I'm so grateful for all the kind comments that everyone has left. Thank you so, so much for the support- I hope that you continue to enjoy the story. As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Thanks again!

2- Sakura and the Warp Cards

"I've got to find out what this card is doing in my kitchen and put a stop to it before my dad gets home!"

Her statement quieted the group, and that allowed her to start down the stairs. The crashing had stopped almost as suddenly as it'd started, and Sakura was careful to tiptoe lest she draw attention to herself. She made it to the bottom of the stairs and leaned over to peek into the kitchen.

It was a mess. There were pieces of fruit all over the floor, making the place look like someone had spilled a fruit tray. One of Fujitaka's coworkers had dropped off a fruit basket that morning, with full size cantaloupes, pears, bananas, and apples. But last Sakura had seen them, all the fruit was still whole, and still wrapped in the basket. A second examination of the kitchen made it clear, however- the basket itself was also lying in the floor, torn to shreds by… something.

Sakura's instincts kicked in suddenly, and she jumped out of the way just in time to see one of the knives embed itself into the wall right where her head had been.

"Aaaaah!" Sakura shot back, her hands flying to her key. "Key of the Star, release!"

The staff appeared in her hand, and she held it up just in time to fend off another knife. It hit the side of the staff and ricocheted off, clattering onto the floor. Sakura approached it and picked it up, clutching the handle and trying to examine it. It had the same handle as the knives in the kitchen, but the blade was shaped differently. It had the serrated edge of a bread knife, but the blade was shaped like a weapon, almost like a dagger.

"What's that?" Tomoyo stood beside her, bending down to look. "Did someone mess with the knives in your kitchen?"

"I wonder… all of Dad's fruit got cut up," Sakura replied. "But we don't have any kitchen knives that look like this. It's almost like a dagger-"

Another knife flew past, this one larger and even sharper. Instead of reeling back for a second strike, however, it began to slice through the wall, gouging a stroke through the wallpaper and drywall. Sakura grabbed Tomoyo by the shoulder and ducked into the kitchen, taking shelter under the table.

"Sakura-sama!" Stephanos called out, rushing into the kitchen and dodging another strike from the knife. "This must be the Arsenal card. It's one of the most impulsive and headstrong- of course it had to be the one to make the first strike against the new master of the Clow Cards."

Tomoyo zoomed the camera into Stephanos' face. "What does it do?"

"It seeks out materials within everyday objects that can be fashioned into weaponry. Basically, it can make a weapon out of anything-"

"Aaaaaaaaah-! You guys, a little help here?!"

Kerberos' voice echoed around the kitchen as he sidestepped and dodged a barrage of knife strikes. He was putting up barriers as fast as he could, but the knives were beginning to come from all directions.

"H-how many knives do you guys have?! This card has way too much ammo in here!"

Sakura began to crawl out from under the table, holding out the staff in front of her. "Dad got a new 12-piece set for his birthday back in January. It came complete with six specialty knives, six steak knives, a sharpener-"

"We get it!" Kero yelled. "Nevermind the knives- even if it runs out, there's tons of metal cutlery in the kitchen for it to use! We have to lure it somewhere where it can't create weapons!"

"Kerberos is right. The only way to defeat the card is to trap it somewhere where there is nothing from which it can fashion weapons."

Sakura nodded. "Then that's what we'll do! I'm the one it wants, right? Then it should follow me!" She waved her hands and started yelling. "Hey, Warp Card! Arsenal! It's me, the Master of the Clow Cards! You're looking to attack me, right? Then follow me here!"

Without even waiting for it to respond, she turned her back and ran into the living room. For a moment, she glanced around, trying to gauge whether there was anything that might become a weapon, but there wasn't much besides the couch, television, and a couple of plants sitting on the table.

"...Come after me if you want, but there's nothing here for you to use."

Unfortunately, she'd spoken too soon. There was a loud, snapping sound, and the couch cushions flew off the frame, the fabric ripping to reveal the springs underneath. One of the springs began to unwind itself, detaching itself from the couch and twisting into a sharp point. Another was pried free, then another, and finally there were a bunch of springs floating in the air, twisting themselves together into a pointed ball. One leg of the sofa broke off with a loud crack, and rose up to attack itself to the end of the makeshift mace.

"Oh, come on!" Sakura had to dive to the ground to avoid a strike from the mace. "How was I supposed to know it'd get creative?!"

Stephanos slid into the room, his tail raised in alarm. "I told you, it can make weapons out of everyday objects! You can't let your guard down!"

"B-but…" Sakura began to protest, but the mace came crashing towards her once again, and she held up her staff to keep it at bay. It hit the side of the staff and then pulled back to strike another hit. This time, Sakura made a strike on the end of the staff, trapping the head of the mace in the space between the points of the star. She slammed the staff down, pushing the mace onto the floor and harnessing the tension of the springs, causing them all to crack under the pressure.

