Going In Almost Completely Blind

[zachycards]

Despite both Sakura and myself holding our own in the battle with the vortexes and turning the fire card into our first star card. It was not made aware to either of us that this would ultimately have a downside to it that would wind up cascading into today.

It was just after both Kero and Yue came to our side that both Sakura and I collapsed. "The card is drawing its power from their stars now" Keroberos said.

Both Sakura and I lay in our respective beds, both exhausted from the night before. But, as I lay there, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that this was only just the beginning. It was a minute or so later that the clow book on our desk began to glow, and an all too familiar voice spoke to both of us. "From this point forward the clow book shall bear both of your names" it said as the light from the clow book faded. The book now had both of our names on it, the left side was pink and the right side was blue, and the same symbol that was now on the star cards now adorned the back of the book as well as the front.

It had not been that long since the music rooms piano had suddenly come to life, and began chasing after, Madison, Sakura and I. But a short time later, both Sakura and I found ourselves on the roof with the piano. It was then that Sakura had an idea. To which she then pulled out the Song card. I recognized what Sakura wanted to do instantly, so we both raised our respective staffs as the song card spun "we call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, song card discard your former might, and draw your power from our light, Star Card!" we chanted in unison. A split second later the card stopped spinning and once again displayed the same color on the front and on the back, like that of the fire card, along with the new symbol. And shortly after that, the song card spirit appeared. And as the piano crept slowly towards the edge of the roof, the song card spirit continued to sing in am effort to guide it off. Which of course, it did. And with that, the threat was taken care of as the piano fell from the roof and broke into many pieces when it hit the ground. But even though we had both avoided certain danger and possible injury. I just knew that things weren't going to get any easier anytime soon.

 

[zachycards]

Things had returned to normal, at least for the moment since the incident with the piano. However, it was becoming more and more obvious that the presence that Sakura, myself and Li were sensing at each of these incidences, resembled a lot like Clow Reed, which didn't make any sense since he had been dead for centuries.

---

After Chelsea had revealed to both Sakura and myself of a teddy bear kit that she had bought and built from the towns craft store, Sakura decided to go and buy one for herself, and, after some convincing from her, I decided to buy myself one as well. At the towns craft store, Sakura and myself were joined by Eli, who at the time was buying a lot of balls of string. And yet, neither of us thought of this as the slightest bit strange.

---

It was a short time later, that both Sakura and myself decided to meet up with Li and Madison in the town square. However, after we had all met up and started conversing, Sakura, myself and Li, once again began to feel the presence of Clow Reed. It was then that Li's body began to move of its own accord, to which he used his Jian and went after Sakura first, then after me, this continued on for a considerable amount of time, until Li decided to use his water element talisman to expose the fact that a huge amount of strings was causing him to do this. It was then that Sakura and I knew exactly what had to be done. We then pulled out our respective keys, "Oh key of the star, with powers burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light, Release!" Sakura and I chanted in unison. And, with our respective staffs now in hand, I then pulled out the sword card. I then threw the Sword card up into the air, "We call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, sword card discard your former might, and draw your power from our light, Star card!" Sakura and I chanted in unison as both of our respective staffs were then changed to swords in a flash of light. We then used our swords to cut through the strings that bound Li. However, neither of us would know it yet, but off somewhere else, an all too familiar kid was watching us, and he knew that until the final test, neither Sakura, myself or Li must find out who he truly is.

 

[zachycards]

Things had once again returned to normal since yesterday. And, in the schools courtyard, both me and Sakura were currently hard at work putting together both of our teddy bears from the kits that we had both purchased at the craft store the night before. "There, finished!" Sakura said as she took a scissor and cut a loose thread away from her now completed teddy bear. "Well done Sakura," I said, as I too completed my work on my bear. However, it seemed that my congrats were a bit premature as Sakura seemed to not be happy with how her bear had turned out "No matter how many times I do this it always seems to look like Kero," Sakura said. It was then that I took a look at my bear, only to realize that the same was the case for my bear as well. "It appears that we both have had similar issues with this haven't we?" I said as a sweatdrop found its way down the back of my head. A short time after Sakura had gone back to work on writing a letter that she was intending to send out to Ms. Mackenzie that Eli happened to venture over to us. And still not knowing any information about him, I remained somewhat on edge, but decided to pass all of that to the side for the time being. It was when Eli noticed both of our bears, realizing that we had gotten them at the craft shop, that he then asked to see both of them. With hesitation from both me and Sakura at first, we gave both bears to him. And after Eli suggested that the ears of our bears needed to be a little bit shorter. Me and Sakura reached into our respective bags to pull out our scissors. But, as our attention was focused on doing that, we weren't able to see Eli enchant one ear of each of our bears before he handed them both back to us.

---

Later that night, just outside of Julian's house, me and Sakura were once again dressed up into another one of Madison's costume ensembles. Except, this wasn't to capture a clow card. It was to visit Julian. "This is so embarrassing, why do we have to wear one of your costumes to go to Julian's house?" Sakura said looking very embarrassed. "You think I wanted this either Sakura, I'm no less embarrassed in this situation then you are right now," I said also feeling just as embarrassed.

---

Things had very quickly just gone off the rails. Both me and Sakura were in the process of handing our respective teddy bears over to Julian when all of the sudden both of our respective teddy bears grew to an enormous size. And to make matters worse, Madison was now in grave danger, me and Sakura would now have to act fast to deal with the current situation. I knew that the solution to this problem required both the use of the Sword Card and the Fly Card. However, when I had told my idea to Sakura, that was when the fundamental flaw to the solution immediately became apparent. So, to explain the situation to all of you a bit further and more in depth, this is how things currently stood, we couldn't use the Sword Card and the Fly Card simultaneously because both required the use of our staffs to be in different forms. It was then that Sakura put the Fly Card to her chest. And it was then that I somehow knew deep down that things were going to turn out just fine. I then pulled out the Sword Card, I then turned to Sakura, who nodded. I then threw the Sword Card into the air as Sakura did the same with the Fly Card. "We call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, Fly Card discard your former might, and draw your power from our might, Star Card!" we chanted in unison. And just like all the times before, the two cards stopped spinning and the Fly Card now displayed its new design and colors on the front and back. And a split second after that, rather than have our staffs grow the wings like they did when we used the Fly Card, they instead appeared on our backs like that of an angel. "Sword!" We both followed up by chanting in unison. Our respective staffs then transformed into swords, and with our transformations now complete, we spread our new wings and took off upwards towards our respective teddy bears heads. And after dodging a couple swipes from both of them, Sakura and I charged through the air with our respective swords drawn back in a thrusting strike. And as we both passed by our respective bears ears, our respective swords sliced through the ears that held the enchantments like a knife through butter. And once the both of us touched down on the ground again. We knew that we had both done a great job in finding a solution and executing it in a flawless manner. We only hoped that any further situation that presented itself in the future would only go as smooth.

