" She nodded. "An' the Kid. An' o' Clow when he came back as Eriol." Sakura nodded again to each of these statements. "An' y' may not've remembered them at first, but y' did when ya needed them."

Sakura nodded again then interrupted him. "But… This is important. I'm sure it has something to do with these changed Cards. Maybe it tells me who they are. I wish I could remember it!"

Kero shook his head uncertainly. "F'r a natural dreamer like you, it's usually better not t' force these things. There's a reason y' go at the pace y' do."

"But…!" she exclaimed, and then bit off the remainder of what she was going to say. She sat and stared helplessly at Kero. "I don't know what else to do… What else to try…" she said softly.

After dinner, Sakura returned to her room and completed her homework. She and Kero discussed the dream and the Cards some more. Finally, she was able to convince him to let her try to use the Cards to remember her dream.

"Fine, then. If I can' talk y' out 'f it," he said a little irritably. "But I'LL hold the Cards while we sleep," he added stubbornly.

"Hu-e? Why?" she asked as she sat at her nightstand and brushed her hair.

"If anythin's goin' t' happen, I wan' it t' happen t' ME first," he said stoutly.

Sakura gave him a look, and then smiled as she shook her head. "Okay," she replied trying to hide her amusement. "If you insist."

A short while later, they lay sleeplessly in the dark. Kero clenched the Cards tightly to his chest and did his best to prevent Sakura from touching them. Sakura just held on to the top of her sheets and tried to fall asleep.

They tossed and turned and grumbled at each other for an hour before Sakura finally sat up with an exclamation. "Why can't I go to sleep! This is never going to work!" She threw off the blanket and walked over to her desk.

"Hey, whatchya doin'?" Kero asked curiously as she opened a drawer and drew out a bowl and a bag of candles.

"I'm going to burn one of those aromatherapy candles," she said back, giving him a serious look. "One of those relaxation ones I used the first time." She carried the bowl across the room.

"Hmm… You sure 'bout that?" Kero asked uncertainly as she opened the door.

She nodded as she looked back at him. "Yeah. Yukito-san figured that smell was associated with Moon/Purity. That one has already changed. Besides, they've never repeated a smell/change combination. We should be all right. And I need to get to sleep. We have to present projects tomorrow, so I need to stay awake in school."

She left the room and returned a few minutes later with a bowlful of water. As Kero watched, she selected a few of the little stars and lit them. Unfortunately, in the dark, she did not realize she had selected a slightly different shade of star. As the scent of pure lavender began to waft into the room, she returned to her bed.

"Goodnight, Kero-chan," she said again softly.

"G'night, Sakura," he replied just as softly. The two of them lay in the bed and watched the little candles float and flicker. Slowly, their eyes grew heavier, and together, they fell asleep.

Cerberus opened his eyes slowly and looked around. Rumbling deeply in his throat, he stared sleepily at the hallway around him.

"Kero-chan?"

He turned his head lazily towards Sakura. She was dressed in a floor length, pale pink gown. Its empire waist, bodice, and short, puffed sleeves had slightly darker ribbons threaded through them. Her hair was up in the old style she had worn when she first became the Mistress of the Cards. Small pale pink ribbons, the same shade as her dress, were tied up around her mini-pigtails. Another slightly darker ribbon was around her neck holding her Key as it nestled in the hollow of her throat. Three bangle bracelets with sun, moon, and star charms graced her right wrist. He tilted his head slowly to one side as if to get a better look. "Where'd you get that?" he asked blinking sleepily. "Tomoyo-chan?"

She smiled and shook her head as she reached out to scratch his head. "No… I don't think so. I don't know where it came from. But, I'm always wearing it here."

"And where is here?" he asked, purring with pleasure.

She shrugged. "In the hall in my dreams. I'm not sure where it is. It looks like it's part of some big castle, doesn't it?" Cerberus rumbled something that could pass as an affirmative sound. "Come look over here," she said, her face brightening with excitement. "It has pictures!"

He made a protesting sound as she stopped scratching and turned around to step to the Lady on the Moon. With a sigh, he followed after her, bumping his giant head into her hand to make her continue the caress.

For several minutes she showed him the portraits that lined the wall. She explained the order they had appeared in, and how the door had appeared right after the Sleeper's portrait.

"Door? What door?" he asked in confusion.

"Hu-e?" Sakura blinked and looked around. "There was a door. Right there! It was a kind of honey brown and had all sorts of carvings on it. That's odd… Where did it go?" Finally, she shrugged again and led the way to the second set of pictures.

She giggled softly as Cerberus fell in love with the Golden Priestess. Somehow, she had had a feeling that would be his favorite. He had also liked the Fire Dancer and the Knight in the Garden, but the Golden Priestess was far and away his favorite.

