A long time ago, on a very peculiar day, my mirror lured someone out of her bed and opened a doorway to my workshop. I don't know if my mirror was being mischievous, or malicious. Perhaps it knew that the curious intruder had a role to play in my… project.
I was putting the finishing touches on my latest creation, a world for those who have been forgotten. Satisfied with my progress, I put the magic brush down, and retired to my chambers. Had I known what events would follow, I would have locked away everything; Paint, brush, and thinner.
I heard the noises and rushed to see what had happened, but I was too late. The world I had created was ravaged; A wasteland. The mysterious intruder was gone. I did not learn her identity... Well, not for a very long time.
"Where am I?" Sakura asked herself as she came to. Her head was still spinning. The last thing she remembered she was lying in bed, reading, when all of a sudden she was enveloped in a thick, inky darkness.
As her vision came back into focus, Sakura could see she was in some sort of workshop. The large room was crisscrossed by large pipes and all sorts of machinery. The idle equipment let out a low hum. Sakura tried to sit up to get a better look, but something held her back. There were restraints on her wrists and ankles, rendering her unable to move or free herself.
After several failed attempts to break free, she resigned herself to her fate, staring at the machinery looming above her in the dark, stone room as tears began to form under her eyes. Why? was the only question that came to mind as she sat there helplessly.
After what felt to her like an eternity, Sakura heard a wooden door creak open and the sound of approaching footsteps. A figure stepped into view.
"Please," Sakura pleaded. "Let me go!"
The figure looked over at Sakura, and Sakura found herself face-to-face with a woman with long dark hair. Somehow, the woman seemed vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't place her finger on who it was.
"I'll let you go, just as soon as you give me what I want," the woman said, with a scowl.
"And… What's that?" Sakura replied, her voice trembling.
The woman shrugged. "Nothing much. Just your heart." With that line, she flipped a switch and the machinery buzzed to life with a loud roar. The scraping of rusted gears sent Sakura into a cold sweat.
The woman pulled another lever, and the table Sakura was strapped to began to slowly rotate, although it felt like the whole world was rotating around her instead. The table suddenly jerked to a stop. "Perfect! Now don't move," the woman said. Sakura began frantically searching her memory, trying to remember who this person was, or why she would want to hurt her. The ceiling seemed to open up as a large blade descended upon her. She wanted to call out but the sounds got stuck in her throat. She closed her eyes tight and prepared for the worst.
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice call out her name. "Sakura!"
Am I dead?
She had little time to ponder the question as a loud crash brought her back to reality. A strange yellow creature buzzed around the woman as she tried frantically to swat it away, but it was far too quick. "Get away from me, you pest!" she shouted in frustration. As the woman grew tired and confused, the creature seized its chance and tackled her to the floor.
Sakura remembered his name all at once. "K-Kero-chan, help!" she called out. The spinning blade drew nearer and nearer to her chest. It seemed to move slowly, taunting her in her imminent peril.
Kero gasped, then fluttered quickly over to the control panel and began flipping switches.
"Oh, no you don't!" The woman leapt to her feet and grabbed him. But it was too late. Sakura's restraints clicked open. Wasting no time, Sakura rolled off the table and onto the floor. She took a deep breath, then stood to confront her captor. "Let him go!"
A sinking feeling grew in Sakura's stomach as a large, black monster appeared in between her and the others. It looked down upon her with a horrible smile as it towered above her, oozing black slime.
Sakura looked for anything she could find to defend herself, but the only thing nearby was a paintbrush at her feet. Still, it was better than nothing. She picked it up and pointed it at the monster, doing her best to appear unafraid of its menacing grin.
However, she was still fully surprised when the monster's grin became a look of fear, and it sunk back into the floor. There was an equally surprised look on the woman's face.
"I said," Sakura shouted, "Let him go!"
"Hmph. Fine. But I'll be back." The woman dropped Kero and fled the room.
"Looks like I was just in time," Kero said as he recovered. He flipped a few more switches and the blade retreated into the ceiling once more.
Sakura smiled. "Kero-chan, am I ever glad to see you!" She looked at the door where the woman had fled. "Who was that, anyway? I feel like I've met her before."