 

[zachycards]

It was another normal day at school as Li, Madison, Sakura and I sat outside in the school courtyard. Well, not exactly since Sakura and I had almost passed out during class and Li had had to catch the both of us from almost falling out of our seats. But, it was while we were both zoning out that we both had a vision of us both dressed in what appeared to be another one of Madison's battle costume ensembles, only we were in a field, followed by us running down a hallway. And, as we passed one of the doors, we both stopped and took a look inside, only to be greeted by the familiar forms of both Keroberos and Yue, who appeared to be facing towards a large chair near the center of the room. And after that our vision ended. Back to our conversation in the courtyard, Sakura and I were explaining to Li and Madison about last night and how Keroberos and Yue had been unable to turn back into their borrowed forms. But thankfully, we were able to transform the Shield Card into a star card and use it to solve the problem. And earlier that night we had transformed the Bubbles card also.

---

It was later that night, after getting a call from Li to come to Penguin Park to investigate something strong that he had sensed. And, once again, both Sakura and I were dressed up in another one of Madison's battle costume ensembles. And to tell you the truth, we were both very thankful that no one else was at the park besides, Sakura, myself, Li, Madison and Kero, because both Sakura and I felt somewhat embarrassed to be wearing them. "I am sure glad no one else can see either of us in these outfits because i gotta tell ya, i am not loving this" I thought to myself knowing that Sakura more than likely felt the same way. But putting those feelings aside for the moment, we all took off running towards the penguin park slide after Li, Sakura and I had sensed that the source of the magic force was coming from there, with Sakura and I in the lead. And, it didn't even take a second for Sakura and I to notice the giant hole that was in the ground near the penguin park slide. And once both Sakura and I had determined that it was in fact clow reeds magic coming from the hole in the ground. Both Sakura and I then pulled out our respective keys "key of the star, with powers burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light, Release!" we chanted in unison. With our respective staffs now in hand, I then pulled out the Fly card, and without a second of hesitation, threw it into the air as both Sakura and I then raised our respective staffs shortly thereafter, "FLY!" we both chanted in unison, and just like before, a pair of wings sprouted from our backs like those of an angel. And with one last turn to one another and a nod of determination to each other, both Sakura and I took off and dove down into the hole.

---

It was when we made it to the bottom of the hole and the wings on our backs vanished, that things started to get somewhat strange. Not only was the magical force stronger down there, but up top, it was quickly becoming apparent that something was tragically wrong. Kero, after he had seen Sakura and I disappear into the hole, decided to try and join us. However, when he tried to do so, he was instantly stopped by an invisible force field. Li then tried to use one of his lightning elemental talismans to try and break the forcefield, however not only did he fail to do so, he also nearly wound up hurting Kero as well. Kero then decided to transform into his true form and fire a ball of fire at the forcefield, but like Li, it had no effect. And unbeknownst to all of us, in a cluster of trees near the park, we were being watched by 3 individuals. "Oh my, that boy sure tries his hardest doesn't he?" one of them said as she watched Li desperately pound on the force field. "He may as well give up, he will never break through a spell that strong," another one of them said. "His determination definitely is one of his best qualities," an all too familiar individual of the three said.

---

Meanwhile, back in the bottom of the hole, Sakura and I were now in a very dire situation. As in, we were now being crushed by hundreds of stuffed sheep. And Sakura and I now had to quickly think of a card to get us out of this mess. Sakura suggested both the Water and the Fire cards, but I ultimately dismissed them since the Water card would only fill the hole up, and the Fire card would wind up burning us. I then suggested the Erase card to Sakura, since not only would it get rid of the sheep, but we also would not have the risk of getting burned in the process. Sakura agreed to my idea, to which she then pulled out the Erase card. And once she had thrown it up into the air, we then raised our respective staffs. "We call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, Erase card discard your former might, and draw your power from our light, Star Card!" we chanted in unison. And once the Erase card had stopped spinning and showed the new colors design and symbol on the front and back, the Erase card spirit appeared and began taking care of all of the stuffed sheep. And once that had been done, I once again pulled out the Fly card, turned to Sakura, who nodded in response, to which I threw the Fly card up into the air and we then both raised our respective staffs. "FLY" we once again chanted in unison, and just like before, the all too familiar wings sprouted from our backs, and we took off skyward towards the top of the hole and back towards our friends.

 

[zachycards]

Things had once again returned to normal, and both Sakura and I were taking the time to tidy up the yard on the side of the house. And unfortunately, both Sakura and I were still feeling exhausted from the fact that the more clow cards that we seemed to transform into star cards, the more energy we seemed to lose. This became abundantly apparent that as both Sakura and I were sweeping a part of the yard, we both started to waiver slightly, and we would've almost toppled over, had we both not used our respective brooms as leverage to sturdy ourselves. A short time later, Eli stopped by and offered to help. Like before, I was still on edge when it came to him, but yet again i chose to put that aside for the moment. However, while Sakura and I were busy doing other things around the yard after Eli had offered to move Tori's bike, neither of us were able to see Eli place his hand over the seat of Tori's bike and enchant it.

---

Later that night, with Kero also being in the room, Sakura and I came in and then collapsed on our respective beds. We then decided to take a look at the star and clow cards that were presiding in the transformed clow book that had our respective names on it. However, when Sakura went and touched the clow cards after the star cards had been removed from the book, as did I, we both noticed that they both felt cold and distant. Kero explained that because the star cards were drawing their powers from us, the clow cards as a result were now starting to lose their magic over time. Sakura asked Kero what could happen if the clow cards lost all of their magic. Kero then went on to say that those cards spirits would be set free and would cause all kinds of havoc. Knowing Sakura all too well, I knew that she wasn't going to be taking what Kero had said lightly. "We need to do something before their powers fade completely Zachary!" Sakura said as she turned to me with an expression of despair on her face. "I understand that Sakura, but we can't just go and make rash decisions!" I said in response. Unfortunately, my response to Sakura may as well have fell on deaf ears, as she decided at that very moment to go and hastily pull out her key. And not wanting to challenge her actions, seeing as how I didn't even attempt to do this back when we were capturing the Snow card (a/n: see chapter 40). When Sakura had had her watch, which had been given to her as a present, ripped from her wrist and had gotten very mad as a result. I decided at that point to follow suit, as I too pulled out my respective key. Because, when it came to Sakura, and her wanting to do something, it was very difficult for me to want to challenge her actions if she was this set on really doing something and instead just tell her no. "Key of the star, with power burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light, Release!" we chanted in unison. I then with a thought of knowing that this wouldn't end well, threw several of the untransformed clow cards up into the air, to which they then spread out into a circle around me and Sakura. With both of our transformed staffs now in hand, we proceeded to point each of our respective staffs at each of the cards, saying each corresponding name, and transforming them into a star card. However, when we got to the Dash card, both of us had almost exhausted all of our magic, and not only did it not change over to a star card, but it then went rogue, escaped out the window, possessed Tori's bike, and then took off into the night.

