<__< BLOSSOMS IN THE SPRING <__< A crossover Improfanfic started by The Eternal Lost Lurker Street Fighter and all related trademarks belong to Capcom. Cardcaptor Sakura and all related trademarks belong to CLAMP, Kodansha. Used without permission. Part 23: Sakura's BIG trip By Pang Sze Chuan It was starting to get late. The sun was beginning to dip low in the sky, just touching the hills in the horizon. The clouds in the sky were painted into a whole palette of reds and yellows by the setting sun. Sakura gave a start. She recognized the surroundings. This was the area she saw in her dream. "Ken, stop the jeep," Sakura shouted. Ken brought the vehicle to a halt at Sakura's urgent tone. He turned to ask her what was wrong, but was brought up short by the look on her face. Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated on feeling for the emanations of magic. Yes, it was faint, but she could feel it. There, in that direction. Sakura opened her eyes to search for the Card. Whoa, what a case of deja vu. Experiencing the same thing twice. Sakura was jolted out of her dream by the sudden movement of her seat. Damned air turbulence. Sakura stretched her arms and legs to work the kinks out of them. Not that there were that many. The seats here in business class were definitely far superior to the economy class ones she had had to endure when she had flown to Hong Kong. On invitation from Ken Masters, she was flying to the States to enjoy the hospitality of the Masters family. A form of reward for her and her friends for their help in dealing with the recent round of 'natural' disasters caused by the Clow Cards, he said. He knew of their effort, even if the world at large was unaware of them and he would see to it that they received some form of recompense for it. Now, Sakura was not so sure about his largesse. She was going to encounter another Card on their arrival in the States. Maybe this entire Card capturing business was making her paranoid, but it seemed that every time she ran him these days a Card would pop out of hiding. "Excuse me, could I have another glass of juice please?" Sakura turned to see Hitomi harry the poor stewardess again. How could anybody eat that much airline food? Granted the food up here in business class was better, but she had downed three entire sets already and the string of drinks never seemed to end. For that matter, how had she managed to persuade them to give her all that food in the first place? Probably the same way she had sweet- talked Ken into including her on this trip, she thought sourly as she watched the girl next to her enjoy her cake. Speaking of cake. She hoped that Kero wasn't fuming that badly. He had been stowed in her bag in the overhead compartment. She had promised to bring him out as soon as the other passengers had gone to sleep. Even she was not that hard hearted to leave a hentai plushie cooped up in there for the duration of the entire flight from Japan to America. At least that was the intention. She wished that Rei and her father had been able to come along, but they had received word that the repairs on their dojo had been completed and they wanted to return home as soon as possible. Hitomi and her sister were now occupying the seats meant for them. Likewise, Dan and Blanka were not on the plane. Dan had unexpected complications crop up where his dojo was concerned and as for Blanka, well, it would be pretty difficult for them to persuade US Immigration officials to let him in. There had been one complication at the airport. Tomoyo. It had been impossible, even for her, to obtain a passport under her guise as 'Yuriko'. Yukari and co. had raised their eyebrows when they heard her real name, but had to her relief not chosen to ask any questions. Sakura's gaze swept through the darkened forward compartment. Everyone else was asleep already, except Hitomi who showed no signs of fatigue. She was too busy eating and watching one of the old Japanese action series on the video screen built into the seats. Something about giant aliens and monsters. She could not let Kero out as long as she was awake. As if sensing her gaze, Hitomi turned to her. "Awake already? We still have a long flight ahead of us." "Turbulence woke me up," Sakura explained, "What about you? Aren't you tired?" She shook her head. "Nope, it's not time for me to go to sleep yet." Sakura saw her turn her head back to watch the video screen with unblinking eyes. She let out the slightest of sighs and settled back in her seat. It did not look like she was not going to let Kero out anytime soon. Sakura shut her eyes. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she thought she heard a voice? "-leasant dreams while you can. You never know how elusive sleep could be in the near future." "Hello, girls. Welcome to America." Ken greeted them. With a wry grimace, he noticed that they were staring at the sheer size of this particular estate. Not that he could blame them. Space was a premium in Japan and real estate prices were so high that even the rich could only afford to buy homes a mere fraction of the size they would be able to get here. Yukari broke out of her amazement first. "Good day, Mr. Masters. I wish to thank you on behalf of us all for your gracious invitation." "Please, call me Ken. When someone calls me Mr. Masters, I expect to see my father standing behind me." He gave her a pained smile. "Here, let me help you with your bags and I'll show you to your rooms. Then I'll give you the grand tour of this place." Saying that, he went forward to lift two of the larger bags. "My father bought this place as a ranch, so the land that accompanies this house is very big. Aside from this house and the buildings for the ranch, however, none of the land has been developed. It's just used for letting the cattle graze. This is the main house, where we'll be staying. It's got all the comforts of home. The ranch hands stay out back in another building." He led them up a stairway to a corridor with rooms on both sides. "The guest rooms are all on this level," he gestured to the doors and opened one of them. Inside was a room that was palatial by normal Japanese standards. Lush carpets covered the floor with light curtains decorating the large windows. A large bed with matching covers stood against a wall. A large closet was built into the nearby wall. On a table, there was a television set for the guest's use. On the far side of the entrance, there was a door that led to a bathroom. "There are enough rooms for all of you, so you won't have to share. Every one of you can pick out a room you like. I'll meet all of you downstairs in ten minutes to show you the rest of the house." Ten minutes later, he led them all through the house on a tour. "...and this is the kitchen. If you feel like getting anything to eat, just inform one of the servants to prepare something for you." He led them out the back kitchen door. "And in that building over there, we have the dojo. I use it whenever I come here." He motioned to a wooden building of moderate size standing apart from the house. "And that concludes the grand tour. Feel free to use the facilities and if any of you want to try your hand at riding just approach one of the staff, they'll arrange everything for you." "Ken," Hitomi waved her hand to get his attention, "is it alright go into town for the day? I'd like to do some shopping and Sora wants to visit one of the amusement parks here in America." By her side, Sora Hoshino gave him an almost imperceptible nod. The other girls rolled their eyes. Trust Miss Hyperactive to still have that much energy. Most of them