Sorry to keep you all waiting! I was at the East Coast (of the US) for six days and there wasn't enough time to work on this chapter. But now that I am back I finally finished writing it. But with college starting soon (Aug. 24), it's going to be harder to find time to write.
Thank you avatoa, SanrioAnimaniacs13, the anonymous Kerra Quigley and dr-fan-mai-lover for taking your time to write something about my fanfic! I feel so happy that I got all my missing reviews!
Now some of you asked: am I using the anime or manga version of Cardcaptor Sakura for reference? In fact I'll be using a little of both. For this fanfic Sari will capture all the cards from the anime version, but I will add elements from the manga version. This is because I find that there are some concepts from the manga, which they left some out in the anime, to be logical and fitting for both of the fandoms. The anime also has its share of originality so I'll be using it as well.
And yes, I didn't forget that Sari is techno-organic and so I've planned how she'll deal with having magical powers and Cybertronian technology. It'll be interesting.
But enough chatter, enjoy the fifth chapter of Cardcaptor Sari!
Disclaimer (forgot about this, again!): I do not own Transformers Animated and/or Cardcaptor Sakura. They belong to Hasbro/Takara and CLAMP respectfully.
Blitzwing's First Dream
"But he's a Decepticon!" Sari shouted to Kero as they walked back to Sumdac Tower.
"There's nothing to worry about, Sari," said Kero waving his arm in front of her face, as if trying to brush away the issue.
"Do you have any idea what they could do if they knew how to use magic?! Cosmic powers at their whim!" Sari pictured a ruined Detroit marred with fissures, burning buildings and lightning bolts striking at the fleeing populace with Megatron laughing at the destruction from the sky. It sent shivers through her body.
"I've checked all your friends; there isn't a pinch of magic in any of them. And I highly doubt that any Decepticons, or Cybertronians, would have magical powers. I don't think they're adapted to wield magic," Kero tried to reassure the panicking girl. They passed through the automatic sliding doors of the tower and entered into the spacious lobby. Taking the elevator, they reached the front doors of Sari's room. "Try not to think too much about this, Sari,"
Kero fluttered towards her bed and curled himself on the blankets. Letting out a tired yawn his head dropped and soon he was snoring away. Sari sighed as she stared towards the distance from her balcony window, replaying the events that had transpired in the park. Blitzwing, a Decepticon, saved her from falling to her death while she was capturing Jump. It just didn't make sense that a Decepticon saved her; a single female organic. She had seen Blitzwing would attack her friends without hesitation, nor with mercy. She would bet anything that's how he felt towards humans, nothing but scurrying insects stubbornly clinging to life. Yet everything she knew about the triple-changer was proved wrong by that one noble action.
Sari yawned; she was exhausted, if she went on trying to explain the triple-changer's rather bizarre action she would only tire herself out. She'll have to think about it tomorrow. Drawing in the curtains, Sari gave herself up to the comforts of her bed and drifted off to sleep.
---
Somewhere amongst the broken and abandoned buildings of old Detroit, Blitzwing was contemplating on the same thing, except he was having a difficult time trying to go into recharge. Fidgeting on the cold roof, he let out a grumble and gave up. Lifting himself to his feet Blitzwing made his way towards the edge of the roof. From a distance he could see Sumdac Tower poised towards the heavens, radiating like a star. His thoughts wandered back to Sari
"Such an interesting girl," he mused. No! What was he thinking? Sari is but an organic he couldn't possibly be showing signs of, what was that word again? Oh yes, friendliness. He was a Decepticon; fighting was in his programming. There was no room in his Spark for soft feelings.
"I still am a Decepticon," Blitzwing corrected himself. "Great, now I am talking as if it vas in zhe past,"
Okay, he admitted that ever since he arrived on this planet he found humans to be an intriguing species. They were so small, like nanobots, yet they lived complex lives. In his spare time he would amuse himself by going on Earth's version of Cybertron's Datanet, or the Internet, as they would call it and research everything about humans. For organics they achieved so much, something that surprises the hardened Decepticon. It seems that their small stature does little to hinder their advancement; in fact it seemed to fuel their need to strive further. Already, in the few thousand stellar cycles they have lived on their planet, the humans have already harnessed the power of the atom and build structures a million times their height. Not only are they filled with curiosity and an insatiable hunger for knowledge, but they also indulge themselves in all forms of entertainment.