---

A little bit later after the rogue dash card spirit took control over Tori's bike and took off into the night. Kero, Sakura and I had taken off after it, and while on the way, Kero had scolded the both of us for making such a brash decision when it came to transforming all of those clow cards into star cards in rapid succession. Well, he had scolded Sakura for making the decision, and me more for not willing to challenge her actions or the decision to go through with it. It was then that I suggested using the Loop card to trap the rogue Dash card in a continuous loop so that we both could give ourselves a better chance of catching it. Once Sakura agreed to my idea, I pulled out the Loop card, threw it up into the air and then Sakura and I raised our respective staffs, "we call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, Loop card discard your former might, and draw your power from our light, star card!" we chanted in unison. And once the Loop card stopped spinning, and had taken on the symbol and design like all of the other transformed star cards, a familiar line appeared on the street. And once Tori's bike that had been possessed by the rogue dash card spirit passed over that line, it was trapped in a continuous loop. And after a few more tries, Sakura and I managed to catch it. After the Dash card spirit escaped from Tori's bike and struggled for a few seconds in Sakura's embrace, Sakura and I comforted it, allowing it to calm down. And once that had been done, we transformed it into a star card like the others. And while this had been a long and harrowing chase, deep down, the both of us somehow knew that we still had a long way to go. But, after a discussion with Kero, we decided that we were only going to transform the clow cards into star cards at least one at a time when the time seemed appropriate, rather than making a rash decision like this again.

 

[zachycards]

A few days had passed since the incident involving Sakura and I had had our rash decision incident involving turning several of the clow cards into star cards in rapid succession, and our chase with the rogue Dash Card spirit. But that was now the last thing on both of our minds. After Mr. Avalon had given us our mother's old calendar. And we had both learned about our great-grandfather (the two had previously met, though we both had remained unaware of his identity) and how he had disapproved of his granddaughter's marriage to Mr. Avalon. Hoping to set things a bit better, Sakura and I wound up hand making a gift, and we both wound up using the Flower card to decorate it, along with a letter about how happy our mother was. Madison's mother wound up delivering it to him, and he wound up making peace with Mr. Avalon. And as a thank-you present, Sakura wound up receiving our mother's old dress from our great-grandfather, which our mother had worn when she had unknowingly met him.

 

[zachycards]

It was two days after the incident with the rogue dash card. And during those two days, Sakura and I went to visit her grandfather, after we were told to bring him a card as a gift. And the short and sweet of was that Sakura and I wound up transforming the Flower Card into a star card to help us with decorating the card. And while Sakura and I were still asleep in our respective beds in our room, we were both once again having the same dream that we both had had a couple days ago in class. The exact same dream that caused both of us to almost fall out of our seats at our desks at school had Li not jumped in and stopped us from hitting the floor of the classroom. It was after Sakura and I finally woke up after our dream had ended that Sakura hopped out of bed, and then proceeded to put on her school uniform in preparation to go to the school. After she was done putting on her school uniform, I then proceeded to put on my school uniform as well. And with both of us now dressed, and with a quick look to Kero, who was still sound asleep in one of our desks drawers. We headed downstairs, with me just behind Sakura, put on our respective roller blades, and took off down the street towards the school.

---

It was a little bit later in the day, and Sakura and I were busy on one of the school courtyard's many benches reading a book called "Alice In Wonderland", well, Sakura was the one holding the book, while I was sitting right beside her, as the both of us silently read the book. It was while we were both reading the book that Eli turned up and offered a leaf that we could both use as a bookmark to keep our spot in the book. And like every other time, I was still on edge when it came to trusting Eli. But, since Sakura didn't seem to have a problem with him, I decided that for the time being, to trust him, even though I was still a little on edge. However, that leaf that Eli had offered the both of us, had been enchanted by him, while the both of us had had our heads down at the book while we had been reading. After a little conversation in which Sakura said that wonderland seemed like an interesting place and that like a place that both her and I would like to visit, Eli interjected by saying that we might be visiting it real soon. Neither Sakura or I knew what he meant by that, so we both decided to pass over what he had said. But, we would never know, that his words weren't anything to be taken lightly.

---

A short time later, at the school library. Li was busy studying a book in Japanese in order to challenge himself, Eli was studying off of a copy of the exact same book as Li, and Madison, Sakura and I sat at one of the nearby tables. And after a conversation between the five of us, and after Li and Eli went off to put their books back, Sakura and I went to touch the leaf that was being used in the Alice In Wonderland book as a bookmark. However, as soon as we both touched it, it began glowing red, and before each of us knew what was going on, we were both sucked into the book, and out of sight of Madison. "Sakura, Zachary!" Madison yelled as the pages in the book flipped by rapidly until the book closed completely. It was when Li came over and Madison explained the situation to him that Li reacted just how anyone with magical powers would react if his two best friends were suddenly sucked into a book, he asked Madison that we did what, and then proceeded to use his magic to scan the book, "A very powerful spell has been put on this book" Li said. But despite Madison's helpless yell and Li's discovery of the spell, neither of them could help us. Because whether we liked it or not, we were now stuck in a fairy tale.

---

It was after some time had passed and after some running around by both Sakura and I. Which wasn't the most not embarrassing thing since both of us looked quite ridiculous in the outfits we were put in when we wound up in the book. Sakura was in a pink outfit with a tutu black stockings, and red shoes. Whereas I had on a similar outfit, except no tutu, my shoes were blue, I had long blue socks, and I had a light blue outfit on top. And after running into a lot of the book's many characters, who for some reason resembled most of our friends, we decided to try and use some of the clow cards that we hadn't transformed yet to our advantage. Both Sakura and I then pulled out our respective keys "key of the star, with power burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light, release!" we chanted in unison. And with our respective staffs now in hand, I pulled out the Big card, threw it up into the air, and as the card spun in the air, Sakura and I raised our respective staffs, "we call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, Big card discard your former might, and draw your power from our light, star card!" we chanted in unison. It was then that the Big card stopped spinning and displayed the symbol and design and colors on the front and back just like all of the star cards that we had transformed previously, and almost immediately Sakura and I started to grow, and we didn't stop growing until we were both 50ft tall. It was when we had stopped growing that we both had realized our mistake "Now we're too big!" Sakura yelled with enough force that it cause all of the grass and trees i the vicinity to be blown back. "Sakura, you need to stay calm and focus, I need us both at our best if we are going to find a way out of here" I said in a low enough tone of voice so that Sakura could hear me, and also so that it wouldn't generate a shock wave like Sakura had done. "Thanks Zachary, I needed that" Sakura said. "You're welcome Sakura" I said with a reassuring smile. It was then that I had the idea to use the Little card to reduce our size. So, without saying a word, I pulled out the Little card, turned to Sakura, who nodded meaning that she understood exactly what I was planning to do, and once I had thrown the Little card up into the air, we then once again raised our respective staffs, "we call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, Little card discard your former might, and draw your power from our light, star card!" we chanted in unison.

