Introduction
A year has passed since Li fell prey to the Evil Card, and he's trying to cope with the effects. With his dark side closer to the surface, he can get angry very quickly – a fact that everyone notices.
Since he moved back to Readington, Sakura has been the rock in his life, the only person able to keep him balanced. But when an argument gets out of hand, Li makes a drastic decision…to walk out of her life forever.
Another year passes, and Sakura is once again under threat from evil forces. But without Li to protect her, is this the end for the 16 year old Card Mistress?
The scars of the past come back to haunt them…Chapter Nine; Betrayal, Hate And New Arrivals
Madison watched as her best friend turned and walked away, struggling to call out after her. She wasn't really mad at her…she had to tell her that…she didn't want her to fade away…
"Damn you! Let me go! Sakuraaaa!" She fought against the force that held her back, imprisoned deep within her own mind, straining against the invisible bonds that refused to let her go.
"Calm down, little girl. Nothing you do will make a difference." Madison shuddered as a figure materialised in front of her, fighting down the desire to start screaming abuse. This was the thing that had caught her, trapped her in this mental prison.
Chin-length black hair framed the pointed, pale face of a young girl – one that was wearing a black skin-tight dress with high black boots. She looked almost normal. But Madison had been around enough Clow/Star Cards to realise that this was a magical being – probably one of Li's latest creations.
"You try to blame me…but I'm not the one hurting Sakura right now. That would be you." The card sneered, twisting her face into a hideous mask of cruelty.
"But it's not me either." Madison shot back, trying desperately to show a brave face.
"Really? Is that what you think? But my dear counterpart, I am you." Another person appeared out of nowhere, causing Madison to shut her eyes tightly, denying the truth.
"It just takes one grain of sand in your heart…one dark thought so deep inside, you never even realised it was there. One angry desire to punish someone. Before you know it, that grain grows into something important, something worth ruining a beautiful friendship over. Such is the power of jealousy."
The new arrival seized Madison's chin, tilting her face upwards so that the girl had no choice, but to look. To see herself staring back.
The next morning, Sakura sat in front of her mirror, tying a pink ribbon into her hair. No phone call from Madison last night…or reappearance of Kero. She was getting slightly worried now – surely Kero would have called her? Tried to contact her?
Taking a deep breath, Sakura steadied herself, before running out the door. One thing at a time was bad enough – she'd give Kero another day to show himself before she began panicking.
Natalie watched as Sakura settled herself on a bench in the playground, obviously getting ready to spend the next hour alone. Hearing footsteps, she glanced over her shoulder, to see Madison standing behind her. Although the girl's eyes were strangely distant today, she still managed to shoot a contemptuous look at Sakura through the window.
"Pathetic, isn't it Natalie? She uses people, tosses them aside…then can't cope with the after-effects." As she watched Sakura opening her lunchbox, Natalie saw the single tear slide down her smooth cheek, dropping onto her sandwiches.
"You know what, Madison? Even if she is saying stuff about me, even if she did use me, I don't think anyone deserves to be alone. There's too much evil in the world already." And before Madison realised what the newer girl was doing, Natalie slid open the glass door and went to join Sakura.
"Fancy a bit of company? You looked kinda lonely." Sakura looked up to see Natalie standing there, a tentative smile on her face.
"Natalie! But…I thought Madison told you all that stuff…" She stammered, unsure what to think.
"Well, even if it was true, I still think you could do with a friend, as Madison seems to have taken over everyone else. It's not true, is it?"
"No! I'd never do anything like that. It's just that Madison has fallen out with me, and…" She looked away, biting a quivering bottom lip.
"Figured. But I'm glad it's definitely not true. Got any grapes?"
Madison glared through the window, trying to resist the urge to scream something. How dare Natalie waste all her hard work? How dare she make Sakura feel better?
You'll never beat Sakura. She's too kind. Her friends will never believe you.
"Shut up. You're lucky that I haven't squashed you yet." Madison growled, trying to ignore the way her real self was fighting back.
But you'll never beat me either. Because I have friends. I have someone who believes in me.
"Be quiet!" Madison slammed her hand against the wall, smiling as she felt the real Madison retreat.
"That's better. You know, if you want to stay whole, you might want to stay silent."
"Talking to yourself again?" Madison started as Kero popped out of her bag.
"Oh, Kero! I thought you were meant to be staying hidden?" Kero shrugged his tiny shoulders, before shooting an angry glare at Sakura.
"No way. I wanted to see you put that little brat in her place. Always ordering me around…never buying me enough food…" Madison nodded understandingly.