"Yes!" Kerberos cheered, rushing to Sakura's side. "That's it, then! You just have to beat it at its own game! Show it you can best any weapon it throws at you!"

"Yeah!" Sakura nodded, pulling her staff back to her chest. "Do your worst!"

"N-no, that's not-"

Stephanos tried to break in, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise. The Arsenal card had already taken the broken bits of spring, and was disassembling the television remote to meld the springs onto. Kerberos smirked and stepped in front of Sakura.

"Hah! If you think something puny like that is going to work against the guardian of the Clow Cards, you're just a stupid as your master-"

"Wait, Kero, that's a-" Sakura tried to warn him, but she was still in the middle of her sentence when the weapon shot an electrical strike. It hit Kerberos, causing him to scream out in pain as his muscles convulsed.

"It's no use!" Stephanos called. "No matter how many of its weapons you destroy, it'll always find something to use! You have to figure out a way to deprive it of material completely!"

"But- Kero-chan…" Sakura gasped as she watched him fall to the floor. The weapon turned this time to Sakura, shooting a string of electricity towards her. She managed to jump out of the way, using a couch cushion for an extra boost. "...how can I deprive it of material if it can make weapons out of anything?!"

"I-I don't know!" Stephanos stammered. "You're the master of the Clow Cards, aren't you?"

Sakura jumped over the back of the couch, using it to momentarily shield herself from the weapon. "The cards… that's it!"

Within a moment, she'd dug into her pocket and pulled out the card she had in mind. She threw it up and hit it with her staff, calling out to it as she did so.

"Maze card! Trap the arsenal card with me in a maze of your own design! MAZE!"

The surroundings of the living room began to fade away as Maze took over, trapping the group within its confines. Freed from behind the couch, Sakura struck with her staff, smashing the television remote into pieces.

From the shattered pieces of the remote, a humanoid form appeared. It looked similar to a man in ancient armor, his helmet concealing his face. He began to look back and forth frantically, as though he were searching for some kind of material to use as a weapon. But there was nothing surrounding them except for the blank walls of the maze.

"Now I've got you!" Sakura raised her staff and brought it down in front of the figure. "Return to the form in which you were meant to be! Warp Card!"

At the touch of Sakura's staff, the figure turned dark and transformed into the form of a card. Sakura reached out and grabbed hold of it as the maze disappeared around them and she was returned to the living room- card in hand.

Kerberos pulled himself to his feet, still shaking from the electricity. "Y-you got it…?"

"Yeah," Sakura murmured, holding the card up for him to see. "All I had to do was trap it somewhere where there wasn't any material for it to use. The only place I could think of was within a dimension created by a Sakura Card."

"Hah!" Kerberos grinned. "That's score one for Sakura, zero for Warp Neon-"

"Not so fast!"

Stephanos spoke just as the card flew from Sakura's hands and the humanoid figure reappeared in front of them. He grabbed the piece of wood from the broken mace and began shaving the ends down to create a sharp spike.

"Agh! It doesn't respect the sealing wand." Kerberos growled. "You have to seal it and transform it in the same stroke!"

"B-but…" Sakura gasped, lunging to knock the spike from the card's hand. "They're two different incantations!"

"You're the master! Make a new one!"

Sakura ground her teeth as her staff made contact with the spike, knocking it across the room. The card jumped back and began surveying his surroundings again, bolting out into the hallway. Sakura followed, chasing it around the corner toward the house's entryway. The card made it to the door and began loosening the screws on the doorknob, but she didn't give it time to make anything out of them.

"Card by evil's hand designed, reveal your power and form confined, reject the hold of evil's blight, and draw your power from my light! SAKURA CARD!"

The figure turned back into card form, just as it had before. But this time the color was different, the card taking on the pink hue of the Sakura cards. The last of the light disappeared from the card's surface and it flew to Sakura's hand, settling between her fingers.

"...is that it…?" Stephanos murmured, rounding the corner alongside Kerberos and approaching her.

A smile spread across Sakura's face as she looked over the card, appreciating the new design. It looked… just like all of the cards she already had. It glowed with the power she had come to recognize as her own, one that she had grown to love as it was found in each card she'd created.

"It's mine. The Arsenal is now… a Sakura card."

There was quiet for a long moment as Kerberos and Stephanos looked at one another. Kero was unsure, but Stephanos had a wide smile on his face. Sakura turned back to look at the two of them, holding up the card. It began to glow, and the energy manifested before her in a similar form as before, but this time with the warrior missing his helmet, the kind features of his face exposed. He looked at Sakura and knelt to the ground in a respectful bow.