---

A little later on, after Sakura and I had transformed the Big and Little cards into star cards, we happened upon a giant board game that was being played by two familiar individuals. The first one we both recognized immediately as Madison, although she introduced herself as another character from the book, and on the other end of the board was none other than what looked like Kero. But, when Sakura and I went over to him and proceeded to call his name, it became very apparent that this wasn't Kero. He proclaimed himself to be the Queen Of Hearts, to which he then transformed into Kero's true form and then proceeded to chase after Sakura and I. Luckily, during the chase, I had pulled out the Fly card, to which both of us had then used it to take off skyward and back towards the leaf bookmark that we had recently noticed had appeared in the sky.

---

It was right after Sakura and I had made it out of the book, that Li and Madison breathed a sigh of relief. And after Li and Madison hugged the both of us. Well, technically Madison hugged both of us, Li hugged me, whilst he was a bit hesitant to hug Sakura for some reason, so he wound up not doing so. And whilst all four of us reminisced about Sakura and I's wild journey inside of the book, all of us knew that whatever or whoever was doing all of this was going to have to answer for it and pay dearly.

 

[zachycards]

Sakura and I's school was hosting a bazaar, and Kero was attending to eat sweets, hiding in the woods. Ruby, meanwhile, had brought Spinner Sun along and had hid him in the same forest while she attended the bazaar. Kero met Spinnie (which was the pet name Ruby gave him) but was completely oblivious to his true nature and wound up befriending him, forcing him to eat some of the sweets. As a result, Spinnie became intoxicated by the sugar and went on an eating binge throughout the school. Kero, who was unable to explain the predicament to Sakura and I, asked us both to use the Sleep card on all the customers, allowing him to get rid of Spinnie. And seeing as how neither of us was willing to let something like this get out of hand. Sakura and I were more then happy to oblige. However, this would not be the last time that Spinner would be seen by either of us. But that wouldn't become apparent until later on.

 

[zachycards]

A day or so later, while Sakura, me and Li were in an elevator, for some unknown reason, it had stopped, and the lights went out. Then, without warning, it tipped to one side, and then a wall on one end opened up to which both Sakura and I fell through and down a dark hole. Li was of course concerned to which he shouted out both of our names. But it was all okay since during our free fall, Sakura and I managed to transform the Float card, and were able to float back up to safety. Li was very relived that both of us were okay, and after he hugged me, he wound up hugging Sakura, albeit, it was a bit of a tighter embrace. This was when I knew that something was going on with Li, but rather than pry further, I decided to keep it to myself.

 

[zachycards]

Apparently, someone had cast a spell on Keroberos and Yue so that they were unable to revert to their guise forms, much to Sakura's and my dismay, since it is understandably difficult to hide their true forms for long. Fortunately, Tori and Mr. Avalon were out for the day, and Sakura and I had them help around the house while reminiscing about their time with Clow Reed. Eventually, Sakura and I got the idea of using the Shield card, which can nullify and protect people from magic, and the two guardians were then able to revert to their original forms.

 

[zachycards]

Sakura and I continued to grow in magical strength and power for every Clow Card we seemed transformed into a Star Card, while Yue's energy began to falter. Yue also came to the realization that Eli was in fact Clow Reed and transformed in front of him. However, Eli made Julian faint and erased his memory of him ever realizing who Eli truly was; Clow Reed, since he was not yet ready to reveal himself and also reversed Yue's transformation back into Julian. Li, in the meantime, had fully realized his strong romantic feelings for Sakura and consulted with Madison, who helped him deal with his jealousy towards Eli and gave him the confidence to speak his mind to the oblivious Sakura.

 

[zachycards]

It just seemed like it was going to be another one of those days, as Sakura, me, Li, and Meilin dodged out of the way of an explosion as all of the penguin statues in the park seemed to come to life at once. It was then that Sakura and I knew that now would be a better time more than any to pull out our respective keys, "key of the star, with powers burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light, release!" we chanted in unison. And, with our respective staffs now in hand. I pulled out the Freeze card, since an idea had come to me to use it to freeze all of the penguin statues in an effort to destroy them. Thankfully, upon me pulling out the Freeze card, Sakura seemed to catch on to my idea, and without having to exchange words between one another. And once I had thrown the Freeze card up into the air, we both then raised our respective staffs, "we call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, Freeze card discard your former might, and draw your power from our might, star card!" we chanted in unison. And once the Freeze card stopped spinning and displayed the new symbol and colors on the front and back like all of the other star cards that had been transformed previously, the Freeze card spirit emerged, and froze all of the penguin statues, effectively destroying them. And just like that, another crisis had been averted. However, even though this was the case, we all knew, besides Meilin of course, that this was far from being over.

 

[zachycards]

Kero was almost positive that Tori knew everything about my and Sakura's secret with regards to us being Cardcaptors, though we both wound up dismissing his claims, saying Tori would make fun of both of us if he did. Tori, meanwhile, was certain that Ruby was deliberately interrupting him while he was trying to tell Julian the truth about why he was always feeling fatigued. Although we had made plans to buy a Christmas present for our father, though Sakura and I sensed Clow Reed's presence again. Sakura and I then used the Mirror card to create our doubles and cover for us while we fought off a pair of enchanted fence bars with Li, destroying them by using the Mist card to corrode and disintegrate them.

 

[zachycards]

Sakura and I went to a New Year's festival and noticed that Julian wasn't around. Tori goes to check on him, discovering that he has not only collapsed from fatigue, but he's also beginning to fade from existence since Sakura's power, despite how strong it has become, is not enough to sustain Yue. Later at the festival, we received a fortune from Eli which he secretly made and enchanted, saying that we would begin to learn the "truth" in our "first dream of the year." That night, Sakura and I transformed the Dream card in our sleep and we had a dream of the sky being blanketed by darkness emanating over Tsukimine Shrine, where we wound up seing the silhouettes of three figures.

 

[zachycards]

Sakura, me and our friends went to a new indoor water park, where Eli caused the water to rise to dangerous levels. But when Rita, who had trouble swimming, nearly drowned, Sakura and I used the transformed Water card to save her, risking being seen using our magic by everyone. However, it appears Eli would have returned things to normal if Sakura and I were too late, which made his motives unclear.