were, despite having slept on the plane, still a bit tired by jetlag. Ken smiled. "Sure, I'll arrange for my chauffeur to drive you and your sister around. What about the rest of you girls?" Yukari shrugged. "I'm going to my room to rest for a bit. I'll head out to see the countryside later." She headed upstairs. Rena and Chiharu ended their little discussion. "We'd like to take up your offer to go horse riding," Rena spoke up for the two of them. Ken nodded. He beckoned to one of the servants and spoke with him to arrange everything for the two of them. Both girls followed the servant as he led them towards the stables. "I will go rest a bit as well. I'll decide what to do later." Having said so, Miyuki left as well. This left Ken with Sakura, Tomoyo and Li. He turned to Sakura, "What about you, Sakura? Got any plans?" "Not really," she admitted. "Then what do you think about a sparring session?" he jerked his finger at the dojo, "Want to make sure you streetfighter skills have not deteriorated from all the Cardcapturing? The dojo was deliberately built apart from the main building so I could throw Hadoukens around all I want. We wouldn't have to hold back at all." How could she resist such an offer? A sparring session with one of the veteran Streetfighters where she could use all her special moves. All thoughts of the upcoming Card she had to capture fled from her mind. "Sure." "I'll come along and record Sakura in action," Tomoyo chirped. "I'm going upstairs to rest. The injuries I received fighting WATERY at Tokyo Tower have been slowing me down in my last few fights," Li excused himself. While he might want to see his rival in action to check for weaknesses in her form, he agreed with Ken that the less people around when they sparred, the better Ken could judge the degree of contamination of Psychopower in Sakura. Sakura finished the last of her stretches and started up with series of quick combos. She wore her normal fighting costume, a variation of her seifuku with a yellow scarf and a headband, much to Tomoyo's dismay. She had wanted to push one of her costumes on her. Opposite of her, Ken was doing the same in his classic red gi that he wore in his competitions. And on one side and despite their warnings that they would be throwing ki around, Tomoyo stood with her trusty video camera in hand, adamant on filming her Sakura in action. "Ready, Sakura?" "Ready," Sakura took up a guard position. "THEN LET'S GET READY TO RUUUMMMBBLLEE." The two streetfighters turned as one towards Kero with daggers in their eyes. "This is NOT the World Wrestling Federation, Kero." Sakura growled. "If you want to watch ACTING, I'm sure you can find something on cable in the main house," Ken frowned. Kero gulped. It was bad enough having one Hadouken-throwing Streetfighter mad at him, but two? He beat a hasty retreat. "And don't forget not to let the servants see you." Sakura shouted after him. "Right, where were we?" Dan asked, "oh right, BEGIN." He brought his arm down. Sakura and Ken rushed at each other and started trading punches and kicks. Sakura blocked an incoming punch with her forearm and answered with a high kick that forced Ken to jerk his head back to avoid being hit. She followed that up with a level punch that struck Ken's chest. He grunted in acknowledgement and charged in with a fast combination of punches where one or two managed to get past Sakura's guard. "SHUN-PU-KYAKU." Sakura jumped into the air and went into a spinning kick with both legs split apart. Ken caught two of the kicks on his arm before ducking down. Judging her point of landing, he executed a leg sweep that sent Sakura to the ground. Sakura rolled away from him before he could capitalise on it. Getting to her feet, she fired off a quick Hadouken to catch a bit of breathing space. She was satisfied to see her ki burst strike Ken. It was only a weak blast so she could not count on it doing too much damage, but still it gave him pause. "Not bad, you haven't been slacking off, I see." "Thanks for the compliments, but I'm not going to let you win because of a few sweet words," Sakura grinned at him. Ken's eyebrows rose. "Sweet words? I don't need sweet words to beat you. Just skill," he said cockily. "We'll see about that," she retorted as Ken launched himself into the air. Their fight continued with both sides hitting and getting hit by their opponent. Yeow! Despite being ready to block it, Sakura felt Ken's Shouryuken smash through her defences, knocking her back several paces. The fight was taking its toll on her. She was slightly faster than him, but his experience and strength gave him the edge over her. She had to use her trump card. Cupping her hands near her navel, she began to summon her ki. "Shin kuu-" Ken saw her pose. So that's how she wants to play it, does she? Well, two can play at this game. He began matching Sakura's ki level. "Shin kuu-" "Hadou-" "Hadou-" Up in Sakura's room, Kero's head popped up from where he had been lounging, watching television. He could feel Sakura's magic emanating from the dojo. "Ken." "Ken." Twin blue beams collided midway between the two duelling warriors. The explosion threw both combatants back, kicking up a whirl of dust at the same time. Sakura had managed to fall onto her rump. Her ears were ringing from the explosion, so they would have been barely able to hear the sudden clamour and cries of cattle outside anyway. But that was not the reason why she did not notice it. Sakura stared at the cloud of dust with an expression of shock and horror. That should not have happened. Her magic should not have leaked into her ki attack. Yet she could not change what she had knew. Her Shinkuuhadouken had had its power amplified beyond her ki limits. She had FELT her magic supercharge her attack to a destructive level. Sakura paled. "Ken," Sakura sprinted through the dust cloud, "are you alright." A cough helped her orientate on the other practitioner of Shotokan Karate. "Yeah, I'm fine. Wow, that's one heck of a Hadouken you got." Ken pulled himself out of the wooden wall with a small grimace, looking slightly worse for wear. "Reminds me of the time I tried countering Ryu's Shinkuuhadouken. Next time remind me to use my Shouryureppa instead. At least, THAT way we'll both end up in the walls." The sounds of footsteps announced the arrival of newcomers. "Sakura, Ken, what happened? We heard an explosion." Miyuki and Yukari entered the dojo. Kero popped his head out from behind Miyuki where he had hidden from the sight of the servants. "Clash of opposing ki attacks," Sakura explained, "Why are you the only ones who came? Where are the servants?" "They're used to this sort of thing from the dojo," Ken said, "a mere explosion wouldn't send them into a panic." "Someone should have told the cattle that." Yukari said dryly, "a whole herd was being led in when you two unleashed your attacks. They stampeded out of control. The cowboys are riding like mad to catch them." Ken groaned and palmed his forehead. He couldn't believe he forgot that detail. Again. With a sigh, he led the others outside. From the entrance, they could see a herd of cattle running wild in the distance as well as cowboys on horses and jeeps frantically trying to bring the panicked bulls under control. They all watched with interest as the cowboys try to control the direction the herd was running. It was some time later that the herd was brought back to a nearby corral. As they watched, a lone horseman rode up to them. "Good day, ladies. May I inquire where young Ken is?" the horseman was a grizzled old cowboy who despite his age, still moved with a light