"It's okay. You don't have to do that." Sakura stepped forward and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I don't just want to be your master, I want to be your friend. Will you be my friend, Arsenal?"

Arsenal looked up, and a smile passed over its face. It stood up again and took Sakura's hands in its own before nodding and returning to the card. The card gleamed and then grew still, and silence filled the hall again as Sakura held the card to her chest.

"I can feel it. It's just like when I transformed the Clow Cards, that feeling of exhaustion afterward. But at the same time, I'm so happy."

"It looks like you're not the only one." Tomoyo's voice came from down the hall where she was still recording, and it prompted Sakura to open her eyes again. She gasped as she saw the rest of the Sakura Cards having escaped from her pocket and begun floating around her. But they weren't just focusing on Sakura- they all seemed to be curious about the card she was holding.

"This same thing would happen each time Clow Reed created a new card," Kerberos spoke. "The rest of the cards want to greet their new companion."

Sakura giggled and held up The Arsenal for the rest of the cards to see. "Don't worry, everyone. You'll all get to meet your new friend soon enough!"

The cards spun around her a few more times, and then joined together into one deck in her hand. Tomoyo stopped filming so that she could applaud, and Stephanos mimicked her as best he could do with his soft paw pads.

"Now that Arsenal has been purified, its evil instincts have abated. It can be used for beneficial purposes, like creating shields or other defensive armor for people you want to protect."

Sakura held the deck close to her chest. "Thank you, Stephanos."

"N-no, thank you! I can't tell you how long I've dreamed of this," Stephanos' voice cracked as though he were going to cry. "Finally, we've made a step toward uniting the two sets of cards into one-"

He took a step toward Sakura, but didn't make it any further before the front door flew open, a figure standing behind it with a spell in hand, poised to strike.

"Take another step toward Sakura, Stephanos, and you will die where you stand."

Sakura froze, overcome by a sudden flash of panic.

"Yue?!"

He stood just on the other side of the doorway, wings outstretched and one arm extended with a spell in hand, ready to strike. Sakura ran towards him, throwing her arms around his waist to distract him from his spell.

"Stop! Don't hurt him!"

Yue staggered backward, the spell in his hand dying down. "S-Sakura! What are you doing? I came as soon as I heard what you said to Yukito, but I never expected to find you with Stephanos. That creature is a danger to-"

"As usual, you prefer fighting to talking," Kerberos sighed, stepping forward. "Sakura, show him your new card."

"New card?" Yue responded with a frown, looking down to confirm what Kerberos was saying. Sakura nodded and held up The Arsenal for Yue to see. Rather than taking it from her, he knelt down to get a closer look. "This was…"

"It was one of the Warp Cards that Stephanos was guarding. He asked me to transform it into a Sakura Card so that we can merge the two card systems under one master."

Yue turned his gaze to Stephanos now, narrowing his eyes. "What's your game?"

"Game?"

"What is it you're trying to gain by combining the Clow Cards and Warp Cards? Is this a ploy to corrupt the original Clow Cards?"

"No!" Stephanos gasped. "Please, listen! The story is-"

"Not from you." Yue stopped him. "Let me hear from Sakura and Kerberos."

"S-sure…" Sakura nodded. "But come inside, will you? It's dark out."

Sakura was going to invite him into the living room, but the couch had been destroyed, so the kitchen table had to do. Sakura, Yue, and Tomoyo sat in three of the chairs, and Kerberos propped his front paws up on the fourth. Stephanos was relegated to stand across the room- a measure that Sakura thought was unnecessary, but one that Yue insisted upon.

"I see. So that's what he hopes to achieve… or so he claims." Yue glanced over to Stephanos. "I'm not sure I trust him, however."

"I'm not sure I trust him either," Kerberos replied, "but I don't have any evidence against what he's saying. Therefore, I think it's in our best interest to keep him close, that way we can watch him."

"Um," Tomoyo raised one hand as she spoke, "could we not talk about him like he's not in the room with us? He's sitting right there."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Tomoyo-sama, but I don't mind!" Stephanos called back, waving his paws in the air. "It makes sense for Kerberos and Yue not to trust me after what I've done. They and Sakura-sama have control over the situation right now, and I'm happy to follow their lead."

Sakura stood up and nodded in his direction. "Well, I trust Stephanos. It's obvious that transforming The Arsenal rescued it from the evil influence it was under, so I don't see any danger in transforming the cards."

"Except for the part where the card tried to kill you," Kerberos murmured.

"I-I handled it!"

"It is clear you did," Yue responded, "but from the looks of this place, the danger was nothing to laugh at. Besides, if Stephanos' claims are correct, you will continue to be attacked by more powerful and intelligent cards. Trying to transform them all will be difficult, especially if their intent is deadly."

Tomoyo placed a hand over her mouth to hide her frown. "But what choice does she have?"