 

[zachycards]

This really was quickly becoming a complete disaster. Not only were Sakura, myself and Eli stuck on top of a ski slope on the top of the mountain, but once we had gotten to the top, a blizzard decided to form. The wind had picked up, nearly knocking both Sakura and I off our feet. Luckily Eli grabbed hold of both of us and we were able to steady ourselves. "I'm sure glad you came up with us after all, thanks a lot" Sakura said to Eli. And yet, I was still suspicious of Eli since I still didn't have any information on his character. But, if Sakura trusted him, so did I. So I thanked him as well and smiled, though still, I was still a tad bit suspicious of him, and I'm still very much sure that Li was too. It was at that point that the wind decided to pick up even more. And it was also at this point that all three of us started to hear a far away rumbling. I instantly knew what that meant, it was very much in fact an avalanche, and it sounded like it was headed straight for us, and if Sakura and I didn't do something now, it would not only bury all three of us, but it would also travel further down hill and end up destroying the chalet that everyone else was in. Sakura and I knew that if we used our magic at this moment that Eli would see us, and that would wind up boding very badly for us.

---

I had initially thought that using the Sleep card was the best choice. But seeing as how the wind was howling as it currently was and with the current amount of snow present on the ground, neither of us would be able to carry Eli down the hill by ourselves, and if he was asleep, then he might get wind up getting hit by the avalanche. And if we split up, he would worry about us and try to find us. But we knew that given the circumstances, both Sakura and I had no other available choice, but to take off running back down the hill in the direction of the ski lift. We both knew that there was only one card that could be of use right now in this situation. And with that thought in mind, we both took out our respective keys, "key of the stars, with powers burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light, Release!" we chanted in unison. With both of our respective staffs now in hand, I pulled out the Time card, turned to Sakura, to which we both gave a nod to each other. I then threw the time card into the air, and as it spun, we both spun our respective staffs. "We call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, Time card discard your former might, and draw your power from our light, star card!" we chanted in unison as we raised our respective staffs.

---

And once the Time card stopped spinning, and displayed the new symbol on the back and the new colors on the front and back like the other transformed star cards, the avalanche was hit by the Time card's power and was stopped in its tracks. However, once everything around us had been frozen by the Time card's power, it was becoming quickly apparent that doing something like this was quickly taking a lot of magic power from both Sakura and I. This was being further compounded as Sakura slowly pulled out the Fire card, and very sluggishly threw it up into the air. I wasn't fairing any better then her at this point. And as we both attempted to raise our respective staffs in an attempt to use the Fire card, we both started to waiver, and then we both fell over, having now exhausted our magical power. And it was as we both fell that the Time card's power that was holding back the avalanche was starting to fade away, causing it to slowly pick up speed again. However, as Sakura and I hit the ground, and fell unconscious, we were not able to see a familiar young man use a sun shaped staff to repel the avalanche, to which he then went over to where Sakura and I lay on the ground unconscious, only to look over us with a slight smirk on his face.

 

[zachycards]

Tori and Julian are starring in an independent film directed by Ruby for their school fair, and ruby wound up giving Sakura and me a role. Sakura and I later began to notice that Julian was losing his power and was starting to fade away. Things then came to a head when Julian passed out and fell off a veranda while shooting the film, though he was saved by Tori and, secretly, Sakura and I. Tori finally managed to tell Julian the truth about his power, telling off Ruby when she attempted to interfere. In order to maintain Yue's power and existence, thus allowing Julian to survive, Tori wound up sacrificing his powers to save him, though in turn, he lost the ability to sense when Sakura and I were in danger.

 

[zachycards]

A few day had passed, and Sakura and myself, along with everyone else, were attending the school fair. That is, until something strange wound up happening again and we once again began sensing Clow Reed's presence. Both Sakura and I had to transform the Maze and Illusion cards to try and resolve the issue, but when we traced the magic back to it's source we were confronted by a familiar face, it was Eli. However, he knocked us out with a sleeping spell and erased our memories of our encounter with him.

 

[zachycards]

The next day, the following evening, Sakura, myself, Li, along with some of the others, were in a shrine at the park. When all of the sudden, one of the horse carvings came to life. But thanks to both Li's help, and Sakura and I transforming and using both the Wood and Thunder cards, we were able to take care of it with limited difficulty. It was during that time though that Sakura decided to hand Li a scarf that she had made herself. It was then that I knew that there was love in the air between the two of them. But again, not wanting to pry, I kept it to myself.

 

[zachycards]

The next day, after having transformed the Snow Card into a star card. Which was during a fight against a horde of living snowman. Sakura and I were beginning to wonder what would happen once all of the clow cards had finally been transformed into Star cards. To answer this and many more of our unanswered questions, Sakura and I transformed the Return card, and traveled to the past to speak to Clow Reed so that he could shed some light on the matter. It was after a long conversation between the three of us, that Sakura and I realized that Clow Reed's house exactly resembled that of the house that Eli was currently residing in. And after a bit more conversing, Sakura and I made our way back to the present.

 

[zachycards]

It had seemed like forever ago since Sakura and I had transformed the Return card a had used it to travel back to the past to talk to Clow Reed. And yet, Li, Madison and Kero waited patiently for both of us to return. And sure enough, Sakura and I appeared from out of the Cherry Blossom tree, and landed on the ground side by side. And once we had landed safely on the ground, Li, Madison and Kero went over to greet us. "Are you both alright?" Li asked us. "You two aren't hurt are you?" Madison asked concerned. "No, we're both fine" I said cheerfully. "So, did either of you find out anything?" Kero asked. At first Sakura exclaimed as if trying to say that neither of us hadn't found anything out, even though both of us had. Kero then asked if we had in fact seen Clow Reed, to which I said that we had, however, Sakura then went on to say that both Kero and Yue were also there. Kero then went on to say that that was ridiculous seeing as how he had never even been to Eli's house before. "Are you sure its the same house?" Kero asked both Sakura and I. "It must have, Sakura and Zachary saw you there," Madison said. "You know, I think I'd remember if I'd been there before," Kero said in response. "That's strange, Yue mentioned that he hadn't been in Eli's house either" I said, now with a look of concern very evident on my face. Which was then followed by Li showing a look of complete realization "their memories have been erased!" Li said. It was then that I was starting to realize that my suspicions about Eli from the start were starting to become confirmed. "By who?" Sakura asked. "I can tell you," a familiar sounded voice interjected from behind all five of us. And sure enough there stood Eli atop the entrance to the shrine, dressed in his magician attire. And without a second of hesitation, all five of us ran to the entrance to confront him. "It's Eli!" Sakura said. "That's quite an interesting getup you got there Eli!" I said. "What's going on?!" Li said. "My name in this lifetime was Eli, but in my past life it was Clow Reed" Which not surprisingly sent a very surprised and stunned expression across all four of our faces. It was at this point that Kero decided to speak up, "I don't believe you, Clow Reed died a long time ago and Sakura and Zachary are the masters now!" Kero shouted. "Open your mind Keroberos, he speaks the truth," a male voice said, "pretty big surprise," a female voice said. It was at this point that two figures came out from behind one of the entrance's pillars, and Kero immediately recognized one of them as Spinner, and the rest of us recognized the other as Ruby from Tori's school. It was at this point that Eli chose this particular moment to start an incantation, that as he started, and all too familiar symbol that Sakura, myself, Li and Kero, knew all too well, appeared beneath his feet.