step. "Over here, foreman Wade," Ken sounded like a man going to his own execution. The girls were surprised by the sudden change in his attire. He was now wearing leather slacks with a denim shirt and a cowboy hat to complete the look. They had been so engrossed in the sight of the stampede being stopped that they had never noticed him leave. "Ken Masters," his tone made it clear to all that this was a familiar lecture he was going to give, "I b'lieve I'd made it clear, oh, half a dozen times ago, what would happen if yer caused my herd to stampede with yer fancy fireballs." Ken slumped. "Yes, foreman Wade." Oh how well he knew it. Sakura blinked, not understanding what was going on. "Ken, what's going on?" "Young master Ken had been warned to watch out when he throws those 'Ha-do-cans' of his, young miss," he lifted his hat off his head in a greeting to her. "They make a lotta noise when they blow sometin' up. Scares the heck outta my cattle when they're around, so he gotta watch that they're no herds nearby when he throws them. Else he's gotta round up those cattle that escape," he explained. He turned back to Ken. "Yer really outdid yerself this time. We're missing more than twenty heads, far as Ah can tell right now. Yer normally don't cause us ta lose over ten. Was a real big boom this time." Sakura started as she realised that this was all her fault. If she hadn't started her Shinkuuhadouken, Ken would never have tried to counter it with his own, and the resulting super-explosion and stampede would have been avoided. It wasn't fair that Ken would have to round up the missing cattle all by himself. As Ken started for one of the horses, she called out, "Wait a minute, I'm just as responsible for the stampede." If not more so, she thought. "If Ken has to go, then I'm going with him." Sakura crossed her arms in front of her as she glared at the foreman, daring him to contradict. The foreman scratched his head as he considered this new development. "Well, young miss, what kinda experience do yer have with horses? Ever ridden one while trying to throw a lasso before?" She was brought up short. She had never ridden a horse before, unless one counts stick horses when she was young and flying wands recently. "Er. well," "That's alright, Wade. I can take the jeep. She'll ride along with me," Ken suggested. He nodded slowly. "Then I will leave her in your care, young master." He turned back to Sakura. "Piece of advice, young miss. Don't hold on to yer illusions that cows are gentle critters. Get'em riled up, which they are right now, and they're pretty damn unpredictable. Whatever yer do, don't try petting it. Yer likely to get charged at." With that, he rode off to supervise the other cowboys. "You sure you want to do this, Sakura?" Ken asked once the foreman was out of earshot. Sakura nodded. "Yeah, this is my fault as well. I ought to help you fix it." "Then I suggest changing into something more appropriate for the work. My mother occasionally rides out with us when she visits and she's about your size, so I think I can find something for you to wear." He motioned for her to follow him into the main house. Some time later, Sakura was riding with Ken in a jeep through the range, with Tomoyo seated behind them with her ever-trusty camcorder. To document Sakura's capturing the errant cattle, as she said. Kero, on the other hand, had had no interest whatsoever in, as he put it, the hunt for mundane creatures and when Sakura last saw him, had parked himself nicely back at the house in an air-conditioned room with a wide screen TV before him, channelsurfing at a rate of one channel every ten seconds. They were down to tracking the last bull now. It was proving to be very elusive. It was almost as if they had vanished off the surface of the planet. It was starting to get late. The sun was beginning to dip low in the sky, just touching the hills in the horizon. The clouds in the sky were painted into a whole palette of reds and yellows by the setting sun. Sakura gave a start. She recognized the surroundings. This was the area she saw in her dream. "Ken, stop the jeep," Sakura shouted. Ken brought the vehicle to a halt at Sakura's urgent tone. He turned to ask her what was wrong, but was brought up short by the look on her face. Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated on feeling for the emanations of magic. Yes, it was faint, but she could feel it. There, in that direction. Sakura opened her eyes to search for the Card. Whoa, what a case of deja vu. Experiencing the same thing twice. Sakura could feel a bad headache threatening to come on. Opening her eyes, she pointed in the direction she felt the Clow Card was in. "There it is." Her finger was aligned in the direction of a rocky hill. Tomoyo used her camcorder to search the area. With the lens on it, she could get a far better close up of the hill. With the regularly spaced rocks protruding from the surface, she would have the best chance of spotting anyone there. "I don't see anyone there. There's no one on the hill. Oh wait, there's one of the missing cattle at the foot." She blinked as soon as she said that. Was the Clow card in the bull? "Yuriko, try zooming out with your camcorder and look at the entire 'hill'," Ken told her in a small voice. He was staring wide eyed at Sakura's latest challenge. Tomoyo was not sure what he meant by that, but did as she was told. The row of spiky rocks on the top of the hill grew smaller as she took in the two ridges sticking out from the sides of the hi- Oh, Tomoyo realised why Ken and Sakura were staring in shock. That was not a hill. It was a lizard, a HUGE lizard the size of an American shopping mall. "I guess we've found the BIG Card," she stated lamely. Her companions nodded dumbly. It was one thing to see fictional gargantuan monsters on television. It was another to see one standing in front of you in all its gigantic splendour. "You don't need a Card Captor to deal with this. You need an Ultraman," Ken declared after he managed to get some of his wits back. "Huh?" Sakura and Tomoyo uttered, ignorant of the reference. "Real-life action show from before your time," he explained, "The Ultramen were a sort of intergalactic police force that protected the world from space monsters. They were huge giant humanoids that could disguise themselves as humans. When space monsters, about the size of that thing there, turn up," Ken indicated the gigantic lizard, "they would revert back to their original form and fight it using martial art techniques and a variety of energy attacks." Sakura raised an eyebrow. That sounded like a corny TV show. Whether their voices had gotten its attention or the wind had brought their scent over to it they would never know. At that moment, the bull that had been grazing peacefully in the shadow of the 'faux' hill, noticed them. It raised its head, looked in their direction and mooed, starting in their direction. With a speed that they would never have thought possible by a creature that large, the lizard's head shot forward. In a blink of an eye, the bull just disappeared. If it had not been for their martial arts training, Ken and Sakura would never have noticed that the monstrous reptile had just eaten the bull. "..." Sakura gulped. She had to approach THAT in order to get the Card? Having just eaten a bull as well as having the sun shining down upon it, the lizard promptly returned to a state of immobility and settled in for a nap. At least that was what they guessed as the yellow form of the Clow Card began to manifest before them. So this was the BIG Card, Sakura thought as she examined