"She could destroy them," Kerberos offered. "As long as they approach her one by one, she has that power."

Sakura slammed her hands down on the table. "No! I won't do it!"

"Sakura…" Tomoyo placed a hand on her arm.

"Sure, I had a hard time capturing this card, but I had a hard time capturing the Clow Cards too. And once it was transformed, there was no difference between this Sakura Card and the others. I care about all the Sakura Cards as a master and friend, which is something the Warp Cards have never experienced. They deserve to be free of evil and know what it means to have friendship. And if it takes extra effort to do that for them, so be it."

The room fell quiet, and eventually Yue and Kerberos sighed in unison.

"Well, that's our Sakura," Kerberos said.

Yue nodded. "It's true. It's the qualities we appreciate in her as a master that give her the conviction needed to do this. If the Master wishes it, then I will use all my power to help her collect and transform the Warp Cards."

"I, as well, will support Sakura with my full power," Kerberos agreed. "Until all the Warp Cards are safely transformed, we cannot let our guards down. We will have to be wary at all times."

A relieved smile spread across Sakura's face. "Oh, thank you! I knew I could count on you two!" She turned around and offered Stephanos a comforting grin. "Don't worry, Stephanos. We'll help you transform all the Warp Cards!"

Stephanos clapped his paws together again. "Thank you, Sakura-sama! Thank you Kerberos, thank you, Yue-"

"Before we get into that," Yue interrupted him, standing up as well, "I believe Sakura should attend to the mess that your card made of her home before her father returns."

Sakura drew in a sharp gasp. "Oh no! Dad! He'll be home any minute and this place is a disaster!"

"Is there a card you can use to help you?" Tomoyo asked, standing up and pushing her chair in. "I'd hate for all that fruit to go to waste. Why not wash it and put it on a plate?"

Sakura glanced over at the kitchen, the floor littered with chopped pieces of fruit. "I could try. Let's see…" She flipped through the deck of cards until she found the one she was looking for, holding it up and tapping it with her staff. "Watery card! Collect and clean the fruit so that it can be served on a platter! WATERY!"

Within a few minutes, The Watery had strung a chain of water around the room, retrieving the fruit slices and floating them for long enough to remove any dirt or dust. It then disposed of the dirty water into the sink, dropping the fruit slices onto the platter that Sakura was holding out. She had to jump and weave to catch them as they fell, but soon she had the platter filled and nicely stacked.

"Wow, that looks amazing!" Sakura murmured as she admired the tray. "They're all so beautiful and perfectly cut, it looks like a professional fruit tray!" Watery approached, a curious frown on its face, and Sakura offered the tray in thanks. The card took a slice of apple and chewed it slowly, examining the taste. It took a moment for it to decide whether it liked the apple or not, but finally, Watery offered a bright smile and then returned to its card form once again.

Sakura giggled and put the tray down on the table so that she could grab the card and return it to the deck. "Thanks, Watery. Now about that couch-"

She didn't make it any further. The sound of the front door opening cut Sakura's sentence off, and a friendly "Sakura, I'm home!" from Fujitaka echoed through the house. Sakura gasped and hissed "STEPHANOS, HIDE!" while Kerberos and Yue immediately began to change into their temporary forms. By the time Fujitaka made it into the kitchen, he was greeted by a smiling Sakura and Tomoyo, and a very confused-looking Yukito.

"Wh-wha-" Yukito began, but Sakura grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it.

"Hi, Dad! Welcome home. I started cutting up the fruit that Dr. Kawamoto gave you, and realized just how much of it there is. We probably can't eat it all, so I called Yukito and asked if he could pick some up for him and Touya. Right, Yukito?"

Recognizing her tone of voice, Yukito nodded. "R-right! Though, I wanted to wait until you got home, just to make sure it was alright with you."

Fujitaka chuckled. "You read my mind, Sakura. I was just thinking earlier today that I should send some of the fruit with Touya. Of course he and Yukito can have some." It was then he seemed to notice the pile of fruit on the tray and gasped. "You cut all this up, Sakura?"

"Not just me. I had some help."

Fujitaka looked back and forth between Tomoyo and Yukito, and nodded at both of them. "Thank you both for your help. Tomoyo, if you'd like to take some home with you, you're welcome to it as well. Give some to your mother."

"I will!" Tomoyo chimed. "I'm sure she'll enjoy it."

Fujitaka placed his briefcase down beside the table, allowing him to yawn and stretch his arms. "I'm sorry the meeting went long. Why don't we go sit down in the living room and have some tea with our fruit-"

"Dad, wait!"

Fujitaka stopped, looking back at Sakura. "...is everything okay?"