---

It almost seemed as though none of this could really be happening at this current moment, even though it was. But as the familiar circle that Sakura, myself, Li and Kero appeared beneath Eli's feet and Eli began an incantation that was similar to Sakura and I's incantation, we soon realized that this was in fact happening, and that we had best prepare ourselves for what was to come. "I call upon the powers of the day and the night," Eli began as both Spinner and Ruby started rising off the ground and up towards where Eli was on top of the structure of the shrine entrance. "Sun and Darkness, unleash your might, release!" He continued as light enveloped the circle, as the key in Eli's palm now expanded to its full size. "I command you to return to your true forms, Spinner Sun and Ruby Moon!" He said as both transformed into their true forms, and once they had this sent a surprised and shocked expression to Sakura, myself, Li, Madison, and Kero. It was then that Sakura and I knew, that this was going to be one of our toughest tests yet.

---

Despite what was currently going on in front of us, Sakura, me, Li, Madison and Kero still could not believe what was happening. "Three figures on the arc, just like in me and Sakura's dream, and just look at the staff he's holding," I said softly to myself, referring to the recurring dream that both Sakura and I had been having for weeks that now finally made sense. However, as all of us stared, I just knew that whatever was going to happen next, was going to be just as mysterious. Because whether I liked it or not, I was still going into this almost completely blind.

 

[zachycards]

Things had now very quickly gotten out of hand. Not only had Eli revealed himself to be the reincarnation of Clow Reed. But out of nowhere the sky was shrouded in darkness. It was then that Sakura and I, along with Li, and Kero, realized that something was very very wrong. It was at this point that Eli decided to speak up, he told me and Sakura that in order for the light to be restored, we would both need to turn all of the remaining clow cards that we had into star cards. This was then followed up by Kero transforming into his true form, and with Yue arriving on the scene, I then chose this particular moment to pull out the Windy card. Without either Sakura or I having to exchange a word to each other, I threw the Windy card into the air and we both then raised our respective staffs, "Windy card, become a chain and tie him up" we chanted in unison. Unfortunately, before the Windy card spirit could reach Eli, it was dissipated by a forcefield that seemed to materialize around him. "You are not going to be able to do to me what you were able to do to Yue" Eli said, which earned a shocked expression from both Sakura and I. Sakura then followed up by pulling out the Fly card, to which we both raised our respective staffs, "fly!" we chanted, and with the all too familiar wings now on our backs, we took off skyward, and towards Eli, only to have Ruby shoot red streams of energy in our direction, to which two of them caught one of our wings, which sent us spiraling downwards. Thankfully though, Yue was able to dive in, and catch us before we hit the ground. It was after a bunch more fighting and back and forth, that Sakura and I then took it upon ourselves to transform some of the remaining clow cards that we still had that weren't turned into star cards yet. This however left just two more, the Light card, and the Dark card. After a bit of conversation, it was agreed that both Keroberos and Yue would become one with both of our staffs in an attempt to help both Sakura and I transform the Light and Dark cards into star cards. However, it was revealed by Eli, that if our attempt to transform the Light and Dark cards into star cards failed, that both Keroberos and Yue, would wind up trapped and asleep in our staffs, forever.

---

It was now a case of succeed or fail for both Sakura and I. But we still couldn't believe what Eli had just said to us, "If you two can dispel the darkness, they will return" Eli said. "And what if we can't transform the Light card?" I asked somewhat afraid of his answer. "Then they both will suffer a horrible fate, and they will be trapped in your staffs for all eternity" Eli said in response. Which not surprisingly neither Sakura or I took all too well. In fact, both of us took it pretty rough actually, with both of us collapsing after hearing with what we had just heard, only to thankfully be supported physically by both Keroberos and Yue and with words of encouragement from both of them. It was at this point, that seeing as how neither Sakura or I had no other choice, we turned to one another, and after a nod, and with Keroberos and Yue fused with our staffs, we then began the process of transforming both the Light and Dark cards into star cards. And as I threw the Light card into the air, with Sakura doing the same with the Dark card, we then raised our respective now transformed staffs and our respective circles appeared below us. "We call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, Light and Dark cards discard your former might, and draw your power from our light, star cards!" we chanted in unison. And as the wind started to pick up, and both the Light and Dark cards started to glow, it was quickly becoming apparent that this wasn't going to be easy. In fact, as time started to pass, we actually were starting to struggle in transforming both the Light and Dark cards into star cards. At one point, it nearly got to where we had almost failed completely. But thanks to Li stepping in, and giving his power to both of us in an effort to help us both succeed, we managed to get that extra boost to not only transform the Light and Dark cards, but we also managed to call upon the Light card spirit to dissipate the darkness. However, it was at this point that I once again, like after the Final Judgment, got a somewhat bad feeling. But like before, seeing as how both Sakura and I had just accomplished a major achievement in transforming all of the clow cards into star cards, I once again ignored it. Unfortunately, I should've done my best to trust that bad feeling. Because, like back after the Final Judgment, that was a warning of the challenges, that still lay ahead for not just Sakura and I, but those that were close to us as well. But, as the three of us congratulated each other on a job well done, it was at this point that Eli decided to interject by saying that the reason that he did things the way that he did was he didn't see any other way of doing it. I of course at that very moment, finally understood where Eli was coming from once he had said that, and I had a strong feeling that Sakura did as well.

And yet, once Sakura and I had made it back to our room. After discovering that Li was going back to Hong Kong, neither of us wound up taking this news very well. However, as a tear from each of us fell from our eye, hitting the rug, and causing our respective circles to appear. It was then followed by a card appearing in our respective hands. "Wait a second, did Sakura and I just create a new star card each?!" I thought to myself. It was after Sakura had put her respective card to her chest, that she turned her attention to her desk. Which at first seemed a bit strange, but once she started speaking, a shocked expression found it's way onto my face. "Hey everyone, thanks for cheering us on all this time. Even though we are both sad we have to part ways with you all...we will never forget the memories we had with you guys" Sakura said. It was then, once the shock had subsided, that I decided to step in and say something, knowing full well what it was that she was doing. However, that didn't mean that I couldn't tell you, the reader, how things had been so far. "Sakura..." I began, to which she then turned her attention to me, as I made my way over to the desk. "I think the viewers needs to hear it from both of us," I said with a closed eye smile. "Oh, right" Sakura responded back. "Thank you everyone..." Sakura began. "For cheering us on." I followed up with. "Though we are both sad that we have to part ways with you all..." Sakura said. "Neither of us will forget the memories we had with you guys" I said. To which we both then waved goodbye. However, that bad feeling I had had earlier, was once again a stepping stone, of what was to come in only a short time.