It was one time that Blitzwing discovered that there were a group of humans that lived for extreme thrills. Daredevils. They were known to participate in frightful activities such as falling off cliffs or planes and other exotic pastimes to relish in the euphoric feeling of an adrenaline rush. Given how fragile humans were, and all organics, compared to Cybertronians it puzzled him. It just proves again how much of a mystery humans are.
But nothing could be compared to how their culture vastly outnumbered the Cybertronians, their language and ethnicity were equally diverse. While Cybertron was simply split into two, Autobots and Decepticons, Earth was like a galaxy-wide smorgasbord of ideas and customs with each culture different from each other. It was a wonder how they manage to communicate and build alliances with one another, let alone respect each other because of their diversity. Cybertron only had the earth roving Autobots and the airborne Decepticons, only two who despise one another from the deepest recess of their Spark. Just two and a who-knows-how-long stellar cycle war blows across the galaxy because of their differences. Earth possibly had more than a hundred cultures and they only had two recorded world wars.
Maybe when all this nonsense between the Autobots and Decepticons is over Blitzwing could spend the rest of his life cycle observing and researching more of Earth's customs. But leave that for the uncertain future, the present is now and more important. Blitzwing absently rubbed his sore optic. His circuits ached for rest. He had been chasing that strange pink organic around for a whole night and watched an amazing spectacle unfolded before him. Walking back to the middle of the roof and lying once again on his back, Blitzwing tried again. He closed his optics and relaxed, his Spark gently hummed from his chassis, in seconds he slipped into recharge.
---
Blitzwing swore that for a second he was recharging on the roof of a ruined building in old Detroit. How in the name of Primus did he get himself to the harbor? Looking around, he confirmed that somehow he had managed to make his way here. But something was wrong, everything appeared somewhat blurry and the triple-changer felt a feeling of weightlessness. Blitzwing rubbed his optics but everything at the edges of his vision were still blurry. From behind he heard the sound of five approaching vehicles. Turning around he saw a large fire truck, a yellow sports car, an ambulance, a SWAT assault truck and a black-gold motorbike being driven by no one.
"Slag, zhe Autobots have found me!"
But before Blitzwing could escape, an image of rippling water flashed in his processor. The sound of chime bells rang through the docks. Both the sound and image left him dazed. Shaking himself back to his senses he saw that Optimus and his team were in front of him and still driving with no indication of stopping. Blitzwing braced himself for the impact but the Autobots passed right through him as if he was the air itself.
"Vhat in zhe name of Primus?" Blitzwing swiveled and faced them. Optimus and his team transformed back to their robotic forms and crouched into battle stances. Chime bells rang again as the water surrounding the docks began to swell and billow. Tendrils of deep blue water shot out towards the Autobots. Like watching a silent film, the battle played out without noise. Every assault the Autobots made towards the strange liquid entity had no effect; it simply broke apart and reformed to make a counter assault. Optimus yelled out unheard commands before a tentacle of water latched onto his leg and lifted him into the air. The rest of his teammates looked in shock before they too were captured in the same manner.
From the corner of his optics Blitzwing spotted Sari running towards her ensnared friends. Her face was plastered with fear and shock as she soundlessly shouted for them. He took his optics away from her as he began to notice that the docks and Detroit were fading into darkness. Looking back at Sari, she was still running towards the mass of water that held her friends in its unyielding hold. A wave of water swept underneath Sari before enveloping her. Sari tried to swim out of her prison but the current inside kept her stuck. Even without scanning, Blitzwing could tell that Sari desperately needed air.
Sari seemed to have noticed that Blitzwing was there as she stared at him with fear-filled eyes, a hand stretched towards him desperate for help. Seeing her in such a vulnerable state, feelings from the forgotten recess of his Spark were reawakened. He needed to save the girl, but his body refused to move. It was as if he was chained to the very spot he stood on. Sari was at her limit; her cheeks bulged with air desperate to be released. The girl opened her mouth, bubbles streamed out as her eyes widen in pain as she breathed in water. Her eyes drooped closed as Sari lost consciousness. Almost as if satisfied with its work, the water surged forward and surrounded Blitzwing himself. Although there was no need for him to breathe, fear started to build inside him.
