Chapter 2: Hunted

"Can you explain it to me again, Hiiragizawa-kun?" Maybe this slowness of the brain was a direct result of falling out of the sky. But whatever it was, it made Tomoyo sigh exasperatedly and rub her temple.

Eriol had been trying to tell her all about this 'another reality' for the past few minutes after he had prepared breakfast for the both of them. Presently, they were in his house, which was situated high up in the sky. Tomoyo had failed to understand what was going on – except that in all those long years of Eriol's disappearance, he was right here. Clow obviously had some hidden oddities that the dark-haired mage had not taken care to pay attention to and was sent here by accident, or so it seemed anyway.

He sighed. This was the fourth time he was going to explain the whole thing to her and he certainly wasn't looking forward to explaining everything. "I trust that you've got a grasp on the basic facts?"

She took a small sip from the foreign drink Eriol offered her before replying. It had a delicious honeyed flavor, with a slightly corrosive taste that made her think of the sodas back in Japan. Japan. She realized with a pang, that she missed Japan and everyone else there. "Yes, yes, of course," she said almost absentmindedly, forgetting that she was supposed to listen carefully.

Eriol gave her a curious look and waited. As if awakened by the silence, Tomoyo focused on the dark-haired boy in front of her. "As you know, this world, Eden, is the equivalent of ours. Eden is the direct result of our imaginations, fantasies and dreams. At the start, it was caught in between, in between reality and fantasy and it could not get out, unless our imagination grew stronger. It did. As our fantasies began to grow, it left the world of fantasy and became real. Now, it may not seem to be a threat but as it developed, the balances of these two worlds were disrupted. This world was too full of fantasy and our world was full of both fantasy and reality. It was not balanced.

"Earth and Eden cannot co-exist because of this lack of balance. One has to be eradicated or changed to create a stable environment in each world. If not, both worlds would fade from existence. And so, a silent battle began. Each world sent a pair of strong individuals to try and destroy the other.

"And we, Daidouji-san, are the ones sent now to destroy Eden."

Tomoyo coughed to cover up a disbelieving snort. "Me? How can it be me? What about Sakura—Syaoran, even?"

"Ah," Eriol's eyes twinkled with faint amusement. "the Fates have strange ways of choosing people."

"But I haven't even got magic powers!" Tomoyo protested.

"You say that as if you're really sure you don't have any powers, Daidouji-san,"

"Of course I don't!"

"Now, now," he smiled his infuriatingly calm smile. "put into mind that magic is very unpredictable. It could choose to show up when you're an inch from death or not at all. We all possess magic. The thing is, most people don't believe in magic or they don't try to find the magic that's within them."

"Y—you mean I might have some magic?"

Eriol did not reply. Instead, he stood up and reached out to the wall, which instantly morphed into a window. Tomoyo, surprised, leaned in to see what Eriol was looking at.

The inhabitants of Eden were going about their usual business yet those sapphire-blue orbs were hurriedly scanning the city for something. She followed his gaze but found nothing wrong. She gave the boy beside her a questioning glance.

"They're coming, Daidouji-san. We must hurry. They might not have touched me for years but now that you have come, they are going to exterminate us. If they kill us, it will ensure their triumph against Earth."

Then she saw them. A group of white-robed creatures made their way into the crowd, heading for the glowing area that was supposed to teleport them to Eriol's quarters. Eriol saw this and grabbed Tomoyo's wrist and led her to an adjoining room, empty except for a large mirror leaning on the wall. They could hear soft footsteps now.

He touched the cold surface of the mirror and it immediately turned into a misty substance.

"Come," he held her hand then disappeared into the mist. Reluctantly, Tomoyo stepped into the haze and she, too, disappeared.

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A/N: Hookay! That's the second chapter edited! Blahness, it's still short. Anyone up to beta-ing? ^^ Just email me.