Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The Enemy Revealed ❯ Clash in the City ( Chapter 10 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Enemy Revealed
Chapter 10: Clash in the City

"Kero-chan! Spinel-san!" Sakura cried as the two Master Cybers went after the unconscious Sun Guardians. She reached for the Fly Card and prepared to release its magic with her Wand.

"Leave them to their battle!"

Stopping, Sakura looked at Hacker. "But, my friends..."

"Your devotion to your friends is admirable, but our fight has the most importance attached to it," Hacker stated. "If you defeat me, your Cards and Key are safe for now." He pointed one beam saber at the Cardmistress. "This matter will be settled through honorable battle only."

Sakura fixed her eyes on the Master Cyber. "Why didn't you change like the others?"

"A true warrior uses his basic abilities in combat and never relies on extras," Hacker explained. "The User may have given me a secondary form, but to use it is a dishonorable act." He struck his chest with his fist. "If I am to lose to you, I will lose fighting as myself."

Sakura gasped with surprise at the swordsman's talk. "But you're so powerful."

"As are you," Hacker pointed out. "You are the Cardmistress, after all."

Sakura took up a battle pose, holding her sword before her. "Then let's finish this."

Hacker readied his beam sabers. "Agreed." With a yell, he charged and engaged Sakura in sword-to-sword combat.

After a flurry of swings and counterswings, the two combatants separated. Hacker's beam sabers glowed. "System Crash!" he shouted, using both sabers to fire an energy wave.

Sakura ran out of the way and grabbed a Sakura Card. "Rain!" she yelled, releasing the Card's magic.

A cloud formed over Hacker, and rain poured down on him. As the Master Cyber dealt with the falling water, Sakura chose her next Card. "Wind, become a binding chain! Windy!"

"Data Slash!" With one hit, Hacker took out the rain cloud. He was about to attack Sakura with more Data Slashes when Windy wrapped itself around him and lifted him off the ground.

"Carry him higher, Windy!" Sakura ordered. She hoped Hacker would be less of a threat if his feet were not touching the ground.

Windy obeyed its mistress and carried Hacker to a higher altitude. Meanwhile, Hacker tried to break free by moving his limbs.

* * * * *

Psycho eyed his two captives. "Oh, goody! Puppets!" he declared, moving his fingers. Below him, Yue and Ruby Moon waved their arms and legs with the pull of their strings. "Dance, puppets, dance!"

"When I get loose..." Ruby Moon muttered angrily as she danced.

"Patience," Yue recommended.

"Awwwwww, are my puppets unhappy?" Psycho asked in a mock sad tone. "Gee, I recall that you two tried to kill each other a while back."

"Get ready," Yue whispered to Ruby Moon, hoping to take advantage of the momentary pause.

"Well, it's time for you two to kiss and make up!" Psycho swung his arms and rammed the two Moon Guardians into each other. Smacking heads, Yue and Ruby Moon became a mess of tangled limbs. Laughing at the sight, Psycho made his next move. "Joy Buzzer!" he said, sending powerful jolts of electricity into his opponents. He laughed as they screamed. "Ah, what beautiful music," he mused.

Psycho waved his fingers, making the strings disappear. The Moon Guardians dropped to the ground. He hovered towards them, laughing all the way.

Ruby Moon got up first and glared at Psycho. Her teeth clenched, she flew at the clown and fired. Psycho dodged the attack with a spin. "Psycho Trick!"

Heads with sharp teeth flew at Ruby Moon. Furious, she blasted the creatures away. Psycho waved his hands, and creatures resembling robotic crocodile heads fell on the red Moon Guardian. They snapped at her, determined to sink their sharp teeth into her flesh. Ruby Moon alternated between firing and swatting at the pests.

Yue moved in to help Ruby Moon, but Psycho appeared in his path. "Move, clown!"

A spiked ball appeared below Psycho. He flipped back and kicked it at the approaching Guardian. Yue fired at it, and the ball exploded, releasing a black gas cloud.

Waving away the black gas, Yue saw that Psycho had disappeared again. Clenching his fists and teeth, he scanned the area. "Where are you?" Yue demanded.

He heard laughter around him, then singing. "I like coffee, I like tea! I like toys, and they like me!"

"Show yourself!" Yue demanded.

Ruby Moon destroyed another creature, but more of its brethren appeared. "Yue, I could use your help over here!" she shouted as her enemies swarmed around her.

