(A/N: Thanks for all your reviews. I'm glad I could continue. Enjoy.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. I own whatever their personalities are in this story and any character that I make up. I own my storyline.

Chapter 2

For the hundreth time, she told herself not to be afraid. The walls weren't pressing in on her. The floor wasn't falling out from under her. There was no one watching on the other side of the one-way mirror. She was not afraid. But she was. She was so afraid.

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Fear. She thought she was used to it; all the times her father had come home and terrorized her had taken its toll on her mind and body. Scars were etched across her back, her legs, her arms and neck, all from the numerous times he had struck her with whatever he could lay his hands on. His belt, a whip, a blunt stick, a metal curtain rod...permanent scars from these that would last for life. But his words. They hurt more. The scars they made were so much deeper.

Imbecile, bitch, whore, oaf. Just words...until they came from her father. And still just words, that tore her heart all the same. He told her a thousand times over that she was no daughter of his. But she loved him, still, and it hurt her all the more. Her heart would never be whole again.

Fear. The only constant thing in her life, apart from inconsistence itself. The one thing she thought she was used to. Still there, for sure, but changed. It was so much worse now.

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"Syaoran." A hoarse voice floated out from the shadows.

Syaoran turned his head. "Yes, master?"

"Come here."

The boy walked to his master, who was sitting in a wooden throne of sorts, and stood respectfully.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" His tone was emotionless.

The man frowned slightly. "Syaoran, what were you doing with that girl today?"

"Which girl, master?"

"Have you forgotten already?"

"I can't seem to recall anyone who was significant enough to remember."

His master let his breath hiss out slowly.

"The girl in the room, you fool. The one with the green eyes and anorexic figure, unless I'm mistaken. You were bent over her, and I have no idea nor notion of what you were about to do, but Syaoran, she is my property. I didn't like how close you two were, and I will never find it amusing if you decide to touch her more than you should. So as a reminder to you, stay away from her. If I catch you "feeling her up" again, the consequences will be...painful."

Syaoran bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, and turned away. He didn't care. Why should he? He didn't even know this girl. He barely remembered her.

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The floor outside creaked again, waking Sakura from her restless slumber. She sat up, instantly alert. Was it the boy again? For some reason, the thought made her heart hammer. She shook her head and dropped her lids, hooding her eyes. The door opened.

"Ouch," a female voice muttered, then giggled, as a male voice answered it.

Sakura's ears perked up. Someone was giggling? In this place? What an unexpectedly welcome sound.

A girl, about Sakura's own age, tottered through the door, carrying a large tray in her hands and a bundle under her arm. She smiled again as the male voice whispered something, then a hand gave her a gentle push forward. She came into the room and smiled at Sakura.

Sakura looked her over. Long, dusky-purple hair flowed from where it was held in place with a black rag, tattered clothing covered a gracefully thin frame, and large, sparkling purple eyes were set in a face that looked as if it were happy to see her. Sakura couldn't help feeling slightly more at ease with such a presence in the room. Before she could speak and ask the girl what business she had, the girl beamed at her, and her eyes crinkled into slits of delight.

"Hi," she said cheerfully, walking toward Sakura. "I'm Tomoyo. What's your name?"

Sakura thought fast. She seemed like a nice enough girl, but could she really be trusted? She decided to play it safe, just in case.

"I'm Rika," she replied softly, using the name of one of her childhood friends.

"Hmm..." Tomoyo studied her carefully, her head tilted onto one side. "You don't seem like a Rika. Hey! A-Rika! Arika! I like that..." Sakura raised an eyebrow slightly, but she couldn't help smiling. Tomoyo noticed.

"Well, whatever. You're the only girl I've seen in this place for a long time that's my age. Most of the--" she hesitated, decided to go on, "--servants...here..are guys." She lowered her voice. "I don't like them at all. They pick on me and call me names, even get touchy-feely once in a while." She shuddered. "The bad way, if you know what I'm talking about." Sakura nodded. She knew. Tomoyo continued. "My advice, stay away from them all. They can't be trusted. Except for Eriol. He's nice." She smiled and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. She abruptly changed the subject. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here, even though I doubt you are."

"Where is here?" asked Sakura, glad she could finally get in a word. Tomoyo became serious.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Would I be asking if I knew?" Sakura's voice was even, hiding her slight contempt.

Tomoyo grinned. "I suppose not. Well..." The grin faded as quickly as it had come. "I suppose you gotta know sometime. See, the thing is, this is top-secret, what I'm about to tell you. I'm not even supposed to know, but I'm pretty well connected with Eriol, and he's pretty well connected with...the master."

"The master?" What a lame-o name, she thought. Who calls himself "the master?"

"Yes. A while back, a couple of decades I think, he started an underground gang. His gang members called themselves the Secrets of Life. Yeah, I know," she added, catching the look on Sakura's face. "Pretty corny. The thing is, they actually did know the secrets of life. Some of them did anyway. They put these to their uses, and did terrible things. Remember the atom bomb that the Americans dropped on us?" Sakura nodded. "Everyone thinks it was the Americans, but it was actually them that did it."

"How? Where did they get the technology?"

"They know the secrets of life, remember? After they dropped a couple of bombs, the war with the rest of the world ended. Turns out the war was interfering with some of their major plans, so they had to stop it. Unfortunately, something they hadn't anticipated came along, and that was the cancer. Leukemia. Lots of people died from it, including many of the gang itself. I don't think it was more of a gang than an actual organization, though. So anyway, after the people died, there were only seven members of the organization left. They were all men, so they couldn't have children to carry on their legacy. They couldn't exactly just walk out onto the street and pick up a wife either, because in order to have children with someone, you must love them, and they you, wholeheartedly. It's one of their unbreakable rules. But the Secret of Life was public and government enemy number one, so whoever they told would probably shun them and run away in the end. So they're living out life, trying to find an heir to take over the throne. That's why they kidnapped all the children of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Japan, and from all over the world. Rumour has it that one of the boys is the American president's son. I tell you, they're trying to find the heir to their throne of darkness." She said these last words dramatically, her eyes widening.