her. This Card's form was that of a tall woman dressed in medieval style robes with a twin coned headdress. That open, gentle smile on her face belied the diabolical mind that had thought up this incredible task for her, she thought. "Oh, it's the Card Captor," BIG exclaimed happily, "you've finally arrived." She paused for a moment as she noticed something. "There's something different about you," she put a finger on her lips as she considered it. Of course, there is. I'm a totally different person now, Sakura thought. "Oh, I know," her face brightened, "you were only this small when we last met." She raised her hand to a level about half Sakura's current height. Fortunately, Sakura's facefault did not manage to shake the ground sufficiently to wake the lizard/hill up. "Card Captor, are you all right?" BIG asked with a concerned expression. Sakura picked herself off the ground with Tomoyo's help. "Yeah, I'm fine," she deadpanned. "Oh, good." BIG's smile returned to her face. She yawned before continuing, "You can now catch me. I'm looking forward to going back to the Book." Sakura was shocked. "You WANT to go back into the Book?" BIG's head bobbed up and down. "Of course, it's lonely out here without the other Cards to talk to. I haven't had an intelligent conversation in," she counted her fingers for a moment, her face getting more confused as she counted. Finally, she gave up altogether, "a long time. Why do you think I've made it so easy for you to catch me?" "You've made it easy for me to catch you?" Sakura's voice showed her disbelief and the strain she felt. Completely missing the tone of her voice, BIG stifled a yawn and started explaining, "Of course, instead of a human being, like the other Cards told me to possess, I chose a slow, harmless lizard that only eats insects to be my host. No worries about having to fight MY host." BIG sounded very proud of herself. Sakura's gaze went from BIG, to the spot where the nearly one tonne bull had been, to the monster of a lizard and back to BIG. She wanted to say something, but just could not find the right words. "So hurry up and catch me. All you have to do is bring your staff down in the area above the lizard's head. You can't miss." BIG clapped her hands in front of her and gave Sakura a brilliant smile. She yawned again. "I'm so sleepy. See you soon, Card Captor." With that, she broke up into a sparkle of lights that flowed into the lizard's head. The trio stared at the spot where the Card had been for a moment before Ken broke the silence. "Well, that Card was different." Sakura nodded dumbly. Different was not the word she would use to describe it. Yet the words dumb, stupid or mentally incompetent were, in her opinion, too mild for it either. "Well, at least now we know what happened to the remaining cattle. Are you going to try to catch the Card now?" "Yes, I'll use DREAM to put it to sleep." Sakura replied through gritted teeth. That headache that had been threatening earlier had now declared total war against her and was pounding her head with all the heavy artillery it had to bear. "Erm, Sakura. That won't work. DREAM sends the mind into a dream state. The brains of a lizard isn't well developed enough for it to dream, so DREAM won't affect it at all." Tomoyo hated to burst her bubble, but she could get killed if she tried that. "I don't think we should try right now. For one, reptiles are cold-blooded. They are most active when their bodies are warm. With the sun is still shining; it's a pretty good bet that the kaijuu there would notice if you approached it. We should come back later after it's dark. Two, if Sakura goes to catch the Card now, I won't have a chance to dress her up in one of my costumes. And three, I'm almost out of tape after filming Sakura catch all those other cattle," Tomoyo continued. Sakura's headache had upgraded its weapons and was hitting her head with a missile barrage now. The first reason Tomoyo gave was sound, but her other two reasons. What was she to Tomoyo anyway? Some damned doll to play dress up with? "I guess she's given ONE good reason not to try catching the Card now," Ken admitted, "besides, I think it would be best if we got Li to help as well." He held up a hand to forestall any protests from Sakura. "You're going to need all the help you can get against that monster. Come on, let's get out of here before it notices us." Sakura slumped her shoulders. They were right. Besides, this headache was really getting to her. She needed to be in tiptop shape in order to deal with this mess that this good-hearted, but dumb Card had created. One false move and she would be lizard chow. She was going to go back to the house and consume some aspirin. "Alright, let's go back." She piled into the jeep with Ken and Tomoyo. Being seated in front, neither noticed the silver gleam that flashed through Tomoyo's eyes as they departed. They got back to the house to find that the last bull had returned to the ranch on their own. To their surprise, there were no reports of any missing bulls. "Must have been a stray from somewhere else," Ken mused. Sakura did not waste any time pondering over it. Her headache had faded mostly during the trip back, but she still took a few aspirin just in case it decided to come back. After finishing her glass of water, Sakura headed to her room with Tomoyo to look for a certain plushie. The door to her room opened to reveal said plushie fully concentrated on a console game. On the wide screen television, Kyo was beating the stuffing out of Mai. "Hi, Sakura. Had fun rounding up the cattle?" Kero did not look up from the screen as he applied a combo to incinerate Mai. Yes, victory. The letters K.O. appeared as he revelled in his gaming skills. "It was okay. By the way, we ran into a Card. We'll be leaving after dark to go catch it," Sakura announced. "What? Haven't caught it yet? You must be slipping." Ow, Kero winced as Kyo was struck by a Psychosword. He promptly commanded Kyo to return the favour to Athena with a punch combo and calling in his striker, Seth. Sakura winced as a stab of pain lanced through her head. "It was the BIG Card, Kero," she told him, "she had possessed a lizard and turned it into a kaijuu." "Don't be ridiculous, Sakura. The Cards can't take possession of ordinary animals." Kero dismissed her words. The main reason for the Cards to take hosts was to draw on the host's magical energies. Normal animals had negligible amounts of magic. A Card would starve and if it went without a supply of energy for too long, would die and turn into a normal card. He jumped Kyo over a Psychobomb and counterattacked, but Athena blocked his attacks. "It's true, Kero," Tomoyo joined in, "and when she talked to us, she kept yawning." Kero froze at her, no HIS words. There was no doubt that HE was the one who had prodded her into saying those words for only HE understood their significance. HE might not like Sakura, but as a fellow guardian of the Clow Cards, he would never let any of the Cards die. On the screen, Athena leapt up and came down with a Pheonix Saw. Kyo's life bar dropped to nil as he fell to the ground. The words Game Over flashed onto the screen, but Kero did not notice it. Sakura was suddenly aware of Kero grabbing the front of her blouse. A surge of anger gave her extra strength. "Tell me-" Kero never finished voicing his request as he found his head embedded in the roof. Sakura blinked. Her headache was gone. "Come on, Tomoyo. Let's go find Li before the others get back." "I have to start working on your costume now if I want to have it done before tonight, Sakura. I'm sure you can speak