Yue got ready to help Eriol's Guardian. The singing continued. "I see London, I see France, I see Bird Boy kicked in the pants!"

Yue spun around, and Psycho appeared behind him. He attempted to fire, but the clown delivered a swift kick to the groin. As the angelic Guardian staggered, the Master Cyber laughed. "To be honest, I was aiming for your butt. You shouldn't have moved, bucko."

Recovering, Yue straightened himself out. He stared silently at the laughing clown, his eyes narrowed.

"Awwwww, did that hurt?" Psycho asked mockingly. "Taking into account the data we have on you Guardians, I thought you guys didn't have...well, you know..."

Yue answered him with a crystal blast. He knocked Psycho back a little, but the clown just laughed. "Gee, what was that? Tickle torture?" He moved his fingers, and cards appeared in his hand. "Since your friend's playing with my Bits and Bytes, I thought it'd be fair for you to have some playmates, too." He threw the cards at Yue, who fired at them. The cards avoided the attacked and circled the Moon Guardian. Then, they grew into cards with faces and wands. "Cardians, attack!"

The Cardians fired their wands. Yue flew upward and fired arrows at Psycho. A few Cardians flew in front of their master and took the arrows for him.

"Psycho Bomb!" Psycho threw three energy balls at Yue.

Yue dodged the deadly projectiles and fired crystals at Psycho. The Cardians formed a shield and blocked the attack, then fired back. Yue dodged and threw a powerful wind at the Cardians, scattering them. However, Psycho was gone.

*Now where did he go?* Yue thought as he scanned the sky.

Meanwhile, Ruby Moon disposed of the last Bits and Bytes. "Is this the best that clown can do?" she asked mockingly.

Psycho appeared before her. "Nope," he said before blasting her at close range with three Psycho Bombs.

The impact threw Ruby Moon into Yue's hands. "Thanks," she said, stretching out her hand for a crystal blast. Yue nodded and joined in with his own attack.

The Cardians formed a shield in front of Psycho again and fired back. The two sides engaged in a gunfight, with crystal shards versus energy beams. Finally, the Cardians scattered, and Psycho was gone again.

"Does this guy ever stand still?" Ruby Moon fumed.

She and Yue heard Psycho's laugh. "What, and make it easy for you?" he asked, appearing before them.

"That's it!" Ruby Moon clenched her teeth and charged the evil clown.

"Wait!" Yue shouted, going after her.

"Time for me to present my new trick." Psycho chuckled, then stretched out his arm. "Night Terror!" A ball of dark energy shot out of his hand and formed into a large demonic face. Flashing its sharp teeth, it roared and rushed at the Moon Guardians.

Both Moon Guardians fired at the Night Terror, which absorbed their attacks. It opened its mouth and lunged at its prey. Yue and Ruby Moon split up, and the Night Terror bit empty air. Growling, it looked from one Guardian to the other and tried to choose its first victim.

"Well, that went well," Ruby Moon quipped.

Yue eyed the dark creature. "We must keep out of its reach until we find a way to destroy it."

Just as Yue and Ruby Moon were about to move again, the Cardians boxed them in. They fired at the Moon Guardians, keeping them in one location. Yue and Ruby Moon answered with blasts of their own, but their shots merely knocked the Cardians back. Seeing its prey trapped and distracted, the Night Terror flew at the Moon Guaridans. Before they could react, Yue and Ruby Moon were engulfed by the dark energy creature.

Psycho laughed as the two Moon Guardians struggled inside the Night Terror. "That's it! Do your thing! Suck enough of their energy to render them harmless! We don't want them to die just yet!"

The Night Terror obeyed its master. Inside the living darkness, Yue felt his energy being drained. Near him, Ruby Moon started to falter. His limbs started to lose their feeling, and his eyelids grew heavy. Ruby Moon became unconscious, and the last thing Yue heard was Psycho's insane laughter.

* * * * *

Kerberos and Spinel Sun crashed into another part of the city. They formed craters due to the strong impact. Spinel Sun was the first to recover. "What happened?" he wondered, still dazed from the crash. Lifting himself out of the crater, he looked around and found his fellow Sun Guardian. "Kerberos!"

Kerberos winced. "But, Sakura, you should've left me some cake," he muttered.

Spinel Sun sweatdropped. "Oh dear." He swatted Kerberos with his paw. "Snap out of it!"

"What's the matter, Sun Guardians? A little under the weather?"