"I… uh…" Sakura wrung her hands and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, but something happened. Earlier there was a magic creature in here, and it tore up the living room pretty bad. We were going to clean it up, but we didn't get a chance before you came home."

"A magical creature?" Fujitaka asked, his expression turning to a frown. "Are you okay? Were you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. But the living room-"

She cut off as Fujitaka knelt down in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I told you to tell me if something magical happens. I may have the ability to sense these things, but I'm not good enough with it yet to know when something is dangerous or not. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."

Sakura blushed. "I'm sorry, Dad. But you had an important meeting and I didn't want to bother you. Don't worry, I'll fix the sofa and the tv remote, with my own allowance if you need me to, and-"

"That's not important." Fujitaka shook his head and pulled her into a hug. "We'll fix it together. As long as you're safe, that's all I'm worried about."

Sakura sniffled, trying to keep herself from crying. She hated to do that in front of Tomoyo and Yukito, after all.

"Thanks, Dad." Sakura wiped the edges of her eyes. "I'll make some tea. You should sit down."

"I will." Fujitaka moved to the table, pulling out a chair opposite Yukito and Tomoyo, who were both trying to keep smiles on for his sake. Despite their carefree attitude, Fujitaka was still uneasy, and he noticed the pair of plush toys sitting at the edge of the table. One was familiar to him, but the other was new, and he picked it up to examine it.

"Oh? Did you get Kero-chan a new friend?"

Sakura hadn't noticed, and she gasped as she caught sight of it. It was about the same size as Kero, but with pointed ears and a bushy tail. It was orange and foxlike, and Sakura's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Oh, y-yeah! That's Steph… en. He's new."

"He's cute. Where did you get him?"

"Oh, uh," Tomoyo spoke up, "it was at that new boutique that just opened downtown. I saw him when I was shopping with my mother a few weeks ago and bought him for Sakura as a back-to-school gift."

"B-because he reminded you of Kero-chan, right?" Yukito jumped in, trying to join the conversation as best he could. "That's sweet of you."

"Tomoyo always has been a kind girl," Fujitaka answered with a smile, setting Stephen back down on the table. "We're lucky to have her."

With the conversation having taken a more casual turn, they were able to draw Fujitaka's attention away from the magical events. He inspected the living room couch as well as the television remote, and assured them that the couch would be fixed soon and that the remote could easily be replaced.

It had gotten late, so Fujitaka offered to drive both Yukito and Tomoyo home. Tomoyo gratefully accepted, but Yukito stayed behind- "to help clean up," he explained. It gave Sakura time to give him a very quick play-by-play. Still, she couldn't explain everything in the limited time they had, and he still went home with lots of questions. It wasn't like she didn't have questions either, but for now there was not much more to do than rest and recover. She had a lot of work ahead of her.

There was a woman… and she was crying.

Sakura looked around, trying to gauge her surroundings. It was dark and difficult to see beyond the small patch of light where she was standing. It was almost as if there were a street light shining on the one spot, but there was no light source in sight. Only the woman, sitting on the ground in front of Sakura.

"...what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Sakura knelt down next to the woman. Her head was bowed, so Sakura couldn't see her face, but she had thick, dark hair that curled and weaved down to her waist. At the sound of Sakura's voice, she lifted her head and looked at her.

The woman was dressed in Chinese clothing, but when she lifted her head, Sakura got a better look at her features, which were distinctively European. The woman opened her mouth and uttered a string of words that Sakura didn't understand.

"...I'm sorry, you… what?" Sakura asked, wondering if perhaps the woman's speech was simply muddled by her sobs.

The woman repeated herself, a little clearer this time, allowing Sakura to determine that it was, indeed, a language she didn't understand.

"I-I don't understand what you're saying. What language are you speaking? Can you speak Japanese?"

The woman's expression was completely blank, and she looked almost overwhelmed by Sakura's words. She began to cry again, and repeated the same words she'd said before, along with a few others. Sakura began to look around, unsure of what to do. She couldn't understand the language the woman was speaking; it sounded like Chinese, but she wasn't certain, and Syaoran wasn't here to translate.

"...oh, if only Syaoran were here… Syaoran… Syaoran..."

Sakura awoke with a start, the name Syaoran playing through her mind. She shook her head, trying to dispel the focus on him and remember the face of the woman that she'd seen. Everything was beginning to blur, as dreams did upon waking, and the more she tried to remember the words that the woman had spoken to her, the less she was able to recall them.

"Sakura-sama?" Stephen looked up from his perch on the windowsill, seeing her awake. He had remained in his stuffed-animal form since the night before, despite Kero's complaints of him being a copycat. It was a good disguise, and he had already taken to the nickname. "Good morning! You were calling out to someone in your sleep. Who is Syaoran?"

"Syaoran is my-" Sakura began, and stopped herself as a blush crossed her face. "I mean, he's a fellow magician and a descendant of Clow Reed."