to Li by yourself," Tomoyo expressed her regret. Sakura rolled her eyes at her words. This was just typical of Tomoyo. "Oh, alright." Li Syaoran had just finished listening to Sakura recount her first contact with the BIG Card. Sakura would have found the expression on his face priceless if she had not been so sure that her face had looked like that just a few hours ago. "So we're facing a lizard as big as a dinosaur that can swallow a grown bull in a split second," he said as soon as he recovered from the shock. Sakura nodded gravely. "I guess. we can work together on this one Card. We can't have that thing rampaging through a city. It would be too obvious," Li agreed to cooperate to capture this one Card. "Good, now the plan right now is to wait until dark when the lizard is sleeping, or at least less active from the cool evening air. Then I'll sneak up to the lizard and seal the Card. With any luck, we'll be back before you know it." "And if not? If it notices you? You would end up as hors d'oeuvres for that thing," Li stated flatly. "This is a dumb plan that could get you killed very easily." Sakura winced. She wished that Ken had not been so insistent in wanting him to come along. "That's where you come in. IF the lizard attacks, we hit it with everything we've got." Sakura seriously doubted it would come down to it. "Alright. We leave after dinner?" Sakura nodded. The door to the living room opened to let two girls in. Even through the tinted glasses, Sakura could see the way Hitomi's eyes sparkled as she brought in a whole load of shopping bags. Behind her, her sister, Sora, trailed in wearing a Dinosaur Park paper hat. "Hi, Sakura. Hi, Li." Sakura's eyes met Li's as they communicated the decision to postpone the rest of their talk until the only two Japanese-speaking people in the house who knew nothing of the Clow Cards had left. "What were you two talking about?" "Nothing." The two of them said at the same time. Sakura silently groaned as she saw the way Hitomi was looking at the two of them, alone in the room and seated next to each other on the couch. She was going to get the wrong impression. "So how was your day?" Li shifted the attention from them quickly. "Great. I managed to find all the books and materials I wanted and Sora had a great time as well. Right, Sora?" Sora gave her sister a slight nod. "Well, tell them what you learned today." Sora opened her mouth and recited what the guide had told her. "Dinosaurs were reptiles that lived on Earth millions of years ago. There were a great variety of them; with sizes ranging from small chicken sized ones to the huge brontosauruses as big as a house. While the small dinosaurs were cold blooded like the reptiles of today and behaved accordingly, the large ones could be considered warm blooded as their greater size protected them against the daily temperature fluctuations. Thus, they were able to function under cold conditions equally well." "Isn't she smart?" Hitomi asked them. Sakura and Li nodded silently and smiled as they mentally cursed the fact that the cool night would not aid them in their hunt. "Anyway, I'm starved. What's for dinner?" Hitomi headed for the dining room with her sister in tow. Sakura, Ken, Li and Tomoyo got out of the jeep. Kero perched himself on Tomoyo's shoulder. "So what's the game plan?" Ken asked. They had informed him of how their original plan was unworkable. They had driven back to where they had spotted the kaijuu. It was no longer there, but they had had no trouble finding it. After all, how does one lose something that large? The trail left by its tail dragging on the ground alone was wide enough for the jeep to use as a lane. "We're going to use a variant of the original plan," Li spoke up and held up one of his Cards. SNOW. "I'm going to make the area around the lizard cold. Hopefully, the magically induced cold will slow it down a bit. A little snow around it might also help hide Sakura from the thing's vision." "When the lizard's nice and cool and enjoying its forty winks, I'll use FLY to fly over and seal the Card. With any luck, we'll reduce it back down to the size that can fit into a terrarium without any trouble." Sakura prayed to whatever gods out there that this would be the case. "And if it wakes up?" Tomoyo asked worriedly. "Then we go to Plan B. I'll hit it with all the magical attacks I've got. I'll divert its attention from Sakura to give her the chance to close in on it." Li's face turned sour at the thought. "That's a good way to get yourself killed, kid." Ken frowned and continued, "Tell you what, I'll take up a position on the opposite side of the kaijuu. If it comes down to it, we'll take turns attacking it. That way, we can confuse it. Force it to focus on two separate targets, so it will have to spend time deciding which one to attack first." The two Card Captors took only a short time to mull over his proposal before agreeing. It certainly sounded more promising than their own backup plan. "Okay, Li. Start the mini-winter of yours while I take up position. I'll inform you when I'm in position, Sakura. Then you can start whenever you feel ready. I'll look out for you in the sky," Ken took out a pair of walkie-talkies. He held onto one of them and handed the other over to Tomoyo. As he slipped off into the darkness, Li brought out his sword and called forth the power of the SNOW Card. In a few short seconds, the area around the monstrous lizard began to cool. Li gritted his teeth at the effort needed to control the Card. The SNOW Card was never meant for this kind of work. It was supposed to be used to blanket an area with snow, but he could not risk causing the area to freeze up suddenly. It would have the opposite effect of waking the sleeping giant. As Sakura settles down to wait, Tomoyo pulls out a costume from the jeep. "Sakura, while we're waiting. You can put on this costume I made for you." Sakura sighed. She HAD been hoping to forgo this part of the routine. "Tomoyo, I can't change here. There's no shelter. Anyone could see me." "But you HAVE to. It's part of the hunt. Besides, we're the only ones here," Tomoyo replied, "it's dark. Ken is too far away to see you anyway and Syaoran is too busy to notice you." A quick check showed that veracity of her statement. "And what about him?" Sakura said dryly as she pointed to a certain hentai plush toy. "Erm, would you believe me if I promised not to look?" Kero asked as he saw Sakura approach him. Sakura looked down at her costume. It was a diving suit that had been painted over in red, blue and silver with a pair of round discs jutting out from the shoulders. A pair of matching long red gloves and boots protected her hands and legs. On her head, she wore a golden tiara with an inbuilt radio and earphone. On her chest, there was a brooch/flashlight with a pair of wings by its side. "What do you think of it, Sakura? I was inspired by Ken's comment about the Ultraman fighting giant monsters and cobbled it together from some of the other costumes I brought." Tomoyo almost glowed with happiness. "Wouldn't a knight costume been more appropriate? It would be more like a knight fighting a dragon." Sakura tried to keep from sounding sarcastic. She ignored the muffled protests coming from the back of the jeep where she had stuffed Kero. "You're right, of course, but the metal pieces were too heavy to bring along in my luggage, so I had to make do with the costumes I brought." Sakura decided there were things she was better off not knowing. She turned her attention back to the situation at hand rather than continue this conversation. Li's eyes had not