"Yes?" Kero answered, looking at Chris.
"Did you do this?" Chris asked, indicating the mess below Kero, who looked down at it.
"Oh yeah," Kero said. "I was hungry last night. I'm sorry about it. I usually clean up after myself, but I was very tired after I made your wands."
"Wands?" Joey asked, puzzled, and Kero nodded.
"Yeah, follow me," Kero said, and flew to another part of the bus, while 'N Sync reluctantly followed him. Kero soon stopped to showed them five wands on a cushion. The first one had a yellow five-pointed star on the top, surrounding the star was a gray ring, below it was a rainbow colored crystal, surrounded by gold. The bottom had a gold trim, and a red upside-down heart. The rest of the wand was white. The next wand was shaped like a bronze key. The top had a round blue stone, and a little further down was a smaller blue stone. Next to that, was a wand with an eight-pointed golden sun on top, below the sun were a pair of white wings. The rest of the wand was blue. The next one had a white crescent moon on the top, below that was a silver bow, the rest of the wand was black. The last one had a red rose on the top, while the part really close to the rose was painted like three green rings close together. The rest was brown, with an engraved green leaf pattern on it, and an iridescent ribbon tied to the bottom.
"What are they?" J. C. asked looking at the wands.
"These are you wands," Kero said. "They are used to capture the Clow Cards. I made one for each of you."
"This one is yours," Kero said. (Handing Lance the wand with the star on it) "Here's yours, (giving J. C. the wand shaped like a key) this is yours Joey, (handing him the wand with the sun on top). Here's yours Chris, (giving him the wand with the moon on top) and this is yours Justin (handing him the wand with the rose on top)."
"Um, thanks Kero," J. C. said, as each member of 'N Sync examined his wand. "But we can't be seen with these it public. People might think we've lost it."
"Don't worry, I cast a spell to change their appearance," Kero said. "Just toss them into the air."
The guys tossed their wands into the air. As the wands hovered in the air, there was a flash of light, and a key landed in each of 'N Sync's opened hands. Lance's key had a star on it, J. C.'s key had a blue stone on it, Joey's key had a sun on it, Chris's key had a crescent moon on it, and Justin's key had a rose on it.
"Now you can carry your wands without people noticing," Kero said. "To change them back into wands, just toss them in the air again."
"Thanks Kero," Lance said, examining his key. "How do we capture the cards anyway?"
"You must touch the released power of a Clow Card with your wand and say: "Return to thy form thou should be!"" Kero said. "The power will return to it's card form and will belong to you now. At least that works with most of the cards."
"What does that mean?" Chris asked.
"Well, some powers must be returned to their true form before they can be properly captured," Kero said. "Other powers must be told their true names before they can be captured."
"Do you know which cards?" Justin asked.
"Well, I told you that my memory is still a bit fuzzy," Kero said. "But I'll probably know which ones are which when I see the released power."
The guys groaned and moaned at that. Kero looked frustrated.
"I could be more useful if I could return to my true form," Kero said.
"Your true form?" Lance asked, and Kero nodded.
"You see, I have two forms," Kero said. "This one, which I use to be a companion to people, and a bigger form, which I use to protect people. If we had all the Clow Cards I could change into my true form automatically."
"That's too bad," Lance said, and patted Kero on his head, while Kero was thinking something over.
"You know, there is a way I can turn into my true form for a while," Kero said. "All we need is to collect the Five Element Cards."
"Five Elements?" Chris questioned. "I thought there were four."
"Well not in 'The 5th Element,'" Joey said. "Remember? There was-"
"Excuse me! But that movie was not based on the Clow Cards!" Kero exclaimed. "Anyway, if we had all Five Element Cards, I could change into Kerberos, my true form."
"What are the Five Element Cards?" Lance asked, rubbing his chest, over his heart.
"The Five Element Cards are: Firey, Watery, Windy, Earthy and Wood," Kero said.
"Wood?" Chris questioned.
"Well, ancient Eastern philosophies thought wood was an element," Kero said.
"Where do we start looking for the cards?" J. C. asked.
"Well Clowina Reed once said: "When you look for something too hard, you waste too much time. To truly find what you're looking for, you must let what you're looking for find you, and sometimes it's closer than you'd think,"" Kero said.
"So what you're saying is to not constantly look for the Clow Cards, but let the Clow Cards find us?" J. C. asked and Kero smiled and nodded.
"Right. In fact, I sense some cards are really close to us," Kero said, and looked at the guys.
"So now what do we do?" Justin asked.
"How about some breakfast? Looks like they're serving it outside," Joey said, peaking out the window. The others agreed, and got dressed, putting the key/wands in their pockets.
"How about you, Kero?" Lance asked, after they got dressed.
"Don't worry about me, I can serve myself," Kero said. "This time, I'll clean up after myself. If anyone sees me, I can do my impression of a stuffed animal. Watch."
Kero laid down, staying very still. . .
"See?" Kero said, getting up.
"Okay Kero, take care of yourself," J. C. said, as they guys left for breakfast.
After 'N Sync went through the buffet line for their breakfast, they found a picnic table to sit at. Soon Christina Aguilera joined them, carrying a huge plate of food.
"Um, Christina, is there something you would like to tell us?" J. C. asked, noticing how swiftly Christina was eating.
"No, why?" Christina asked.
"I've never seen you with so much food before," Justin said.
"I just feel hungry today," Christina said. After a while, she paused, and rubbed her chest over her heart.
"Are you okay?" Joey asked.
"Just since yesterday, I had this jabbing feeling in my heart," Christina said. "It's just an annoyance, nothing too serious."
"Maybe you should see a doctor," Chris suggested.
"Maybe, but not today, remember the concert we have tonight," she said.
"Just take care of yourself," J. C. said, as she finished up.
"Don't worry, I will," Christina said, and left them.
The rest of the day was clam for 'N Sync, as they practiced for their concert that night. Sometimes they checked up on Kero, finding him either playing with their video games, or watching a game show or a comedy program on TV. The only thing they saw that was unusual was seeing Christina eating such a large breakfast, and snacks later.
"Isn't it amazing how so people eat so much without gaining weight?" Chris said, as the guys watched Christina eat. "It's sickening."
Soon the concert was ready. Christina was up first, while 'N Sync watched from backstage. Kero was there too, disguising himself as a stuffed animal a fan threw onstage. The guys of 'N Sync were busy talking among themselves when they saw Christina backstage with them, but her part wasn't over yet. She looked weary and worried.
Part Four
Part Two
Story Index