A/N: Yeesh people, I thought Marin's identity was a little more obvious then you claim it to be. Okay, I'll give a hint: She is not an original character, and she does not appear or is even mentioned until the very end of the CCS saga.

Dawn had claimed the town, and lit the ruins that, with a heavy heart, the villagers would have to clear for bodies.

"Is there any chance for survivors?" Marin tenaciously asked a firefighter.

"I'm afraid it's highly unlikely at this point," he replied sorrowfully, "And our fire chief was caught in it too"

"Yataka" whispered Marin. The benevolent man was engaged to one of her best friends, Misaki. The reality of the tragedy sunk in, but she quickly gathered her wits. "We can always hope we MUST hope!" she uttered with determination. The fireman could only silently nod, and return to his efforts.

"Because hope," she continued in a haunted whisper, "Can often be all a being has left" She snapped out of her revere when a sudden blizzard of ash and debris shot across the charred street, causing people to run, shrieking, as trunks, remains of beams, cauldrons, and Kami knows what rained down.

Steeling herself, Marin rushed to the source of the fountain of debris, preparing herself for a fight. She jogged grimly up to the point where she could safely avoid the projectiles and found a pair of now filthy wings and a yellow tail sticking out of the cavernous hole that had been created.

"CERBERUS!!!" Marin shouted in an exasperated voice. The lion remained oblivious to her and continued to dig vigorously. "CERBERUS!!!" she tried again, desperately trying to come up with a way to get closer to the creature without getting hit. As she was about to shout again, a disgruntled looking Yue walked up, bouncing the falling debris off his shield. Upon reaching the hole, he bent down, grabbed Cerberus by the ear and bellowed, "CERBERUS!!!!!!"

"Ittai!" cried Cerberus, "What the hell was that for?!"

"Ah, so you can still hear," replied Yue and loosened his grip on his brother, dropping the hapless lion back into the hole.

"Cerberus, we really appreciate your help, but could please be a little more careful?" requested a sweatdropping Marin. The lion laughed nervously put a filthy paw behind his ash-covered head. Deeming the situations under control, Yue took off to the sky.

"Cerberus?"

"Cerberus."

With that single exchange, both Yue and Temichica both glided back to each of their own self-assigned posts, watching for impending trouble.

~*~*~*~*~

"It can't be it's IMPOSSIBLE" whispered Mitsukake, the firefighter that Marin had spoken to. "We've cleared the whole area, but we haven't found a single body" The three winged siblings, and a good handful of the rescue workers were all crammed into Marin's living room, along with the sorceress herself.

"I think it's not a question of what happened to the bodies, rather where the people are now," announced Marin. Murmurs of confusion rippled through the group of rescuers.

"What in the world do you mean, Marin?" asked Mitsukake.

"What I mean is, what if they weren't killed, and the fire merely a cover up as to what really happened to them, which, I believe, was being abducted."

"And Clow Reed the causer of all this?" concluded Yue. Marin nodded grimly. "Yes, but why would he seek out those who posses no magic?" she asked more to herself than anyone else.

"Well, while I this speculation on motives is all quite interesting, but it's not getting back our missing, nor preventing further attacks," interjected Mitsukake.

"I say we kill the bastard before he causes any more damage!" hollered a raucous man in the back. This was met by a roar of cheers from the crowd.

"Novel idea, folks, but it'd be nice to know where to thrust the knife, ne?" Temichica's voice cut through the hubbub, effectively silencing it. The cat like figure lounged against a wall, peering out at them with one eye, then closing it.

"Speaking of which, we had better go back out there and keep a watch," said Cerberus. The three departed and Marin watched them through the window, even long after they we're out of sight.

"Is something bothering you, Marin?" asked Mitsukake.

"Hm? Oh, no I'm just a little worried for those three. It's been three days now that any of them had slept I just hope they aren't overtiring themselves doing this for us"

"I'm sure they will be fine," he assured her, "They've taken care of themselves for this long, haven't they?" Marin only kept on staring at the windowpane where they once were.

~*~*~*~*~

"So, whadda two think? You think he's coming back?" Cerberus called over the wind that whistled past them as they flew.

"I think it's probable " began Temichica, but never finished her sentence. Yue remained silent. Cerberus was about to bug him for an answer, when Temichica put one paw up. The lion reluctantly obeyed, leaving only the wind to whistle in their ears.

Beneath, Marin caught sight of the three, and was about to move to a higher ground to catch their attention. At that instant, she found herself no longer able to move. Marin struggled and pitted all of her might into breaking through the spell, as the presence of their enemy swept over the town. She screamed out to warn her airborne allies, and not so much as a whisper passed beyond her lips. She watched desperately from her trapped state, begging in her mind for the three to discover what was going on before it was too late

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A/N: It's funny how many more reviews one tends to get when they leave off on a good cliffhanger. XD I'm really impressed with the size of this chapter, I do believe it's my longest yet! ^_^

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