moved the whole time she had changed, fully focused on the dim silhouette in the moonlight. "Li-kun, are you alright?" Tomoyo inquired as she walked up to check on him. "I'm fine." He was determined not to let any weakness show. Controlling SNOW was getting easier as time went by as he could loosen the leash he placed on the Card's power, letting it be used as it should. A layer of frost could be seen building on the lizard's skin. What he had not counted on was the enormous drain the continued use of the Card placed on him. They had never used any Card for very long before, a few minutes at most, and had only to feed them with a bit of their power to activate them then maintaining a small flow to control it, letting the Card use it's energies to do the work. They could never achieve the same level of effect on their own level of magic alone. He had been using the SNOW for almost half an hour now, though it seemed an eternity to him. He had almost reached the end of his magical energies now. No, he decided, he would not let the spell end. Tomoyo was counting on him to make it safe as possible for Sakura to approach the lizard. It galled him that he had to aid his rival like this, but that big lizard could kill her in a flash. He closed his eyes and fell into a trance. He needed more magical energy. He kept an emergency store in his sword and the Derivator could also be drawn on for some extra power, but he had to reserve them for distracting the lizard, if necessary. There were no magical ley lines here for him to draw on either, not that he could have used one even if there was one around. The amount of preparation one had to do to draw on their power was too time consuming. The only option he had left was to draw on his body, burning the carbohydrates and fats in his body to convert into magical energy. He called upon his training; the lessons that familiarised him with the links between his magic and his body, and commanded his body to start the energy production. He not so much heard, as felt SNOW gasp through their magical link. He could see in his mind how she opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it and returned to her task with a new determination. It figured that a magical Card would know the danger of what he was doing. It was too easy for the user to lose himself in the task he was doing and forget to watch his physical limits and after depleting his carbohydrate and fat reserves, start destroying his tissues to obtain the energy in his proteins. Tomoyo watched with growing concern as Li grew more and more haggard. He was taking his role very seriously. "Sakura, are you ready?" Sakura watched the layer of snow building up on the lizard's scales. "Yeah, as soon as Li's satisfied with his freezing the lizard," she answered. "Not yet." They turned at Li's words. "A few more minutes." The clouds moved out of the moon's way at that moment, allowing the light of the full moon to fall on them. Sakura was shocked by what she saw. Li's face was drawn and pale. Sweat was flowing profusely over his face and the sword he held before him was trembling in his sagging arms. Taking in his condition, Sakura made her decision. "Tomoyo, I'm going now. Tell Ken that I'm starting." "No, wait a few more minutes," Li protested, the strain showing in his voice. "Forget it. You're almost at your limit already. I might still need you to distract the lizard, so I can't afford you to exhaust yourself. Stop using SNOW. I'm going off now." Sakura called forth her staff and with the activation of FLY, soared off into the night sky. Syaoran feels Tomoyo's hand on his shoulder. "She's right, Li-kun. You're going to burn yourself out if you keep this up." Her pleading eyes looked into his. Li looked into those eyes and could not refuse. Reluctantly, he broke the link to SNOW. Tomoyo caught him as he staggered. "Li-kun, it's alright. Sakura can handle the rest by herself. Take a break now." As he stood there, with Tomoyo's arms supporting him, Li marvelled at how a small girl like Tomoyo could be so strong. Sakura asked FLY to flap its wings as gently and quietly as possible. Flying like this was slow, but she did not know how good the lizard's hearing was and she was not about to take any chances. So far, so good. No movement whatsoever from the giant beast. She was close to the head now. A few more minutes and she would be above it. She just had to decide whether to glide gently down to the head, do a power dive or fall the distance. Below her, she saw a twinkle of lights as BIG manifested herself on top of the lizard's head. Well, that certainly made her work easier now that she knew that the lizard was asleep. At least she hoped it was asleep. When they had human hosts, the Cards could only manifest when the host was unconscious or had a lot of power. Who knew if Cards can manifest when the animal host was awake? "HELLO, CARD CAPTOR! I'M OVER HERE! COME AND CATCH ME!" BIG yelled out happily as she jumped with joy. Three pairs of eyes widened in horror her antics. The lizard beneath BIG stirred, throwing her off her feet. Before she could even begin to fall off, her body broke up into lights that were sucked into the animal's head. The layer of snow on the lizard was disturbed as it raised its head. Sakura found herself level with the lizard's head. Her heart almost stopped as she saw her reflection in the glassy eye just in front of her. "HADOU-KEN!" "RAIJIN SLASH!" From opposite sides, a ball of ki and a bolt of lightning struck the lizard. Both attacks burned the surface of the giant lizard's skin, but did not cause any significant damage. The lizard ignored the tickling sensation it felt. Instead, it focused on the strange fly before it. Sakura reacted instinctively. She urged FLY to propel her up over the lizard's head at once. As soon as she judged she could land on the lizard's head, she dismissed FLY and let herself fall towards the head, swinging her staff overhead to seal the Card. Disconcerted by the sudden movement of the fly, it instinctively jerked its head a bit out to swing out of the path of the fly. Of course, when you're the size of a hill, 'a bit' is a distance of several meters. Sakura reached desperately for the scales to the side of the lizard's head. She was going to just reach the side of the head. Beneath her, a drop of near eight stories awaited her. She hit the edge and bounced off the scaly skin, her hands failing to grip tightly enough to stop her fall. All of a sudden, she jerked to a halt. Just over the edge, Sakura saw a hand catch the head of her staff as she clung onto its other end. Single-handedly, the hand started to pull her up. Her fall arrested, Sakura managed to find handholds on the rough skin to aid her ascent. As soon as it came within reach, Sakura grabbed the spine on top of the lizard's head and boosted herself onto the base of the lizard's head. She had no time to consider the fact that she was alone up there as the lizard shook its head in an effort to dislodge her. After a brief tremor, the lizard stopped its movement. Sakura took this chance jump at the spot BIG had been standing on, just between the lizard's eyes. "RETURN TO THE GUISE THAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE IN! CLOW CARD!" Light began to stream into a rectangular shape in the tip of the beak of the Staff of Clow as the Card was sealed. Beneath her, the gigantic body of the lizard began to shrink. Sakura realised at this point that there had been something they had forgotten to plan for. "AAAAAAHHH!" "FUUJIN SLASH!" A blast of air raced along the ground. Reaching the point just beneath