Stephen perked up. "Of the Li clan, you mean?"

"That's right! You know the Li clan?"

"Know them?" Stephen asked, and then laughed. "Sakura-sama, I was there when Clow Reed was training Li Xiaohe in the ways of his magic. Of course I know the Li clan!"

"...Li Xiaohe…" Sakura murmured. "That must be one of Syaoran's ancestors. Amazing. W-wait! That's not what my dream was about, though-"

The desk drawer opened up, and Kero poked his head out. "What's going on, Sakura? You're up early."

"Sakura had a dream about someone named Syaoran. She was calling out his name in her sleep," Stephen answered.

"Oooooh, Sakura." Kero grinned. "I didn't realize you were grown-up enough to be having those sort of dreams-"

"That's not it!" Sakura threw her pillow at Kero. "It wasn't about him at all! There was a woman, and she was crying. I couldn't understand what she was saying, so I couldn't help her. It sounded like Chinese and I thought maybe Syaoran could translate, but I forgot what she said… thanks to you guys!"

The pillow had shoved the drawer closed again, and Kero had to push it open a second time. "Geez, sorry about that."

Stephen was more formal, bowing apologetically. "Forgive me, Sakura-sama! It wasn't my intention to make you forget the important details of your dream!"

"It's okay, Stephen. I know you didn't mean it." Sakura waved one hand and then took a look at her alarm clock. "I still have an hour before I need to get up. Maybe if I go back to sleep, I'll dream it again."

"It's possible," Kero replied, sitting on the edge of the drawer. "But if it's a prophetic dream, it might not appear so conveniently. Those kinds of dreams don't tend to come when called."

Sakura nodded sadly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wish I could remember what she was saying. If I knew that, I could find out why she was crying and help her."

There was a silence as Sakura lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes in thought. Stephen jumped down and perched on the side of the bed next to her. "If you don't recall the dream today, you can try again tomorrow. I'm versed in many languages, so I could tell you exactly what she's saying should you remember her words."

"Thank you, Stephen," Sakura murmured, reaching out to pat him on the head. "You're so helpful."

"I-I know a bunch of languages too!" Kero yelled, flying up to hover above the desk. "I speak Chinese and impeccable Japanese-"

"Really? Your Japanese is different from what I was trained in," Stephen replied, turning back to him. "You use some rather odd words that I don't quite get."

"See? See? He doesn't even know the Osaka-ben! How can he say he truly has a grasp on languages?" Kero flashed a haughty grin. "Osaka is one of the most heavily populated metropolitan areas in the world. You're pretty pathetic if you can't even speak their dialect-"

"Knock it off, Kero-chan." Sakura dove back under the blankets. "Don't be so mean to him. He's doing his best."

"It's alright." Stephen answered with a smile. "Actually, I'd like to learn this Osaka-ben. Will you teach me, Kerberos?"

"Learnin' the Osaka style talk, eh?" A glint appeared in Kero's eye. "You've come to the right guy, Stephanos. I'll learn ya good!"

"I look forward to it!"

Sakura groaned and turned away from them. At this rate, she'd never get back to sleep.

Having not quite made it back to sleep, Sakura was able to make it to school early again. She opened the door to the classroom to see a few of her classmates around, and noticed Syaoran sitting in his normal desk. Not wanting to alarm the others, she whispered his name and motioned for him once he looked up at her.

"Huh? Sakura?" He stood up, but didn't leave his desk. She sighed and made a 'come here' motion with her hands, and finally he understood and exited the classroom. "What is it? Why do you need to talk out here? Did something happen?"

The two stepped back toward the window so that others in the hallway could move around them. Before Sakura could even begin explaining the situation, Syaoran started speaking once again.

"I felt something strange last night. It was as if something powerful suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Did something happen with the book after I left?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded. "Look at this."

She pulled the Arsenal card from her pocket and held it up to him. A look of surprise passed over his face, replaced quickly by one of scrutiny. He reached out and took the card from her, examining it closely.

"What in the world is this? How did you make a new Sakura Card?"

"I didn't make it. I transformed it from another form. See, it was... one of the cards that belonged to Warp Neon."

There was a pause.

"To who?"

"Warp Neon. You know, Clow Reed's enemy. The one from Greece."

Syaoran's expression remained blank.

"He, uh, moved to England to study the occult and heard about Clow Reed… then came to Hong Kong and copied the Clow Cards using his own power… and, uh… the guardian of those cards said that he knew your ancestor. I forgot his name, but it was the member of the Li family that studied under Clow Reed-"

"Li Baoyi," Syaoran replied.

