Chapter 5: Revenge is Sweet

"Master, when will I get to have revenge for you on the Card Mistress? I
have waited long and hard, through easy and tedious times. Do you not
think I am not ready?" Matt bowed before the dark, shadowed figure. "No,
Matt. I know you are ready. And the evil star says it is time. Go, go
back to the planet Earth, and bring her here. Do you have any other
requests to be made, Matt?" Matt smiled evily. "Yes, Dark Card Master. It
involves this boyfriend of the Card Mistress, Li Syaoran..."

Sakura was walking the park, remembering her dream night of the dance,
still fresh in her mind. 'I love you so much, Sakura.' she remembered him
saying to her at her doorstep. As she neared the lake she saw the clear,
sparkling blue water. She walked by a tree, unaware of the hidden figure
glaring maliciously at her from behind. Then she sat down next to her
tree, where Kero was sleeping in her treehouse. "I wish everything were
as perfect as the dance." Suddenly the dark figure emerged, brandishing a
rope and gag. "I will get revenge on you, Card Mistress." Sakura started
to stand up, but when she saw the rope she ran, flinging her backpack
into the treehouse. "Help, someone help!" Matt walked into sunlight, and
laughed. "You can't call for help. I have a forcefield formed around this
lake. No one can hear you. Now, we can do this the hard way, or you can
just come here and make this easy on both of us." Sakura backed away,
frightened. 'No, this can't be happening. I'm too young, I still have a
life.' "Please, Matt! What do you want from me?! Leave me alone -sob-!"
Sakura started crying as she backed into a corner of the forcefield.
"Whatever you do, don't hurt Li. Please don't." Matt laughed. "Now why
would I want to do that?" he asked sarcastically. "If you stop moving,
this won't hurt a bit." Right before the sleep-gag touched her, Sakura
screamed. "LI! KERO-CHAN! HELP ME!!!" The world before her eyes turned
red, purple, then blue. The image of a smiling Li Syaoran was the last
image to leave her mind. 'I love you, Li Syaoran. I love you.' The she
fell asleep as the world turned black.
Kero awoke and watched from the tree-house. Matt was carrying the
sleeping Sakura in his arms, her hands and legs tied, inside a black
bubble that looked like a very evil Float card. He looked toward a
particular black cloud in the sky, and the bubble ascended quickly
towards it, breaking the force field. Sakura and Matt disappeared into
the grey sky.

"Huh? What's wrong with uniform?" Li's soccer uniform button was glowing
slightly with a great warmth. He had just gone into the locker room from
soccer practice with his friends, and was about to stuff the uniform into
his backpack when the button had started to glow. "What the-?! Kero, is
that you?!!" A tiny picture of Kero appeared. "What happened, Kero? Is
something wrong?" Kero sighed heavily, and he looked down at the ground.
"Sadly, yes, Li. I think Matt is a new enemy of Sakura's. He took her
away to a black cloud in the sky, which I took a photo of. The only one
who can res--" "WHAT IN THE WORLD! KERO, WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY TO TURN INTO
KERO BEROS?! HOW COME YOU DIDN'T TRY TO SAVE SAKURA?!" "Hey kid, calm
down! Matt set a special forcefield around the lake, one that prevents
anyone from seeing or hearing you. It also prevents Sakura or Clow cards
from using their powers, as well as preventing the Card Mistress's
guardian from changing into his ultimate, damage-doing form." Li sat down
heavily on the bench. He pulled the button off his uniform, and stuffed
the rest of his uniform in his locker. He ran to the park to Sakura's
treehouse, talking to Kero along the way. "Do you know anything about
this evil, Kero?" "No. I only remember from the prophecy that was written
centuries ago that a new profound evil would try to destroy the Card
Mistress and disable the Clow Cards. I also remember, that this great
evil can also turn the Sakura cards back into Clow Cards. I don't know
how powerful this evil is, just that he's more powerful than anything
we've ever seen or known." Li climbed into the tree house, where Kero was
standing before a panel under the tree house's board. Kero closed it, and
looked at Li. "We need to make a plan to rescue Sakura, Li."