"N-no…" he muttered as his field of vision was covered in blue. The sound of a ringing gong reached his audio receptors as ripples of light emanated forth from the water with each beat.
---
Blitzwing's optics snapped open as he let out a yell and jumped to his stabilizing servos, cannons lowered and ready. His Spark drummed against his chassis, the energon was pumping through his circuits. He relaxed when he saw that he was still safe and dry in the middle of old Detroit. Raising up his cannons and seating himself on the roof, Blitzwing placed a servo on the side of his face. Never in his life cycle had he ever experienced something so bizarre to what he had seen during recharge. Everything felt so real yet there was a hint of abstractness to it, a mix of the logical and illogical, reality and illusion. He couldn't really place his digit on it. But right now it didn't matter, if it happened again he would investigate. More important things were on his list for the day.
Blitzwing did a quick scan of himself to make sure that he and his equipments were functioning at optimal levels. Satisfied with the results he decided it would be best to camp in his current area and occasionally check for more of those abnormal energy spikes. Blitzwing had come to a hypothesis that should another spike of energy be detected another one of those strange organics should appear. The two previous spikes of energy Megatron detected must have also indicated the appearance of two more. But the question remains what role does Sari play in all of this? And who or what was that yellow, flying organic that had accompanied her? This mission was turning out to be more complex than he had originally assumed.
---
Sari woke to the chirping of her alarm clock. Groaning, she latched a pillow over her head like a helmet to block out the irritating sound. Bliss followed when it was finally silenced, but was rushed away as she felt a pair of small hands nudging her back.
"Ugh… Kero not now. It's too early to wake up…" Sari mumbled.
"You can't let life pass you by like this Sari. Up and at 'em!" Kero ordered Sari, his voice filled with energy. Sari lifted herself up and stretched out the aches in her muscles.
"You must have forgotten that I've got to run my dad's company?" said Sari.
"Oh… but why is your dad putting such a large responsibility on you? Where is he anyways?" said Kero. Silence was all Kero got from the girl; he noticed that her head was lowered as she stared at the blankets. "I'm sorry I asked…"
"No it's okay Kero, I'm fine. It's just a little hard that he isn't here next to me. Well at least I have you here with me, and all my friends like Bumblebee," Sari grabbed Kero and gave him a small noogie. Kero took it as a sign that she had cheered up. "At least today I don't have to go through any more of those stupid meetings with Powell,"
"What do you have to do today?" asked Kero.
"Oh nothing special, just a regular inspection at one of my dad's factories that's located near the harbor. Wanna come?"
"I don't see why not," Kero made his way towards Sari's backpack and gracefully flew inside. His head popped out from the gap between the teeth of the zipper making him look like a plushy accessory. Sari grabbed the backpack and left Sumdac Tower. Upon arriving at the streets of Detroit, Sari hailed a taxi. Throughout the trip; Kero stayed as still as possible as to not draw unwanted attention. The taxi came to halt in front of the dock entrance, Sari thanked the driver and paid the fee. When the taxi drove off, Kero left out a long drawn sigh and relaxed his sore muscles.
"If I keep this up, I'll get a muscle cramp," said Kero as they approached the factory's side door. Sari pulled out her AllSpark key and presented it over the keyhole of the security pad. With a whirr, the teeth of the key morphed into the exact shape as the keyhole. Sari slid the key inside and twisted it. The red light of the security pad changed to green, granting Sari access into the factory. Inside they were greeted with rows of conveyor belts, lined with mechanical arms, and the din of industry. Half-made robots lined on top of the assembly lines like soldiers waiting to don their armor. Every so second the belt would move and stop and the mechanical arms would come down to make the necessary adjustments. A spark here, a whirr there and they would rise up again and repeat the process over. Not one of them missed a beat or time; everything was clock-worked to maximize efficiency.