 

[zachycards]

It was just another normal evening in Penguin Park. Well, about as normal for two siblings who also happened to be CardCaptors and also masters of the star cards. Yep, it was Sakura and I, even though we were both a year older, and all of the clow cards had been transformed into star cards during the Final Test, we were both still being dressed up in Madison's battle costumes. Also, that didn't mean we still couldn't train and hone our skills in case a threat ever decided to show itself again, and have fun with it at the same time. And tonight was no exception to that, as both Sakura and I, dressed in Madison's battle costumes, were dodging and doing tricks and flips in the air, all while doing our absolute best to hold our own against the creatures that were being conjured up from Madison writing them down in the Create card. (a/n: Because what better way to hone ones skills as a Cardcaptor then to use a star card like the Create card to do so). However, Sakura and I were going to need to hone our skills. Because what lay ahead of us, was going to be one of our toughest challenges yet.

---

Just another world ending scenario in the life of a Cardcaptor. This had very quickly gone from bad to just completely out of control. What seemed like a minor issue that Sakura and I had sensed the day before, had now turned out to be a very very big problem, as both Sakura and I now found ourselves quickly and quite literally running out of star cards that we could use against our current opponent. Over the recent few days, we had been seeing and sensing a very strange and also very familiar presence. This of course turned out to be a Clow Card. But for right now, this exact clow card was now taking the town, and everyone we cared about out of existence. And if Sakura and I didn't think of something fast, then we would soon suffer the exact same fate as them. It was at this point that we both heard a noise, we both looked behind us to see the roller coaster coming right at us. With quick reflexes, I pulled out the Time card, and both Sakura and I quickly raised our respective staffs, "Time!" we chanted in unison as we held our respective staffs in front of us. And thankfully right as the roller coaster was about to hit us both, the Time card froze it in place. Unfortunately the clow card spirit that we were having difficulty fighting, wound up snatching the Time card from us like it had been doing with a bunch of our star cards. It was this point, that the Time cards powers started to fail, and it was at this point that I quickly pulled out the Fly card. And once again we raised our respective staffs, "Fly!" we chanted in unison. And with the all too familiar wings of the fly cards now adorning our backs, we were able to leap skyward and out of the way of the roller coaster just in time. It was after a bit more flying and trying to chase down the erratic clow card spirit, and after several more of our friends, this being Keroberos and Yue, wound up being taken out of existence by the erratic clow card spirit as well. It was now down to just Sakura, myself, and Li to not only deal with the erratic clow card spirit, but to also save the world as well. It was after several more minutes of fighting that Sakura and I wound up making our way to the amusement parks clock tower, but as we flew in, we had to dodge several more of the erratic clow cards attacks so that we would not be taken out of existence like Keroberos and Yue had been. It was while we were making our way to the top of the clock tower, that the Fly card was snatched from us, and unfortunately as a result, the wings from both of our backs disappeared as well. Thankfully however, we both landed on the pendulum of the clock tower, and we were able to us the Shield card to drop the heavy part of the pendulum and get ourselves to the top on the upper part of the pendulum once the heavier part had dropped off. However, it was once we had made our way to the top, that things once again, started going off the rails. The erratic clow card spirit, once again started firing her attacks at us in a bid to take us both out of existence. But after both Sakura and I ventured out and tried to reason with it, it seemed as though we would both be able to bring this whole situation to a close without anymore problems. However, this wasn't meant to be just yet, as the erratic clow card spirit picked this particular moment to form a sphere around Li, who had also managed to make his way to the top of the clock tower. And unfortunately neither Sakura or I wound up taking this very well, in fact both of us wound up being brought to tears. Sakura was brought to tears because of her love for him, and I was brought to tears because he was my friend. This of course wound up with a glow emanating from within each of our respective right pockets. This was of course Sakura's hope card that had been created through her tear due to her love for Li a full year ago after Sakura and I had arrived back from our trip to Hong Kong, and my friendship card that had been created through my tear due to my trust for Li and Sakura and considering both of them as dear friends (a/n: the card is the same as Sakura's hope card, except instead of a heart on the card, it is a picture of two hands shaking). It was after this had happened, and after Sakura and I turned to one another and nodded, that now was as good a time as any to seal this card and save the world. We then raised our respective staffs, "We call upon the power of our stars, ancient forces near and far, clow card discard your former might, and draw your power from our might, star card!" we chanted in unison. It was after the light had faded however, that the hope card that Sakura had had on her person, had vanished, and in my hand, was not only a card that had a picture of the clow card spirit on it, with Sakura's heart in front of it, but it also had the picture of what had been on my friendship card now present in front of the heart on Sakura's card now. And below on the title of the card, now read only one word, "Hope". It was after the card had been sealed that Li turned to Sakura and said her name. It was at this point that Sakura turned to me as if asking for permission, I simply nodded and gave a smile. This was then followed by Sakura backing up, with Li giving a blush of sorts, and as Sakura leapt into the air and into Li's embrace, while I looked on with a smile on my face, I just knew that this was going to be an adventure that was going to last a lifetime.

 

[zachycards]

So things really did seem to have finally quieted down in Tomoeda.

Well, about as quiet as it could've possibly been for me and Sakura.

But anyway, it was on this day, as both of us still lay sound asleep in our beds, that we were currently having a dream.

But not just any dream, in fact, it wasn't a dream, but more like, an invitation of sorts.

---

Me and Sakura are currently in an unfamiliar room, in our pajamas that we had both worn to bed, but we have our respective staffs clenched in our hands.

"Okay, would someone mind telling me where we are exactly? Because I sense that quite a lot of magic other then ours is present. Whoever is here, please show and identify yourself," I said, sounding quite perplexed, and also quite on edge.

"I see you are quite perceptive Zachary, I see nothing gets by someone like yourself, you take quite well after your sister," an unfamiliar sounding female voice said in an intriguing tone from across the room.

It was then that a female figure came into view from across the room, dressed in a sailor uniform type outfit. "As you asked, allow me to formerly introduce myself, I am Sailor Pluto, the keeper of the time space door, and the Sailor Guardian of time and space, it is a pleasure to finally meet the two of you," Sailor Pluto said, as a warm and comforting smile found its way onto her face.

"You are very beautiful," Sakura said, in awe of Sailor Pluto's appearance.

"Why thank you Sakura, I could say the same about you," Sailor Pluto said, with a closed eye smile.

"Okay, I would love to stay here all day and have the two of you chat. Look, I don't mean to be rude here or anything, but can we get back on topic as to why you have brought the two of us here Sailor Pluto?" I asked in a calm tone of voice, trying to get the two of them back on track.

"Oh, right, my apologies," Sailor Pluto said, with a blush now finding its way onto her face.

"The reason that I brought the two of you here, is that I foresee that a great evil is going to return a lot sooner then expected, and I am afraid that just me and the allies that I have, are nowhere near enough to combat this threat," Sailor Pluto said, her demeanor now changing to one of worry.