the falling Card Captor, it bent upwards. Sakura found herself buffeted by the strong winds. Sakura spat the dirt from her mouth as she got up to her hands and knees from where she had fallen. She had been saved. Not exactly the most comfortable method of breaking a fall, but she was not complaining. She had managed to get away with bruises and scrapes. "Sakura, are you alright?" Ken raced up to her and helped her up. "Yeah, fine." "Li-kun!" Tomoyo was kneeling over his sprawled form some distance away. The dash towards Sakura and that last burst of magic he had used had completely drained him to the point that he had collapsed. Tomoyo cradled his head in her bosom. "Li-kun! Li-kun!" she called out to him. Li opened his eyes with tired slowness. "I'm alright, Tomoyo." Li croaked out. "Li-kun," Tomoyo sobbed happily and buried her face into his chest. "Come on, kid." Ken went up to them and picked up the drained boy. "Let's head back. You're going directly to bed to recover. At least you're going to have a pretty nurse to wait on you." Tomoyo blushed at his words. Sakura found a strange new emotion running through her. What was this feeling she felt as she saw the scene before her? Jealousy? Impossible. Tomoyo was a friend, her best friend as well as the only one who knew of her Card capturing activities from her previous life and her current one. Well, not exactly the ONLY one who knew of her activities in this life. Ken, Blanka, Dan, Rei and her friends from the Track team knew about it as well. And Li was a macho-I-know-everything-better-rival for her Cards. If she harboured even the slightest bit of romantic ideas about him, she was going to go after them and pound them into submission with her fists and feet. "Sakura," Ken called out to her, "coming?" "Yeah." Sakura returned her staff to its necklace form and tucked her new Card into her pocket. She jogged after the forms of Ken and Tomoyo. Under the night sky, a tan slender arm picked up the spiny lizard. No discomfort whatsoever showed on the face of the girl as she brought the lizard to her eyes. "Now what should I do with you?" Hitomi mused, "After feeding you so much, you still managed to give Sakura quite a scare. If I hadn't caught her, we would have ended up with Sakura-pudding just now and we can't have that, can we?" The lizard squirmed in her hands. Hitomi's face lit up. "I know. I'll give you to Sora to keep as a pet for the time being. One of these days, I'll slip you into Sakura's bed. I'd love to see her face when she wakes up with you next to her head." Having said so, she proceeded to teleport away with her new pet. Kero waited until he was sure Sakura was fast asleep before making his move. Flitting purposefully to the cupboard where Sakura had kept the Book of Clow, he silently removed it and set it on the table. With the utmost care not to make a sound, he opened the clasp to the book and took out the Cards within. Making sure that Sakura would not be waking any time soon; he made his way out of the room to find a secluded spot where he could conduct his examinations undisturbed. The second storey was out of the question. All the girls were staying there and might be moving around. He could not be sure that all of them were asleep. He was headed down the stairs when he heard Ken and Li talking in hushed tones. "-far as I can tell, there is no longer any taint of Psychopower in Sakura." "So there's no danger of her falling under Bison's control?" "No, there's no Psychopower in her for him to try that. Of course, it COULD be hidden from me since I have little experience in such things, but I didn't feel any trace of it when I sparred with Sakura." Kero winced. He had completely forgotten about that. They were going to talk to Ken Masters about the serum those two Dolls had injected in Sakura. At least the brat remembered and had managed to slip away from Tomoyo's care to ask him. Well, it seemed as though he had things under control. He had more important things to deal with right now, namely the Cards. It was too bad that he did not linger a moment longer, else he would have heard something disconcerting. "Unfortunately, I DID sense some sort of change in her ki," Ken looked as though he had just tasted something sour, "it's barely noticeable. Someone who does not practice the Shotokan style and uses ki would never notice the difference, but while her ki is still grounded in our style, there's something different about it." "What does it mean?" Li asked. "Hopefully, it's just the result of her ki fighting off the Psychopower. If it's that other possibility-" his voice trailed off. Kero settled down on the patio outside. No one would see him out here in the dark. Taking out the 'borrowed' Cards, he began to examine them carefully, tuning out their chatter as he did so. As expected, the results were both good and bad. Given that both sides, hosts and Cards, had been willingly linked to one another by the Key Staff through a ritual, it was no surprise that DASH, JUMP, DREAM, FLOWERY and LOOP had been able to build up a fair store of magical energy to last them a while. WATERY was another one of the Cards that had a healthy store of magic. Although seeing as how her association with that magical book had driven her mad, Kero was not so sure that was a good thing. The Cards that Sakura rarely or never used, like SILENT and WAVE, and the ones that she had just caught were using up their magic at a minimal rate. They were currently in no particular danger. It was the Cards that Sakura used constantly that worried him. MIRROR, ILLUSION and FLY for example. She invoked their powers often, using up their magical energies. Their levels of energy, while not dangerously so, were definitely lower than what was healthy for them. Kero wondered how many more times Sakura would be able to use them without noticing anything. The Cards caught by the brat did not worry him overly. His magic was aligned with the Moon, like Clow, so the Moon Cards that he possessed, such as SHADOW and SNOW, could draw on it where necessary. He rarely used the two Sun Cards, SAND and SWEET, so they would be safe for now. That left the Card that Sakura had just captured. He wanted to release BIG so he could berate her for her stupidity, but that would only tax her almost depleted magical energies and hasten her demise. Keroberos, the Sun Guardian, could feel his tears forming as he thought of the impending death of the Card under his sign. "Why so sad, Keroberos?" A gentle voice behind him asked. Kero jumped in fright, doing his best to hide the Cards on the table behind him as he turned. "Sakura, I'mnotdoing-" His words died as he saw the person before him. It was Sakura. No doubt about it. The eyes and aura were unmistakable, but it was an older Sakura that stood before him. Slightly taller than the current Sakura, she wore a dress that allowed her freedom to execute martial arts moves and her hair reached down to her shoulders. "Greetings, Keroberos of the past," Sakura smiled warmly at him. Kero did a fair imitation of a fish as he tried to comprehend the sight before him. Eventually, he managed to get over his surprise. "You used the RETURN, didn't you?" Kero asked in awe. Sakura nodded. "The RETURN Card can be used to go back into the past." "I know now the situation that the Cards face, Keroberos. That's why I've come here from the future. To save the BIG." She indicated the Card behind Kero. From around her neck, she removed the pendant and held it aloft in her hand. "Key that hides the powers of the Stars, reveal your true form to me! I, Sakura, command you under our