Hearing giggling above him, Spinel Sun looked upward and found Techno and Cracker above him. Returning his attention to Kerberos, he slapped the winged lion again. "Kerberos, snap out of it!"

After a few more slaps, Kerberos shook his head and got his bearings. "What happened?" he asked.

"They happened," Spinel Sun said solemnly, gesturing to the two Master Cybers above.

Techno giggled loudly. "Good, you're both up. Now you can feel the pain we're going to serve to you."

"Lucky shot," Kerberos said, glaring at the two Masters.

"Aw, shaddup!" Cracker took aim with his arm and unloaded the contents of his arm cannon.

Both Guardians leapt out of the way and fired back. The Masters moved out of the way quickly. Techno raised his hammer. "Power Pound!" he shouted as he brought down his weapon.

A series of explosions rushed at the Sun Guardians. "Take to the air!" Spinel Sun told Kerberos. Kerberos followed Spinel Sun skyward in time to avoid the ground exploding underneath them.

The Masters moved in for the attack. Kerberos and Spinel Sun answered with their breath attacks. They made contact, causing the robots to move back.

"We got 'em!" Kerberos said, flying at Cracker.

"Kerberos, wait!" Spinel Sun warned.

Roaring, Kerberos unleashed a wave of fire at the giant Cyber. The fire covered Cracker, and he moved back. "Not so tough, are ya?" the lion asked as he dashed at his target. Igniting, he became a flaming projectile. As he got closer, he declared, "Now I got...!"

Kerberos finished with an "Urk!" as Cracker grabbed him by the throat. "You should've listened to your friend," the Master Cyber said as the flames danced harmlessly on him. He increased the pressure being applied to the golden-eyed lion's throat.

"Kerberos!" Spinel Sun prepared to help his fellow Sun Guardian. Too focused on Kerberos in distress, the panther failed to see Techno appear behind him.

"Mad Bomber!"

Spinel Sun found himself being grabbed from behind. A giant Time Bomb held him in its grip. As he struggled to break free, its timer counted down from ten seconds.

Techno giggled loudly. Just as the timer ticked down to two seconds, he flew up. The resulting explosion threw Spinel Sun to the ground hard.

Cracker eyed the fallen Sun Guardian, then returned his focus to the struggling Kerberos. "You should join your friend." He released the golden-eyed lion. "Graviton Blaster!"

The belt cannons unleashed dark energy on Kerberos before he could counterattack. Feeling heavy, he crashed onto Spinel Sun.

"Just to make sure you stay put..." Cracker aimed his shoulder cannons at the Sun Guardians. "Devastator Cannon!" he bellowed before opening fire. The combined blast from both cannons left a smoking crater with two Sun Guardians lying in the middle. They groaned as they tried to move. "Drats, they're still moving."

Techno giggled maniacally. "Not for long. Vile Poison!" His neck bent back, and as it thrust forward, he unleashed a large dark gas cloud. It floated onto the Guardians.

"Wh...?" Kerberos began to wonder, but his mouth froze along with the rest of his body. *Can't move!* Near him, Spinel Sun also became a living statue.

Techno giggled at the now immobile Guaridans. "Time to finish them off! Spike Smasher!" The spikes on his body started to glow.

"Big Bang Bomb!" A large rocket launcher appeared on Cracker's back. It fired a large bomb into the air. It climbed the sky for a while before reversing course and dove at Kerberos and Spinel Sun. At the same time, Techno's spikes detached and flew at them.

*Oh...* Kerberos thought as the bomb and spikes got closer.

* * * * *

Sakura heard the faint noise of an explosion. Worried, she watched as Windy restrained Hacker in the sky. *Is it over?* she thought hopefully.

Hacker struggled to escape Windy's grip. "Your power is amazing, Miss Kinomoto," he acknowledged. "However..."

Sakura watched as Hacker's arms strained to stretch outward at his sides. Windy strained to hold the Master Cyber, but he managed to stretch out his arms horizontally. "Hoe?" she wondered.

"I am not so easily defeated! Whirlwind Cutter!" Hacker's beam sabers glowed, and the Master Cyber started to spin rapidly. Windy got caught up into the resulting twister and dissipated. The tornado landed on the ground and charged at Sakura.

"Hhhhoooooeeeeeeee!" Sakura cried as she ran away. She reached for the Dash Card. "Dash! Lend me your speed!"

Thanks to the Dash Card, Sakura escaped the pull of the tornado and made it to the opposite side. The tornado stopped in front of the building and transformed back into Hacker. Sakura watched for his next move.