Sakura blinked, and then smiled as she realized that there was another new portrait. Eagerly, she stepped up to look at it. As she studied the image, however, her expression grew puzzled.

It was a portrait of a young, dusky skinned woman with long, dark green hair. She wore a floor length, formal gown which appeared to be black, although there were garnet and wine highlights in it. She stood on what appeared to be the doors of a fallen gate or a trapdoor. The doors were made of some dark wood carved with the phases of the moon. Roman numerals surrounded the woman and the doors. She was looking up and raising some sort of elaborate, bejeweled staff to the full moon above her. The shadows cast by her staff hit the roman numerals. In the background were depictions of plants and animals in various stages of life and death. But the only human in the picture was the woman. The picture frame was made of crushed jewels that seemed to sparkle randomly in the light of the hall.

"I wonder who she is supposed to be," she said softly to Cerberus who had joined her in front of the picture.

Cerberus studied the portrait a moment, and then rustled his wings. "Don't know," he said off-handedly. "Looks like some big garden sundial to me."

They both stiffened suddenly as they felt a stirring of power and magic. With a bright light, a Card appeared in the hall. Sakura stared at it with wide eyes as it floated in front of her. It spun and fluxed in front of her which made it hard to see which one it was. Just as she made out who was on the front, it zapped away from her and into an empty frame on the wall.

"Cloud and…" she said uncertainly as she followed it across the hall. She looked curiously at the portrait within the frosty, etched, ice frame. A woman in a long, pale blue dress sat on the bank of a river at the base of a pretty, triple-tiered waterfall. The sparkling mist from the waterfall seemed to enshroud the plants and animals around her and to overflow onto the frame. Only two spots in the picture were completely free from the mist: the blue-haired woman sitting with an open book in her lap, and the silver full moon above her. As with most of the portraits, the woman appeared to be gazing at the moon.

"How pretty," Sakura said softly, enraptured by the mist which had been painted with hidden pictures in it. She reached out with her free hand to touch the frame to see if it really was ice.

Suddenly, the hall around her vanished. As she gasped and Cerberus flared his wings in surprise, they were surrounded first by an inky blackness and then by soft pink mist. Floating in front of them, they saw the people from the portraits standing in a large group. Sakura's gasp came out as a sigh of relief as she saw her Card Spirits floating whole and apparently unharmed in the mist. Cerberus blinked and stared about in shock.

As Sakura reached towards them, Windy looked up, saw her, and smiled. "Windy…" she said softly.

"I wish we knew how to get out of here," the Lady on the Moon sighed. "I wish Ami-chan were here."

Her friends murmured and nodded in agreement. "Well, what would she tell us to do?" the Lady in the Tree asked reflectively.

"We could try Sailor Teleport," the Golden Priestess said, holding a small white cat in her arms.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," the Fire Dancer replied, shaking her head. As the others looked at her questioningly, she shook her head again. "Just a feeling," she continued.

"Well, if Rei-chan has a feeling we shouldn't, then we shouldn't," the first woman said with disappointment.

"Maybe Michiru-mama can find the way with her Mirror?" the Sleeper asked tentatively.

"Mirror…" Sakura heard herself echo. Mirror, standing beside the Ocean Goddess, turned curiously at the sound of her voice. She smiled, and then began to glow.

The Knight in the Garden suddenly stiffened and stared straight at her. "Who's there!" he called stepping protectively closer to the woman with white pigtails.

Sakura blinked in surprise, and felt her heart speed up with excitement. She opened her mouth to respond when a tremor ran through the mist. With cries of fear, irritation, and unease, the large group fought against it, trying to stay on their feet. A flash of sapphire light turned the surrounding mist purple for just an instant, and then faded away.

"Ami-chan!" Sakura heard one of the women cry happily as the strange place vanished once more. Abruptly, she and Kero woke in a nest of tangled sheets. Above their heads, Sakura's alarm clock chirped and beeped its announcement that it was time to rise and shine.

Groggily, Sakura sat up and rubbed her eyes. She stared blankly around the room for a moment, disoriented and confused.

Beside her, Kero yawned and stretched. Unwittingly, he dropped the Cards. "Ow…" he whined as he rubbed the ridges the Cards had left in his arms.

Sakura blinked sleepily down at the Water/Affinity Card and then started. Remembering the Card which had transformed in her dreams, she scrambled out of bed and headed for the Sakura Book. Unfortunately, one of her feet tangled in the sheets, and she fell to the floor with a thud.

As she disentangled herself under Kero's wide-eyed groggy stare, her father called up the staircase. "Sakura-san? Are you all right?"

"Ye-es," she replied with a red face. "I'll be down in a little bit!"

She finally managed to get her feet free and finished walking over to her desk. With a quick flip, she opened the clasp and lifted the cover of the Book. She quickly but gently sifted through the Cards until she found the newly changed one. Kero floated over to her shoulder to study it as well.