Sakura wasn't about to be won over that easily though. "How did they get him?"

"The American boy? We're talking about the guys who made the Americans think that they dropped the Hiroshima bomb and took credit for it, remember? It was probably a cinch."

Sakura nodded. "But you still haven't told me where we are."

Tomoyo laughed. "Oh, right. Well, we're in the secret headquarters of the organization. Nobody in the world, apart from true members, know where it is."

"And who's this master person?"

The other girl dropped her eyes. "He's the leader of the whole gang. One of the most powerful men on earth, without anyone even knowing it. That's power. And he's ruthless. Heartless. He handpicks boys who he thinks are worthy enough to train himself, and cater to him. He makes them all just like him. You should stay away from him."

"So, will he get touchy-feely on me too?"

She meant it as a joke, but Tomoyo's eyes suddenly clouded over, and she gave a small shuddering gasp. Sakura leaned forward, concerned.

"Are you alright?"

Tomoyo shook her head. "I'm fine. And yes, he will. At every opportunity he gets."

It took a moment for the realization of what she had just said to sink in. Tomoyo...

The girl interrupted Sakura's thoughts and held out the tray that she had brought in. "Eat," she said. "It's good food. After you're done, put on this dress."

She reached for the bundle she had laid down earlier in the heat of the story, and unraveled it. It was a beautiful dress, made of delicate, sparkling green that matched Sakura's eyes, and embroidered with shining blue that wrapped around the arms, wound its way around the torso, and spiraled down the skirt. Sakura looked at it and her brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?" asked Tomoyo, looking up from the lovely creation. "Don't you like it? I think it's beautiful."

"One, it's way too tight. It'll show off much more than needed. Two, I don't wear dresses anyway. I'm not a dressy person." Saying this brought back memories...

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Seven-year-old Sakura walked down the street, hand in hand with her mother. They turned a corner onto a small path in the woods. Her mother had bought her a pretty dress, white with green patches, that brought out her eyes. Sakura was licking her ice cream, happy that for once, she could spend a day out of the house; away from the screaming, the pain, and the constant fear.

Suddenly, two men stepped out onto the path. Sakura's mother didn't look up, and tried to walk by them with a polite, "Excuse us." They moved in closer, not letting her pass.

"Well, aren't you a pretty little mother out walkin' with her pretty little daughter. Is she adopted?" The first man leered at the young girl, then eyed her mother. "'Cause you still got all your nice curves in the right places!"

Her mother's eyes widened. "Get away from me!" She pulled Sakura close, and attempted to hide her. The other man pounced, grabbing Sakura with his lean, wiry hands. She cried out and tried to kick him. He jumped back easily, not letting go of her and laughing.

"This one's frisky! She'll be more fun than her mother!" He turned to look at her in her pretty dress. "I'd like to get that thing off you little girl...I'm glad you're not wearing pants. Oops, I'm sorry, did that sound wrong?" He laughed racously.

"Oh, I don't think she'll be more fun than her mother. This one's not wearing pants either." The first man leaned close to her mother, pressing her body to his and covered her lips roughly with his. She tried to scream, and wriggled feebly in his strong grasp. The man moaned into her mouth as her thigh pressed into him. Sakura could only watch in horror as he proceeded to strip her mother. She was too preoccupied to notice that the other man was staring hungrily at the other two, then at her with a kind of primal lust.

Suddenly, he wrenched her off her feet and pushed her to the ground. He shoved his hand up her dress and began feeling around. Sakura cried. Then she remembered that her friend Rika had shown her where her little brother was most sensitive. So she kicked out as hard as she could with her foot, and connected squarely with the thing (she thought) in between his legs. He yelled in pain and let go of her. She scrambled up off of the ground, and turned to help her mother. The other man had looked up at the sound of his comrade's cry, and had let go of Sakura's mother. The woman wriggled out of his grasp and ran, taking Sakura's hand. They flew down the path, away from the two men. Suddenly, gunshots rang out.

Sakura's mother gasped, and fell to the ground, facedown. Two drops of red seeped through her cotton dress.

"Mommy!" Sakura screamed, turning around.

"No! Run!" Her word were short, coming in gasps.

"I won't leave! I won't leave you!"

"Sakura, if you love me, then you will do as I say! Run NOW!"

So the girl ran. Bullets zinged past her head. It was a miracle none of them hit. She kept running, until her legs gave out and the world turned black.

And thus it was that she lost her mother, the one person in the world whom she had thought would always be there to lean on. Strangely enough, when she awoke in the middle of the woods, she didn't feel like crying. Her grief was beyond what tears could heal. Instead, she felt a coldness inside. A hollow shell that contained all her feelings, and would not let them out.

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"Rika?" Tomoyo sounded worried. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She shook her head, clearing her mind. "So...why do I need to wear a dress? Is it possible that I don't wear a dress?"

"No, sorry." Tomoyo smiled sadly. "No way out this time."

"Why not?"

"You're...you're going to meet the Master."

"Oh. Fabulous."

(A/N: This chapter was mostly one that let you in on the plot a bit more. I'll put in some more mush next chapter if you want it. Promise. So what did you think? If I don't get at least 8 reviews I won't continue. Yes, it's a threat.)