"Let us see who is fastest, Cardmistress." Hacker started to glow. "Hyper Mode!"

The glow around Hacker intensified. Bringing his sabers before him, he charged at Sakura. The Cardmistress dashed out of the way just as Hacker took a swing at her.

"You cannot escape me, Cardmistress!" Hacker declared, making a turn and going after Sakura. Soon the swordsman was at her side.

Gasping, Sakura barely had time to knock aside a beam saber swing. She ducked another swing and quickened her speed. Summoning Shot again, she fired rapidly at the pursuing Cyber.

Hacker sidestepped and jumped over Sakura's shots. The glowing Master Cyber leapt into the air and made his sabers glow. "Data Slash!" he shouted, sending down Data Slash after Data Slash at Sakura.

Behind Sakura, the ground exploded as Data Slash after Data Slash landed. She could barely keep ahead of the energy waves. She stopped and caught her breath. *I can't keep running,* she thought, watching Hacker hover over her. Taking deeper breaths, she looked through her Cards for something to use, occasionally looking at her opponent.

Hacker watched Sakura carefully. "Choose wisely, Miss Kinomoto," he said quietly.

Sakura's eyes widened. She beamed as an idea crossed her mind. She chose three Cards. *I hope this works.*

"She will make her move." Hacker's beam sabers glowed, and he attacked. "System Crash!"

Sakura tensed as the large energy wave headed towards her and held out the Jump Card. "Jump!" she cried. Her feet grew wings, and she jumped out of harm's way. Below her, the ground exploded.

Sakura jumped so hard that she passed Hacker vertically. The Master Cyber, still glowing, flew after her. He readied his beam sabers for another attack.

Reaching the height of her jump, Sakura let gravity take over, and she fell towards Hacker. She readied her next card as Hacker prepared to attack again.

"Data...!" Hacker brought back his beam saber for another swing.

"Glow!" Sakura shouted, raising her sword.

Tiny lights appeared in front of Hacker and began to flash rapidly and intensely. "What?" Hacker exclaimed, his sight impaired by the lights.

Sakura brought her sword down on Hacker. Her blade cut across his chest, leaving a diagonal scar that went from right to left.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Hacker's glow faded, and the Master Cyber fell to the earth.

"Wood!" Sakura shouted as she fell. "Use your leafy arms to catch me!"

A forest erupted from below Sakura, and she landed safely in the trees' branches. She slid down from the trees and watched the falling Hacker. He managed to stop himself before he could hit the ground and hovered downward to safety. He doubled over, but he kept one leg up.

Kneeling and still clutching his chest, Hacker looked at the Cardmistress. "You have used your Sakura Cards well, Miss Kinomoto."

Making the forest disappear, Sakura held her sword in front of her. "I promised that I wouldn't let anyone take away my Sakura Cards and Star Key!" she declared.

"You are an honorable person if you keep your promises," Hacker stated.

"If you are one, then you have to keep your promise," Sakura told the Master Cyber.

Hacker stood up straight, showing the scar Sakura gave him. It emitted a bright glow. "I cannot leave because the battle isn't over yet," he said. "I do not give up so easily."

"Neither do I," Sakura said.

Hacker nodded. "You are truly worthy of being the Cardmistress, heir to Clow Read's magic. I hold you in high regard, Miss Kinomoto, and I will still do so despite the end of this battle." He readied his weapons. "Let us finish this!" he declared, running at Sakura.

Sakura steeled herself. "To stop the destruction," she said quietly before rushing at Hacker.

"Psycho Trick!"

Just as they were close enough to strike, the ground exploded between them. Both combatants were thrown back. Hacker stayed on his feet, but Sakura fell to the ground hard. Her sword fell next to her and returned to its true form.

"What?" Hacker said in frustration.

"Itai," Sakura groaned. At the moment, she was very thankful to Tomoyo for adding extra padding to her battle costume. She started to get up.

"I don't think so, girlie. Graviton Blaster!"

Black energy fired from above engulfed the Cardmistress. Sakura tried to move, but her limbs were too heavy. *What's happening?*

Laughter broke out from above. Sakura and Hacker looked at the source. Psycho, Techno, and Cracker appeared. The clown's Cardians were holding four figures with energy bands from their wands. Two were humans, and the other half were two small animals.

Through her mask, Sakura recognized the Cybers' captives. *Yukito-san, Akizuki-san.* She noticed the two small figures. *Kero-chan, Spinel-san.* The sight of the defeated Guardians in their false forms gave her the strength to fight the Graviton Blaster.