'Where am I?' The surroundings were dark and unpleasant. She stood up
from the sleeping mat she had been on. All she had on was a towel.
Everything else was under a creepy black light in a room with a small
window. Sakura looked through it. Matt and a darker, taller, shadow were
standing close to her clothes, inspecting them. Matt caught her eye, and
said something to the shadow. Sakura pulled away from the window before
the shadow could look at her. 'What am I going to do? All I have on is a
towel, my bracelet, and my earrings. This is probably why the shield
earrings were glowing very bright this morning. I might be able to use
them, but I don't even know how. Oh, I here them coming right now. Better
sit down.' Sakura sat on the hard wooden bed, making sure the towel
covered everything.
"Put on your clothes, card mistress. I could not find any weapons or
Clow Cards concealed in them." Matt sneered and left the room, not
closing the door. Sakura got up and closed it, locking it. she used the
towel to cover the window and put on her clothes. 'It's so cold here.'
Sakura thought, shivering. She wrapped the small towel around her and
opened the door. Matt stood before her, in his regular school uniform.
"So how's it going, card mistress? Having fun already, aren't you." He
had a gleam in his eye. "No, I'm not having fun, now let me go!" She
started to run toward the door, but Matt opened his hand to its full
extent and then pulled it back quickly, closing it into a fist. Sakura
stopped in her tracks and was flung into the bed frame. "AAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Sakura screamed in pain, and fell off the bed. She started to sob. 'Li,
wherever you are, please hurry and come rescue me from the evil here!'
Sakura thought in agony and fear.

'Hold on, Sakura! I'm coming with Kero!' Li thought in despair as he
flew through the sky with Kero's inner magic. Kero was standing on top of
the Clow Book, and Li was floating behind it. When they arrived on the
cloud, Kero and Li saw a tall black fortress, where they were instantly
transported to a black, uninviting building. It was silent. The two
tiptoed quietly along, when they heard someone being hit against a wall.
Sakura's scream echoed through the fortress, and a fierce and defiant
laugh followed. Sobs of pain followed. "Sakura!" Kero whispered urgently.
Li focused his power, and it pointed him towards the left. "Let's go!" he
cried in a whisper. The two started running quietly. 'I'm coming, Sakura!
Please don't die!'

Matt laughed harshly. "You thought you could defeat me, Card Mistress,
without your pathetic little Clow Cards?!" Matt's voice echoed through
the room. "Of course! And they are now Sakura Cards, not Clow Cards! I
converted them a while ago!" Sakura said loudly through her sobs. Her
bright emerald eyes were glazed over and dull from pain. Her arms and
legs were battered with bruises. Sakura felt pain whenever she moved.
Matt laughed again, louder and more evil this time. "When I captured you,
Sakura Avalon, I also converted your Sakura Cards back into Clow Cards.
But without them in your possession right now, you are totally and
completely useless. Dark Evil, fling her into the wall again!" He moved
the black sphere between his hands with magic toward the wall. Sakura was
flung into the wall, splintering the wood. Again, a scream of pain echoed
through the black fortress. "
I will have my revenge against you, Card Mistress, for loving Li Syaoran
first! This is a battle no longer between the Clow Reed and the Dark Card
Master. Its a personal battle. As long as you are destroyed, Dark Master
will be happy and he will reward me lavishly. Dark Evil, slam her into
the ground!" The black sphere was moved down, and Sakura floated from the
splintered wall and she was slammed onto the floor on her back. Sakura
screamed, but it was more in pain than in loudness. All her strength was
gone. 'Shield card, shield me from this evil being while invisible to the
evil eye.' Instantly, a clear pink shield appeared before her, one that
Matt could not see. 'This isn't going to last forever.' Sakura winced as
she was slammed into the corner of the room, unable to move her right
arm. 'LI! KERO! HELP ME!' she called again in despair.