contract! RELEASE!" For the second time within a short span of time, Kero found himself unable to hide his shock. Not only was Sakura using a new spell to unlock her staff, the Key Staff itself was different. Where the beak was supposed to be, a star now topped the staff. Beside it a pair of wings spread out. Along the shaft, a symbol of the sun was inscribed and the end of the staff was a crescent moon. "The BIG please, Keroberos." She held out her hand expectantly. Kero did as she asked, trembling with hope. Would she be able to save her? "Card of Clow, discard your old form and be reborn, under the name of Sakura, your new mistress, BIG!" Sakura brought the head of her staff down on the Card. New power flowed into it, reinvigorating it. The decoration on the back of the Card also changed from it's current design, a moon and a sun side by side on a magic circle, to a new one with the moon and sun reduced in size and shifted to the sides of a star that now dominated the back. Sakura handed the now transformed Card back to Kero who set it down with the other Cards. "I have altered it so that the magic of my current self can support it, Keroberos. You need no longer fear that this Card will die." "But that's impossible. The current you does not have enough magic to support a Card," Kero protested. Sakura gave him an enigmatic smile. "I know what I'm talking about, Keroberos. A few last words. Do not worry about the fate of the Cards. They will not die. I will see to it that they get the support they need. The stars themselves will guide my current self." She glanced up to the second storey where her gaze met with that from a pair of identical green eyes as expected. "Next, no matter what happens, do not lose faith in me or yourself. Even the best of friends fight, and occasionally, have to knock some sense into the other. But no matter how bad things look, no matter how dark the situation, remember, for me, everything will be alright." "Also, apologize to Yue for me, will you? I know it's against the proper order to transform the Cards before Judgement, but for some Cards," she indicated BIG, "it is necessary." She grinned wryly. "Not that he's going to just accept it. I seem to recall a certain miffed Yue who made my life hell." "And lastly," Sakura stepped in close to Kero. "SHOU-RYU-REPPA!" Her fist sent Kero into the air. "THAT was for your hentai behaviour this morning." After all this time, you would think that Keroberos would have gotten rid of that habit of his, Sakura thought. It might also be a bit unfair to punish him for his future actions, but it was more difficult to exact proper punishment on him when he was in his true form. Satisfied that justice had been done in the name of propriety, the future version of Sakura vanished as she returned to her own time. LEAVE IT TO KERO *Satellite uplink established* *Begin transmission protocols* A picture of Kero appears onscreen. "Konya natcha." Kero waves as he stands before a mountain with a screen of palm trees before it. "This is your host, Keroberos, speaking. After the numerous attempts to sabotage my segment, I've decided to move out of the studio to a secret location only I know to film it." "THIS time, NOBODY, I repeat, NOBODY will take over my segment. No guest streetfighters, no mystery guests and absolutely NO CARDS," Kero screams before realising it. He immediately takes on a more friendly tone. "Sorry, about that, but those producers have been driving me up the wall. Imagine, letting amateurs take my place-," Kero catches himself again. "But enough of that. Today, I'm going to introduce to you the cultural phenomenon of the kaijuu." "The term kaijuu, translated directly from Japanese, means monster. If you Card Captor fans remember, this was what Touya used to call Sakura and this was the meaning he used." "THE Kaijuu, on the other hand, refer to a special group of creatures, such as Godzilla, King Ghidra, Mothra and Radon. These creatures are truly monstrous. They were as large as skyscrapers. Not quite unlike the lizard that BIG enlarged in this part." "That's where the resemblance ends however. Unlike the overgrown lizard in this part, the kaijuu are far more formidable. They have skins so tough that they can shrug off things like missiles, artillery and even missiles. They also always have some sort of special attacks that can destroy their enemies at a distance. Specimens, like Godzilla and King Ghidra, can fire energy beams from their mouths, much like yours truly of course. Mothra's wings can generate hurricane strength winds that can blow away things as heavy as assault tanks." Behind Kero, a lizard begins to creep up. "These guys destroy in one movie more property than all the Ranma cast combined in their entire series. They are also very good at making the JSDF look bad." "Of course, they're no match for this Guardian of the Clow Cards. In my true form, I'm more than capable of stopping them. Who needs the JSDF anyhow?" The lizard is now just below Kero. As it opens its mouth, Kero shoots up. "Hah! Thought you could stop me, did you? Well, I've got news for you. Sakura has the FIREY Card, so I've got a bit of my strength back. Take this." He points a paw at the lizard. A stream of embers flow it to scorch the lizard. Swiftly, the lizard bolts for the stones behind. Kero pursues it, firing beams that just miss it, hitting the stones. When Kero is satisfied that the lizard is gone, he returns to the camera. "Ahahahaha, that'll teach you to mess with the mighty Keroberos. I'm the greatest. Not even some dumb kaijuu can stop me. Just let them try." Behind him, the mountain grumbles. The camera shakes and falls down with the lens pointing upwards. Now that the top of the 'mountain' can be seen, it is obvious that said 'mountain' is in reality Godzilla and it is staring down at a terrified Kero. "H- hold on a minute. You can't speak Japanese, can you?" Godzilla roars in reply. Lightning dances across the dorsal fins on its back and it opens its mouth to reveal it's a furnace of radioactive fires. "Hel-" *Transmission interrupted* *Signal lost* *Re-establishing connection* *Connection failed* Author's notes: Firstly, I would like to make one thing clear. I do not dislike Kero. The abuse that we put him through is merely for comic effect. And if I lie, may lightning- (looks up into the sky) strike the Sun Guardian of the Clow Cards. Seriously, in this part, we meet a Card that is not trying to make things difficult for Sakura to catch. I said, try. Let's face it. This is the Card that sat docilely by the fountain when Sakura found her in the anime. Her only reaction to Sakura was to smile before she captured her. We also have in this part, the first transformation of the Clow Cards to Sakura Cards. This is not something that the current Sakura can do, but she'll get there. Eventually. Does Kero know about Yue? Well, my answer is yes. He was present when DARK was exorcised from Bison in part 14. Kero had not noticed Yue in Yukito in the anime because Kaho Mizuki had also been around when DARK showed herself back then. Her powerful lunar aura masked that of Yue's at that time. This time round however, there was nothing to hide Yue from Kero. Lastly, a word about the RETURN Card. As described above, this Card has the power to send someone back through time. The power required however, is ENORMOUS. It cannot therefore be used often. In the anime, the Card had to store energy for months in a holy tree at the Tsukimine Shrine and then had to wait for a night of the full moon before it could activate. Please remember to C&C at sc_pang@pacific.net.sg Pang Sze Chuan