"I know just how you feel. But we have a problem. Natalie decided to stay friends with Sakura."
Kero began to growl, before shaking his head viciously.
"Damn it! Stop whining on at me! You can't stop me!" Madison raised an eyebrow, silently smirking.
"Guess I'm not the only one who has trouble with a resident conscience."
"The…old part of me is rebelling."
"Don't worry. He won't be able to resist forever. The longer we're in control…my better half is already weakening. Soon she'll just be a stray thought that comes to surface every now and then."
"Perfect. And so will mine." Kero sniggered.
"How are things going with Yue?" Madison asked.
"I just went to see him. I said several things that might make him angry with Sakura, but nothing worked. The card hasn't affected him yet."
"Pity. But he'll fall to it soon enough. And the rest of Sakura's friends won't pose much trouble." Her grin widened, and she began to chuckle mirthlessly.
"Then the little Cardcaptor will be all alone."
Sakura glanced up to see Madison watching her. She sighed, and started to turn back to Natalie, when she stiffened. Hadn't that been…?
Yes, it was Kero! But from the way he was glaring at her…Sakura's heart sank. She wasn't sure why, but it was clear that Kero, the guardian who was supposed to stay loyal to her, was just as angry as Madison.
>But why? I haven't done anything to him. Unless Madison got to him…but that doesn't make sense. He knows that she's fallen out with me, so he shouldn't have taken what she said seriously…>
Kero noticed that Sakura was watching him, and made a face at her. Then, with his nose in the air, he left with Madison. Holding back a sob, Sakura turned back to Natalie, trying to ignore the way it felt like her heart was breaking once more.
"Julian! Are you there?" Sakura peered through the letterbox, trying to see if there was anyone at home. She'd rung the doorbell a couple of times, but no one had answered.
"Sakura? Hey!" Turning at the sound of Julian's voice, Sakura watched as the grey haired teen came up the path behind her. Carrying yet another bag of groceries.
"Hi Julian! Could I come in a minute, please?" Sakura asked.
"Sure. You're always here anyway." For a moment, Julian's normally happy expression was replaced by an angry one.
"Huh? Um…if this is a bad time, I can leave…" Sakura backed away slightly.
"No, come in! I'm sorry, Sakura. That just popped out." Smiling apologetically, Julian led the way in. Sakura stayed where she was for a second, unable to decide whether she should follow. >What am I doing? Julian's been my friend for years! I shouldn't feel weird around him!>
Sakura took her shoes off, and went into the kitchen. Julian was putting away his groceries – well, the ones he hadn't already eaten.
"Julian? I need to talk to you about something." Julian tensed, and looked at Sakura seriously.
"Do you want me, or Yue?"
"Uh…I'm not really sure. I think either of you would do." Julian cocked his head to one side, as if listening to someone, before smiling again.
"Well, I think Yue definitely wants to talk to you."
Sakura watched as the wings surrounded Julian, unfolding to reveal Yue.
"Yue."
"Mistress." Sakura winced slightly. She wasn't quite sure when he'd started calling her that again, but she wished he'd call her by name.
"I kind of wanted to talk to you…but you want to talk to me too. So who goes first?"
"You. Perhaps it will be linked to what I want to talk about." Yue raised an elegant eyebrow, and crossed his arms, waiting. Sakura took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Well, Madison fell out with me. It was unexpected – we hadn't argued or anything. But I figured it was normal. I mean all friends fall out sometimes, right? Then Kero went missing, and when I saw him again, he'd obviously fallen out with me as well…and I don't even know why!"
Yue placed a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder, and he lifted her head to look at his.
"It will be alright, Mistress. I have a feeling that magic has something to do with this."
"It does?"
"Recently, I've started to get angry with you. Over tiny, irrational things. But there's no real reason for me to feel that way. And if Madison and Kero have fallen out with you…" Yue paused, narrowing his eyes.
"So you think you're all being affected by magic?" Sakura asked.
"Yes. It is my belief that Li and the Dark Monarchs are using another card…a more subtle one." Yue crossed his arms again, his eye beginning to twitch in what Sakura suspected was the closest thing Yue ever got to real anger.
"So how do I stop it? I mean, the card hasn't shown itself yet…" Sakura's voice trailed away, and she thought hard.
"Unless…unless there's a bit of the spirit in both of them! That's it, Yue, isn't it!"
The corner of his mouth lifting, Yue nodded, giving Sakura the best smile he could offer.
"Yes, Mistress. Which means that we have to lure them somewhere, so that we can rescue them."