"This is where all the robots are made, well only the Security Bots are assembled here," Sari told Kero. Letting Kero out, Sari grabbed a clipboard that was hanging from the wall next to the door and began the inspection. Normally an inspection team would be sent out to do this job, but with Sari diverting most of the company's resources to finding her dad there were some things she needed to cut back. Nothing was out of the ordinary; everything was running smoothly as usual. So smoothly that it was getting a little dull for her to inspect the rest, but the last she wanted was to have an accident occur under her name that could tarnish her dad's image. So holding in her complaint she did her job dutifully. After writing the last bits of her report on the inspection, she set down the pencil and shook away the cramps in her hand.
"Kero! Where are you?" Sari called out.
"Over here!" Kero flew next to her side. "Finished with everything?"
"You bet, everything's working perfectly. Now with work out of the way where do you want to hang out?"
"How about a bakery? I'm craving one of those custard puddings…" Kero had a dreamy look on his face as a drop of drool appeared on one side of his mouth.
"You really never stop thinking about food," Sari laughed.
"I eat for happiness and the taste," said Kero.
"Well I wouldn't mind some pudding as well," Sari lifted up her backpack and swung it around her shoulders. Kero dived into his hiding place, head out so he could see and breathe.
Walking out of the factory they made their way through the busy dock. Sari was lost in thought as she tried to remember any nearby bakeries to buy pudding. She let out a gasp when a strange sensation hit her. It felt like she was all of the sudden dropped into a vat of ice, cold water.
"Kero… did you feel that?"
"Yea, it's the presence of a Clow Card,"
"But where is it?" Sari frantically surveyed the dock.
To the right, towards Lake Erie, there was a commotion. One of the large cargo boats anchored was rocking erratically. The water around it broiled from an unseen force. The people on the boat yelled in surprise as they lost their footings. The metal crates and the boat itself groaned from the disturbance. Dock workers watched, some of them yelled for someone to call for help. With a strong thrust, the front of the boat left the water for a second before crashing back down and sending forth a spray of lake water. The impact catapulted one of the boatmen into the air before he fell into the lake.
"Man overboard!" someone shouted.
"Someone get a life preserver!" ordered another. The man's head burst out from the water as he took in a deep breath, but was soon dragged down into the abyss as a whirlpool began to form around the boat.
"Oh no…" Kero muttered under his breath.
"What? Don't tell me this is one of those aggressive cards…" said Sari.
"It is, it's the Watery Card," Kero whispered. "You've got to seal this one fast or else someone's going to get hurt!"
"But what can I do? There's too many people around, I can't do magic out in the open,"
From behind her Sari could hear the sound of approaching sirens. Turning around she was relieved to see that amongst the police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and Fanzone's soiled sports car, the Autobots were there as well. The group of law enforcers and rescuers encircled around the rocking boat, Fanzone got out of his car with a megaphone in his hand.
"Alright I want to get all these people at a safe distance! Get goin', we've got lives to save!" Fanzone's orders echoed throughout the dock.
"Is there anything we can do, captain?" asked Optimus.
"Try not to destroy the city would be one. But if you could, try to get those people off the boat before someone really gets hurt,"
Just as soon as the words left his mouth came the sound of twanging and snapping ropes. The constant motion of the boat had shifted many of the crates and twisted their bindings. Boxes and crates tumbled down, threatening the lives of those unfortunate to be in their paths. Bulkhead's green wrecking ball soared through the air and knocked half of them into the lake. Ratchet raised both of his servos as a pair of magnets formed around them. Activating them, pink magnetic energy encased the rest of the falling cargo, levitating it in the air before it crushed anyone.
As the Autobots were busy trying to evacuate people off the quaking boat, a masked police officer went up to Fanzone.
"What!" he shouted at the police officer in disbelief.
"What is it?" asked Optimus.
"It seems that one of the boat workers fell into the lake before we got here and hasn't surfaced,"
"Prowl, I want you to go search for that mariner," Optimus ordered. Prowl gave Optimus a nod and sped towards the lake. As he reached the edge of the dock, he leaped forward and dived into the water.
---
Blending in with the shadows of the buildings, Blitzwing watched the spectacle from afar.