Seeing Sakura starting to move, Techno acted quickly. "Vile Poison!" He sent out a stream of dark gas at her. Engulfed by it, Sakura felt feverish and her limbs lost their feeling. She was stuck.

"How dare you interrupt our duel!" Hacker addressed his fellow Masters hotly.

"Sorry to spoil your fun, but we're really on a tight schedule," Psycho said. "The User wants the Cardmistress' magical objects, and what the User wants, the User gets."

Hacker readied his beam sabers. "You have no honor, Psycho!"

"Honor?" Psycho said with a snigger. "Honor is a human flaw, Hacker. Why you prefer to have it escapes me." He saw Hacker was ready to charge and attack. "What? You gonna fight your fellow Masters?"

"The Sakura Cards and Star Key would have been won by me in fair combat if you hadn't committed such a dishonorable act," Hacker told Psycho. "Such treachery must be punished!"

"So you're gonna take out all your frustration on us?" Cracker taunted. "Come on, we outnumber you."

"And we outpower you," Techno added, giggling. "In these forms, our power is too much for you to handle."

"Besides, despite your highly-vaunted honor, you're still loyal to the User, just like us," Psycho pointed out. "To fight us is to defy the User, and you can't do that."

"The User is supreme," Techno said.

"The User is life," Cracker said.

"The User is all," Psycho said. "He ordered us to take the Sakura Cards and Star Key by any means necessary. So what if I decided to help you out? He'll get the Cards and Key, and we'll be closer to fulfilling our ultimate goal."

Hacker glared at them, but he knew they were right. He put away his weapons, then looked at the Cardmistress.

"Good boy," Psycho said. "Now follow the User's orders."

"Grab the Cards and Key, Hacker," Techno said. "After that, waste her."

"Yeah, look at her," Cracker said. "She's helpless."

Hacker studied Sakura, who was still suffering from Techno's Vile Poison. The poor girl remained motionless. Hacker observed that her breathing was getting weaker. Near her laid the Star Wand.

"Well? Get them!" Psycho demanded.

To his fellow Masters' amazement, Hacker turned around and walked away. "Get them yourself, clown. I will not participate in this treacherous act."

"What?" Techno and Cracker exclaimed.

"This is treason!" Psycho snarled, shaking his fist.

Hacker looked upward. "You're going to get the credit anyway, Psycho. I doubt the User will care about my actions as long as the results are favorable to him."

"I think he's got a point there," Cracker said.

"Yeah. The User will be so pleased with our success that he'll ignore everything else," Techno stated.

Psycho glared at Hacker, but he knew his leader well. "Fine, be that way! I'll just take the Cards and Key from her little corpse!" He fixed his red eyes on the fallen Sakura and giggled. "So sorry, it's over," he sang as a ball of dark energy formed in his hand. "Time to die right now!" The ball grew larger. "Night Terror!"

As the evil face reformed, Kero-chan managed to open his eyes. First he saw the Night Terror, then he saw Sakura on the ground. "Sakura!" he shouted.

Kero-chan's cry of shock woke up the other Guardians gradually. Suppi-chan was first, followed by Yukito and Nakuru. All of them saw their fallen friend. "Sakura!" they cried in unison.

"Look, Psycho. They're awake," Techno noted.

"Just in time to see the Cardmistress bite the dust," Cracker commented.

"To be more precise, to see the Night Terror take a bite out of the Cardmistress," Psycho clarified.

Kero-chan tried to break loose, but his Cardian captor kept its grip. "When I get free from here..."

"Joy Buzzer!" Psycho pointed at Kero-chan and gave him a little shock. "Stick around, kiddo. You don't want to miss the grand finale."

"Don't worry about your friend," Techno giggled. "She won't be lonely for long. After all, you'll all be joining her!"

The Night Terror saw its target and descended to the ground. Unable to move or speak, Sakura could only watch as the demonic face flew at her with its mouth open and ready to devour her life energy. As the Night Terror got closer and her eyes slowly closed, the young Cardmistress thought of her family and friends. *Goodbye, otousan, oniichan. Clow-san, Eriol-kun, Kero-chan, I'm sorry I failed you. Tomoyo-chan, I'm sorry you won't get to film me ever again.* When the Night Terror opened its mouth over her, a boy with messy brown hair in a green Chinese costume came to her mind. *Syaoran-kun...*