"Ok, Sakura. What do you want now? I thought I'd made it clear to you that I didn't want to be friends again." Madison sneered.
"And that goes for me too. I don't even have to live with you anymore, because I can stay with Madison!" Kero added.
"Well, I don't really care what you think, because you're not my friends. My friends are trapped somewhere inside of you." Bracing herself, Sakura summoned her staff and got into a battle position. She'd managed to get them to come to Penguin Park, but she wasn't really sure what to do next.
"What on earth are you on about? I think you've finally lost it!" Madison turned to go, but Yue landed in front of her, blocking her path.
"Oh, so that's what your game is! Fine!" Kero growled, and transformed into Keroberos.
The two guardians faced off, one seething with anger, the other eerily serene. But both of them were ready to battle.
"Come to your senses, Keroberos! Will you, a guardian, actually give in to a card? To Li? To the Brat?" Yue goaded Kero, trying to get him to fight against the card. It wasn't working.
"Don't tell me you're not starting to feel the same way, Yue! All it will take is one little comment to make you snap…perhaps I had better help you!" Keroberos smiled, clearly intending to trigger the card's affect on Yue.
>What can I do…until the card shows itself, I'm stuck. And if Kero has his way, Yue will hate me too…Hate! That's it!> Sakura faced Madison, Yue and Kero, holding her staff out in front of her.
"You're a Helix Card, aren't you? Well, I've guessed your name! I command you to show yourself…Hate Card!" Sakura pushed as much power into that command as she could, and sighed in relief as it worked.
Yue simply grimaced slightly as a mist rose out of him, but Madison and Kero collapsed as strange figures oozed out of them. For a moment, there were two Madisons, and two Keros, but with silent screams of fury, the duplicates faded away.
The mist that had come out of Yue hovered there for a moment, before beginning to change shape. In a matter of seconds, the vapour had twisted into a humanoid form. It glowed slightly, and features appeared on its face, revealing the Hate Card.
"No! Master Li's plans…ruined…" The card groaned. Sakura blinked slightly. >Well that's new. An emotional card? Guess Li decided to play around a bit with the design.>
"No! I won't fail him! I refuse to…" The Hate covered her face in her hands, shaking her head in denial.
"I will be victorious! I will…" Her voice trailed away, and her dark eyes began to gleam.
"You may have stopped me from polluting their spirits, but you can't stop me from possessing their souls! Ha!"
The card swooped down, clearly heading for Madison. Still dazed, the girl was unable to get out the way, and could do nothing but cry out.
"Madison!" Sakura seized her cards, before realising that even if she'd had a clue which one to use, she'd never be able to summon it in time.
"Madison!"
But just as the Hate went to enter Madison's body, a shining light shot in front of it, blocking the way.
"Huh? What the…" Confused, Sakura looked around for the source, and realised with a jolt that Yue was beginning to slump over, groaning in pain.
"Yue! What's wrong!" Sakura felt torn. Should she go to help Madison, or Yue?
"The light's his soul, Sakura! He's blocking the Hate with his own spirit!" Kero bellowed at her.
"What…?" Turning back, Sakura watched as the Hate burrowed deeper and deeper into the light, causing Yue to cry out behind her.
"Yes! How I love corruption! How's it feel, Yue, being a fallen angel?" The Hate shrieked, before disappearing into the light of Yue's soul. The light began to pulse black, and flew back, past Sakura, into Yue again.
"Oh no…" Sakura whispered, suddenly realising what had happened. Spinning round to face the Moon Guardian, she watched in horror as his beautiful sapphire eyes became a blood red, and his hair changed from delicate white to thick black.
"Yue…" Kero whispered, blinking in disbelief. He'd known Yue for hundreds of years, and couldn't stand to think of Yue being corrupted like this.
"You know what? I think I like being a fallen angel. It feels so…free." Yue smirked, standing upright once more.
"Sakura! Do something! You can't just let Hate affect him like this!" Madison cried.
"Don't bother asking for help, Madison. She'll only fail you." Yue glared at Sakura, silently daring her to retaliate.
"What do you mean by that? I do the best I can!" Sakura felt like she was being torn in two. Once again, her friends were being hurt because she just wasn't strong enough.
"You'll never be as good as my old Master! The only person I've ever truly respected was Clow Reed!" Yue screamed back.
"Which is why you should calm down, and listen to me." A soft voice came out of nowhere, shocking everyone as its owner was revealed.
Dun dun dun! Who's the new arrival? Can you guess? Ha ha! Sorry for the long wait, but here are two chapters to make up for it. R and R people!