"Was that it? I don't think-"

"Yes. Li Baoyi was Clow Reed's relative and adoptive son, and is considered the patriarch of the current Li clan. But I've never heard of this Warp Neon person. I didn't know that Clow had any connections to Greece."

Sakura frowned. "That's weird. I guess Kero-chan was right when he said that Warp Neon was just a nuisance. But he and Yue seemed really upset about it…"

Syaoran was about to say something else, but their teacher passed by them and waved.

"Li, Kinomoto, you don't want to be late for class."

"Y-yes ma'am!" They both stammered in reply, racing for the door. Rather than telling them not to run, the teacher just laughed and followed them inside.

"Let's eat lunch together so that I can explain everything." Sakura whispered as they made it back to their seats, waving to Tomoyo.

"Of course." Syaoran nodded. "You can tell me then."

It was a relief, at least, that he knew. But Sakura couldn't help being distracted through their morning classes.

Why didn't Syaoran know about Warp Neon?

"Ugh, how do anime characters always eat lunch on the roof? It's so hot up here and there's no shade!"

It was rare for Syaoran to complain about something as trivial as the weather, but he had done poorly on a pop quiz in English, and Sakura was sure he was half-venting about it.

"We can eat in the stairwell if you want to stay out of the sun," Tomoyo offered, setting her lunch bag down. "I just thought this place would give us the most privacy to talk magical stuff."

"No, it's fine." Syaoran took a seat near the door, and Sakura settled down beside him. She began opening her own lunch, but she noticed that he hadn't even touched his, and decided to wait until they'd covered the important information.

"So, uh, you're sure you've never heard of Warp Neon?"

"That's right." Syaoran nodded. "It's a unique name. I'd remember it if I'd heard it before, especially in relation to Clow Reed. More than one sorcerer tried to copy the Clow Cards, but I didn't know any had succeeded in creating any with powers that could rival the originals."

Sakura pulled The Arsenal out of her bag and examined it. "Stephen said that the energy that powered the card was pure evil, and that made it dangerous."

"Stephen?"

"That's, uh, Stephanos, the guardian of the Warp Cards-"

Sakura had barely finished her sentence before Tomoyo cut her off, holding up her smartphone for them to see. "I'm calling Kero-chan and Stephen now. They can tell us more."

The phone held a blank ringing screen for a moment, but then there was a click and Kero and Stephen appeared.

"I was wonderin' when you'd call me!" Kero exclaimed. "You can't have a proper discussion about this without me, remember."

"Sorry, Kero-chan," Sakura answered with an apologetic bow. "I just didn't think-"

"SAKURA-SAMA!" Stephen pushed his way in front of Kero, grabbing the phone and pressing his face against the screen so that he was almost entirely blocking the camera. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS BOX, SAKURA-SAMA? WHO TRAPPED YOU HERE? I WILL SAVE YOU, DON'T WORRY-"

The camera cleared up again as Kero shoved Stephen out of the way. "It's a video call, ya ding-dong! She's not in the phone, she's talking to us through the phone."

Stephen gasped, pressing closer again as though completely unfazed by Kero's earlier gesture. "This thing… is a telephone…?"

"Ah, that's right, you were sealed away around the turn of the twentieth century," Tomoyo gasped. "The first telephones had just been invented."

"Yes, that's right!"

Syaoran took the phone from Tomoyo, shielding it with his hand so that he could get a better look past the glare. "Stephanos, right? I'm Li Syaoran. What is-"

"Li Syaoran! Of the Li clan!" Stephen once again pressed his face against the camera. "I am so, so happy to finally meet you! I mean, I only first heard about you this morning, but for the past five hours and twenty-eight minutes I have dreamed of getting an introduction with you."

"...uh, thanks…" Syaoran murmured. "But I'm confused. What is this Sakura tells me about a sorcerer named Warp Neon?"

Stephen paused and backed away from the camera slightly. "You… you don't know about Warp Neon?"

"No. I've never heard the name before."

"But… but that's impossible…" Stephen murmured. "...he must at least know Warp Neon's name…"

Kero shoved his way in front of the screen again. "See, it's just like I told ya. Warp Neon was nothin' but a little thorn in Clow's side, not worth rememberin'."

"Uh, hey," Syaoran began with a frown, "has your accent gotten stronger? I don't understand half of what you're saying."

"He's trying to teach me the Osaka-ben," Stephen answered. "You should study it too, Li Syaoran. Oh! Perhaps we can study together-"

"Okay, okay. I'll try to talk a little more standard for ya," Kero spoke up again with a sigh. "But now is not the time to be worried about languages and dialects. These Warp Cards? The only language they speak is destruction and suffering. We can't let them have their way with Tomoeda and the rest of the world."

Syaoran closed his eyes and sighed. "If there's some sort of danger facing Sakura, I want to help in any way I can. Tell me what I need to do."