"I'll explain everything later. Right now, we should focus on getting out of here."
"But where is 'here?'" Sakura asked.
"Like I said, I'll explain later," Kero said impatiently.
"Okay. Lead the way."
Sakura followed Kero through a stone corridor, past countless rotting wooden doors. At last they reached a staircase. All that time, Sakura remained silent, despite all of the questions she wanted to ask him. She clutched the brush she had found tightly in her hands.
The staircase led to a door that opened into small courtyard.
Kero shushed her. "I didn't say anything!" Sakura complained.
"We need to be stealthy. The castle is overrun with the Blot's minions," Kero replied.
"The… Blot?"
"Yeah, the Blot. You know, that giant monster made of ink that you saw in the dungeon? If his minions see you, they'll attack you on sight, so you better be careful out here." Sakura could make out a few small blobby creatures patrolling the courtyard through the dark night.
Sakura carefully closed the door to prevent it from slamming shut and drawing attention to her. They moved slowly along the outer wall to avoid being seen, but there was little cover to hide behind. Aside from the occasional bricks strewn about the crumbling stone castle, the courtyard was fairly empty. It didn't take long before the blotlings caught onto them. They began to charge Sakura, and despite their lack of distinguishable faces, she could tell they were not happy.
"Okay, what we did there? Not stealthy," Kero said flatly.
"What do we do?" Sakura cried.
"I don't know, use your head!"
Sakura though back to the brush she had found that had scared off the Blot. Grasping it firmly with both hands, she pointed it at one of the encroaching blobs. There's gotta be some reason that thing was afraid of this. The blotlings did not back off like the Blot had. With little time left to act, Sakura began to swing the brush wildly in hopes of fending them off. Much to her surprise, a viscous green liquid sprayed from the tip, soaking the blotlings and dissolving them like acid. Sakura stared at the puddles of ink that remained as she attempted to catch her breath.
"You never fail to surprise me, do you, Sakura?" Kero said.
"I… did that?" A feeling of guilt arose within her. What kind of creature had she just carelessly snuffed out?
"Yep. Sure did. I guess that's no ordinary brush you found."
"Hmm… Do you think it belonged to Clow-san?"
"Maybe. He kept all kinds of secrets, even from me and Yue. But we should focus on getting out of here for now."
Sakura and Kero hurried across the courtyard and through the large wooden door leading out of the castle grounds. They came out into a square dotted with different amusement park rides, each and every one worn far beyond repair. There was no one around, not even one of the monsters. An eerie silence loomed over the landscape.
"Where is everyone?" Sakura asked.
"This park was meant to keep Tomoeda bearable," Kero explained. "But after the Thinner Disaster, construction on the park was brought to a halt."
"Tomoeda? Thinner Disaster?" It seemed every explanation just left Sakura with even more questions.
"It's not the Tomoeda you remember growing up in," Kero said. "Main Street is just ahead, past the clock tower."
The clock tower Kero was referring to loomed ominously over the deserted park, threatening to come crashing down at any moment. Its decorated face, which had likely once been painted with a goofy smile, had now faded into a deranged grin. Sakura wasted no time in walking past it.
The park gate was padlocked, but the unkept wall around it gave Sakura all the footing she needed to climb over. As she set out along the wooded path, she took one last look back the way she came. KEEP OUT was posted on the gate in big red letters, the castle looming prominently in the sky above it. Sakura breathed a heavy sigh.
"Thank you for saving me, Kero-chan," she said after a brief pause.
"Hey, no problem. I always had your back when we caught the Cards, right?"
"What were you doing here, anyway?"
"I've been keeping an eye on that woman. I never expected to run into you though."
"Who is she? I feel like I should recognize her, and yet, I can't," Sakura complained.
"I don't know. But whoever she is, it's a good thing I showed up when I did. It's good to see you. How's the kid doing?"
"Syaoran's not a kid anymore. You can't keep calling him that."
"I can and I will."
"Hmph," Sakura said with a disapproving look. "Anyway, he's doing fine."
"Good, good. Well, let's report back to City Hall. The mayor will want to know that you're here."
Sakura nodded. She was more than happy to get out of that miserable place before they encountered any more trouble. Together they set off down the long road.