"It seems so far zhat zhe Autobots do not know anyzing about zhese strange occurrences. Perfect," Blitzwing thought to himself.
---
In the expanse of blue that was Lake Erie, Prowl propelled his way through. Above him the once calm waters spun and splash, distorting the surface. A stream of darker water swirled around the boat, spiraling down into the depths. Prowl followed the stream of dark water till he saw the shadowed figure of the fallen boatman. Prowl's optics widen in surprise as he neared. A disk of the same swirling dark blue water encircled the man's waist and was twirling him at a pace that he was nothing but a blur. A quick scan showed that the man was still conscious but the air in his lungs was quickly running out. Grabbing both of man's arms, Prowl tried to pull him away from the strong current. The man barely budged the water had him locked.
Prowl was short on options and the man was short of air. He noticed that the water that held the man and the boat was of a different color than that of Lake Erie, upon a closer look the water appeared to be more solid in form. Prowl decided to take a more unconventional method, almost illogical but he had to give it a try. He made a grab for the swirling water before flinching back, surprised. The water felt alive; there was energy coursing through it. It was the same feeling he felt when he first detected life emanating from the Dinobots, except this energy felt different and alien. He would have to talk about this later; right now he had to save a life.
Grabbing onto the swirling disk of water in both of his servos, he was met with some resistance (enough to have a firm hold on it). Prowl began to pull apart the disk, it stretched and wobbled as it lost stability. With a final tug, the disk exploded into small wisps of dark blue. The man did a back-flip before being caught by the cyber-ninja. The larger stream of dark water began to fade, melding with the waters of Lake Erie. The water above Prowl began to slow and calm into a stand-still till it was as smooth as a window. With the sailor in his arms Prowl rocket his way towards the surface.
---
Back at the surface, the rest of the Autobots had just helped the last of the boatmen evacuate from the cargo boat when they noticed the boat had stopped rocking. The water began to simmer down before once again it lazily rose and fell against the harbor wall. Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead and Bumblebee ran to the edge, waiting for Prowl to return. Just in time as a large column of water shot out from the lake and a figure landed behind them. It was Prowl, dripping wet and kneeling on the ground. He stood up, in his arms was the fallen boatman coughing out water but still fine.
A roar of applauses and cheers came from the other side of the police border as dock workers and sailors congratulated the Autobots on another heroic deed. Prowl gently set the wet human on the ground, paramedics rush towards the drenched man and escorted him towards the nearest ambulance.
"Great work guys, especially you Prowl," Optimus gave his thanks to the team.
"Whatever you did down there, it worked," Bumblebee gave Prowl a pat on the back. "What did you do anyways?"
"I'll tell you later when we get back, I think there's something we need to discuss," said the cyber-ninja as he looked into the dark depths of Lake Erie.
---
Amongst the multitude of people watching, Sari let out a sigh of relief. She was glad that her friends were able to subdue Watery's assault without casualty. Kero on the other hand, although he too felt the same way, stared at the Autobots with suspicions. His head full of questions about Prowl.
"How is that possible? He managed to touch Watery; I'll have to tell Sari about this," Kero thought as he continued to stare at Prowl.
Dun dun da da daduuun dun dun!
Leave it to Kero!
"Hey-hey-hoo! Finally it's here, what you have all been waiting for! It's time for another segment of Leave it to Kero! Let's get it going!" the background switches to a picture of a well-known and loved cyber-ninja.
"Although I don't know much about his personality, the important thing right now is his appearance. Prowl's sleek figure couples very nicely with his black and gold designs. His choice of coloring is very subtle and makes him look quite dashing, I must say. Now it's time for a Kero's Check!" the picture changes to Prowl's alt form.
"Prowl must have a really good taste in fashion. The motorbike really does suit him. Unlike some that I've seen that appear very bulky, this one does bring out litheness that is Prowl. Gold and ebony black makes a really great combination,"
Pipe and bow once again, Kero wraps up. "Although I have a lot of questions about Prowl, I'll eventually find out all about him. See ya!"
End of fifth chapter!
College is starting soon so there won't be an update for a long time; I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Please don't forget to review!