By the time the bell rang signaling the end of lunch, Sakura had barely touched her food and had to scramble to scarf it down as they rushed back to the classroom. The conversation had lasted longer than she'd planned, with Syaoran asking question after question about Warp Neon and his connections to Clow Reed. Stephen recounted the information as thoroughly as he could, but there was still a sense of unease surrounding Syaoran throughout the rest of the day.

Once class ended, Sakura assumed she wouldn't see him again until the next day. An important cheerleading meet was taking place next week, and because she'd been away during part of the summer training camp, Sakura had to stay late to practice some of the choreography. The school was almost empty by the time she left. However, as she exited the school grounds, she caught Syaoran just outside the school gate, talking on the phone.

He didn't notice her at first, so she stayed behind the gate to listen in on the conversation. Unfortunately for her, it was entirely in Cantonese, and she didn't understand a word that Syaoran was saying, much less what the person on the other end of the phone might be telling him. There were a few minutes in which Syaoran paused, listening to the other end with only a few sounds of acknowledgement, and then he offered what sounded like a respectful goodbye before hanging up. Sakura waited a split second for him, and then peeked her head around the corner of the gate.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Ack! Sakura!" Syaoran flinched, nearly dropping his phone. He scrambled to catch it before it hit the ground and put it safely back in his backpack. "Where did you come from?"

"I had to stay late to practice the moves I missed during the summer camp," Sakura answered. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, we had to move a bunch of furniture for drama club practice, so the first-years stayed behind to clean up. It's getting late, so I figured I should call my mother on my way home, but I guess I was too distracted to go anywhere."

Sakura frowned. "Oh, so it was your mother on the phone?"

"That's right."

"What were you talking about?"

"I-I…" Syaoran glanced away, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. "...I was surprised this afternoon, hearing Kerberos talk about a part of Clow's past that I've never heard of. I've studied Clow Reed, studied his writings and all the information that he left his adoptive son, my great-great-grandfather, Li Baoyi. I should know all about Clow's past. And yet, suddenly there's this villain I've never heard of, who went so far as to copy Clow Reed's greatest achievement in the name of evil? I didn't want to say outright that I didn't believe Kero or Stephen, but…"

"You don't trust them?" Sakura asked. "But Kero-chan and Yue were there. They both know about Warp Neon. Why would they lie?"

Syaoran shook his head. "I thought the same thing. That's why I called my mother, to see if she knew anything about Warp Neon. She was the only child of Li Baoyi's grandson, and so she studied Clow Reed's legacy harder than anyone to prove that she was worthy of inheriting the clan title despite being a woman. If anyone- anyone- in the Li clan would know about this Warp Neon, she would. I wanted to hear it from her, to prove that Kerberos and the others were telling the truth."

He was always so serious when talking about his family, it made Sakura feel sad in a way. Even with her constant fights with Touya, she still loved him and could think only happy thoughts about him and her father. Their family was small, but it was strong. Syaoran had his mother, his sisters, cousins like Meiling and even Wei. And yet, talking about his family made him seem so… lonely.

Sakura couldn't help it. She placed her arms around his chest and pulled him into a gentle hug. "What did she say?" she murmured.

Syaoran returned the hug, wrapping his arms around Sakura's shoulders and leaning down so that she could hear him better.

"She said that she'd never heard of Warp Neon."

Sakura drew back with a sharp gasp, and Syaoran let her go. "What does that mean?" she asked, covering her mouth. "If your mother doesn't know about Warp Neon, then-"

"She said that she'll check the literature once again. But I don't doubt my mother's knowledge." Syaoran shook his head and turned back toward the gate. "This means that, either Kerberos and Yue are being deceived with false memories like with Eriol, or that someone within the Li family has been keeping Warp Neon- and only Warp Neon- a secret."

"Why would they do that?" Sakura spoke in almost a whisper, more to herself than to Syaoran. He answered, however, his voice cracking uncharacteristically.

"I don't know."

"Syaoran…"

He turned back to her, looking her in the eyes. "Don't say anything about this to Kerberos or Yue. I want to do more research for myself. I've sent a message to Eriol and contacted some other members of my family. My sisters have been working for the past decade on computerizing the writings and diagrams left by Clow Reed to be digitally preserved. They can send me all kinds of information that I can study here in Tomoeda. Maybe they have something that even Mother doesn't."

Sakura sighed. "Alright, then. I'll worry about capturing and transforming the rogue cards now. I'll leave this in your capable hands."

For the first time that conversation, Syaoran smiled. "Thank you, Sakura."

She had to hug him again- if only because she was satisfied that, even without being blood relation, she could bring the kind of smile to his face that could only be created by family.

"See you tomorrow, Syaoran."

"See you tomorrow, Sakura. Be careful."

"I will."