"That is why I need your help, can I count on the two of you?" Pluto followed up with asking.

It was then that I turned to Sakura, and then chose to speak up. "I don't know Sakura, what do you think, she seems she can be trusted. But last I checked, didn't we already have something like this happen to us quite a while back?" I asked, sounding a bit concerned.

Sakura looked at me, now remembering all too well about the time when we had both first become Cardcaptors, all those years back.

However...As it was proven several years back with the capturing of the Snow Card, and many other captures like it, when Sakura set her mind on something, it was very difficult for me to challenge her actions. And this instance, was going to wind up being no exception.

"Oh, it'll be fine Zachary, after all, she wouldn't be asking for our help if we weren't cut out for it," Sakura said, with a determined look on her face.

And sure enough, I couldn't challenge what Sakura had just said, I mean how could I?

"Alright, you can count on us!" I said, a look of determination finding its way onto my face. But internally, was freaking out.

"Okay then, but there is one more thing that the two of you need to know," Sailor Pluto said, her expression now becoming slightly more serious looking.

"What is it?" I asked, with intrigue in my tone.

"When we next meet, it will be under different circumstances, see you both then," Sailor Pluto said.

"Wait what different circumstances? I asked.

"That is for the both of you to find out, I can't tell you, otherwise it would upset the balance of things," Sailor Pluto said with a now closed eyes smile.

It was then that the scene around us got very bright, and then the dream ended.

---

When both Sakura and I woke up, I immediately turned my attention to her.

"Well, I know for a fact that that wasn't a dream, and from what Sailor Pluto told us, we had best both be ready for what lies ahead," I said, a look of determination finding its way onto my face.

Sakura however, didn't say anything, she just simply nodded in response, indicating that she understood, that whatever this great evil was, and whoever Sailor Pluto's allies were. Sakura and I were going to need the help of our friends, and the power of the star cards, if we were going to have any sort of chance of combating it.

 

[zachycards]

So a week or so had now passed since Sakura and I had had our meeting and encounter with Sailor Pluto.

And this was only the beginning, because although Sakura and were currently outside and had all of the cards on our person like we usually did, and our respective star keys as well.

Our conversation with Li and Kero, was suddenly interrupted by the opening of a portal.

"Man just like old times, huh Li?" I said, as I smiled while pulling out my key.

"Yea, just like old times," Li said, who had his Jian at the ready, and then turned to Sakura, who had already pulled out her key, only to have the two of them blush and turn away from each other.

"Well, that's Li for ya," I thought to myself.

"Key of the stars, with powers burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light, release!" Sakura and I chanted in unison.

However, just as Sakura and I took hold of our respective staffs, the portal began pulling the four of us into it, and it took us off to who knows where.

"Hey viewers, Zachary here. Sorry to fourth wall break you out of the blue like this. But before we continue, let me explain why Li is in Tomoeda. Basically, due to recent events, and Sakura managing to give him a call before he had gone off back to Hong Kong. Li had decided to convince his mother to have him and Meilin stay, at least for a little while longer. And in case you are wondering why I rarely break the fourth wall? Well, that's because I only use this ability, when I find it to be absolutely necessary. Which believe it or not, like Sakura, is a lot more rare then you might think it is. Anyway, back to the current task at hand. *says with a look of massive determination on face*"

However, on the part of the portal taking us off somewhere, like that of two other certain groups, this was all being done for a very good reason.

As another portal opened up, and Sakura, me, Kero, and Li were tossed out of it.

And when we got a better look at our surroundings, we realized that not only were we not in Tomoeda anymore, but we were in fact on top of a building in a very big city.

In fact it looked like a very modern city, like nothing that the four of us had ever seen before.

"Well, Sakura, I get the feeling that we are not in Tomoeda anymore," I said with concern very evident in my tone of voice.

"Uh huh," Sakura said in response, with the same level of concern evident in her tone of voice.

However, as the four of us gazed around the city in complete wonderment, we heard several voices that seemed to be coming from somewhere below us.

And it wasn't until we got to the edge of the building, and had peered over the side, that Sakura and I managed to recognize one of the people instantly.

"Sakura, that woman there, with the rod in her hand, that's Sailor Pluto," I said, Sakura realizing it as well.

"Wait a sec, you know her?" Li said, now confused at how I knew someone when the three of us had just arrived here.

"Well Li, it's sort of a long story, and I find it best that I have her tell it, so Sakura, Li, Kero, what do you say we go and join the festivities?" I asked, a little nervousness present in the tone of my voice.

"Zachary, you don't need to be nervous, just remember that whatever lies ahead for us, you won't be going at it alone," Sakura said to me.

"Thanks Sakura, and you too Li," I said, giving the both of them a smile, as I pulled out the Fly card, and threw it up into the air.

And as it spun, Sakura and I raised our staffs. "Let's FLY!" we both said in unison.

And the moment that our staffs were raised straight up, the fly card stopped spinning, and the all too familiar wings of the Fly card adorned our backs.

And as for Li, I had volunteered to carry him down to the ground myself, despite his hesitation for me to do so.

And as the four of us made our way down to the group of people.

One thing was certain.

This was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.

---

After things in the alley had transpired, and all of the introductions had been done. Sakura, me, Li and Kero, who was inside of Sakura's backpack, and everyone else.

Who obviously had powered down, so as to not draw any unwanted attention to ourselves.

And after Sailor Pluto had explained the situation to all of us in the alley, that apparently the entity, known as Chaos, was returning quite a lot earlier then expected, and we would be seeing an unknown number of some of our enemies making an unfortunate return.

This didn't seem to bother us though, since we didn't have any enemies back in our world.

So this begged the question, why did Sailor Pluto need our help?

I guess these enemies really were bad enough that it required more then just them to get this done.

Anyways, it was while we were all walking down one of the not crowded streets and some were suggesting to everyone on our next plan of action.

However, before they could say anything else, multiple portals opened up on the sidewalk, beneath everyone, causing everyone to disappear through them, and out of sight.

And this, was now the final step, on the road to what would be a battle.

That would not just decide the fate of Academy City, but of 2 other anime dimensions as well.

---

Seconds seemed to tick by, as Limone waited patiently in Aphrodite's throne room for everyone else to appear. He only hoped, that given the circumstances, that things would not be as hopeless as they currently seemed.

And from what he and Aphrodite had already witnessed, they were going to need all of the help they could get, and with those who were already currently there, and with those about to arrive, he only hoped that it would be enough, for all of them to win the day.

He just hoped that from what Sailor Pluto had foreseen, that things would hopefully turn out okay.

And when several portals opened up in front of him, spitting out 19 people, 5 of which he recognized immediately, and 14 of which he did not.

But he could only assume, that from what he sensed, that they were also just like the other 5, he knew that things were about to get a whole lot more interesting.