24

by Aspirator

At the Second Hour

01:02

The first thing she saw were intense amber orbs staring back at her.

"Syaoran…" She croaked out, but he quickly moved out of her sight, stepping back and leaning against the far wall. Two more faces filled her line of sight.

"Where am I?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows and wandering eyes.

"Eriol had some connections in Carlisle City. Lucky for us, there was a group of rebels here ready to provide us with some hospitality." Gentle Amethyst orbs smiled down at her, while dark curls brushed against her shoulder. "But we can talk about it later when you've fully recovered."

Sakura grinned, her voice gaining strength the more she spoke. "Tomoyo!" She exclaimed excitedly in greeting. Belatedly, she answered, "No, it's okay, thank you." She turned to the next face. He was a pale, smiling man with spectacles. His sharp azure eyes shining through and his dark hair neatly parted on his head. "Eriol!"

Sakura gently nudged off the blankets covering her, but even that little motion strained her arms. "But I felt four, did another join the Cavalry…" Sakura trailed off when another face came into view.

"That's me! I'm Meiling!" She had vibrant scarlet orbs and sharp features, a telling sign of her fierceness in battle. Her long ebony hair cascaded in smooth tresses to her waist, matching perfectly with her tan skin. She bent over to scrutinize Sakura's tired face. "You sure you don't want to rest some more? You lost a lot of energy."

"No, thanks." Sakura smiled gratefully, "And that's not possible," Sakura laughed weakly, still regaining her strength. "Conservation of energy."

"What?" Meiling blinked.

"Energy can neither be created nor destroyed." Syaoran recited in a soft tone, but he didn't meet Sakura's searching eyes. He was wearing only a T-shirt and black sweatpants, and yet - boy, does he look handsome. Her green eyes traced over the tattoo that snaked across his right arm, part of it bulging as Syaoran crossed his arms and shifted self-consciously.

Meiling glanced between the two. If she saw any of the tension, she didn't show it. "Oh." She leaned back against the wall. "That sounds like you're okay, I think?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sakura grinned at the cheerful Cavalry member. She struggled to sit up, Meiling eagerly scampered forward to help her. Tomoyo spied Syaoran, too, had reflexively acted, but held himself back.

As soon as Sakura was sitting upright and Meiling stepped back, Sakura breathed in deeply. The air around her whirled. Her eyes closed, her face looking so completely at peace. Her light auburn hair blew softly along with the whirlwind she created.

Faintly, Meiling asked, "What's she doing?"

"Gathering her magic." Tomoyo offered quietly in explanation. "Kind of like a magical meditation."

"It helps with revitalization," only Eriol would use such a word in conversation, "and gathers the energy together for the person if one wanted to use magic."

She seemed to be glowing with it too, her veins pulsing with magic and her skin shining light pink.

She looked ephemeral. Syaoran snapped out of it first, his strained voice cutting in. "Don't."

Sakura opened her eyes, the entire magical experience disappearing with the action, glancing at him in surprise.

"Don't use magic." He stared straight ahead, straight at the closed door.

Sakura followed his line of sight. Realization hit her, and she hung her head limply. "They don't like Variants." Sakura's voice was soft, resigned. But it might've been her weary state.

Syaoran glanced at her briefly, the golden edges of his amber irises softening as he took in her appearance again. But when she turned to look at him, his face immediately hardened and he quickly evaded her look. Tomoyo smiled briefly when she observed the interaction.

Meiling didn't allow for a tense silence to settle in the room. Immediately, she perked up cheerfully, "I think you're awesome." She bluntly stated, her vibrant red eyes lit up. "But then I've never met a Variant. Which makes sense because they're like, extinct. I mean, they are a lot worse than that, I guess, because they told me you're the last one. Imagine that!" She ranted on, encouraged by Sakura's amused smile, "The first Variant I meet is the last Variant ever! And-and I got to see some fan-fucking-tastic performance. You fueled our teleportation! Four people teleportation takes a lot of -"

"Meiling," Syaoran hissed in a warning tone. Sending her a look. They weren't sure how the rebels would respond when they find out (because they were sure to eventually).

Obediently, Meiling shut up, but grinned excitedly at Sakura. Amused, Sakura smiled back.

Syaoran, always the perceptive one, spoke up this time. "When you woke up, you mentioned -"

"Kero." Sakura cut in, straightening her back while her features rearranged themselves to a serious expression. "Yes. I felt him."

"But he's-"

"I know."

"He can't possibly-"

"I felt him." Sakura's words were firm, confident.

Syaoran paused contemplatingly before asking, "You don't think the Enforcers-"

"It's the only possible explanation."

At this point, Syaoran scowled, glaring at the petite Variant. "Will you stop interrupting me?"

She caught his gaze, and giggled a little, muttering a meek, "sorry."

He turned away, his frown lightening only a millimeter. Tomoyo exchange a look with Eriol, both wearing enigmatic smile. Oblivious to the exchange, Meiling leaned close to Tomoyo, blabbering, "That whole conversation just flew over my head. Do you think Variants read minds? Or do they have a connection? He didn't even finish his sentence and she knew what he was talking about." Tomoyo smiled amusedly at her, craftily allowing her to continue, "like, I haven't even reached that level with Syaoran-"

"Meiling." Syaoran called out irritably. When she snapped to him, he immediately ordered curtly, "Shut up."

Sakura gasped slightly, appalled at the lack of manners. But Meiling beat her to the scolding, "Rude." Meiling huffed.

01:11

"So what's this?" The magical creature was already halfway across the room from his original position, bending over the holographic screens that had flown when Yue was thrown off his feet.

Yue scowled, grumpily getting to his feet and dusting himself off. "It's from Ruby."

"Magical monitoring of the city?" Kero quickly interpreted, familiar with the main characters of the Enforcers unit.

When the commander didn't answer, Kero looked up. Yue had walked to the farthest corner of the room from Kero, a hand to his ear. By the time he walked back, all Kero heard was, "go ahead, and bring thirty."

Kero had to wonder what he could possibly be sending thirty Enforcers to. But he didn't have much time, for Yue broke in his thoughts with, "Look at the spike at 11:59."

"Yes, I see - ooh."

Yue narrowed his cold silver eyes at the creature, scrutinizing the slight tug on Kero's lips and the glint in those golden irises. "So?" He asked impatiently.

Kero didn't answer, pushing the first sheet aside with his paw and lightly examining the second holographic sheet with calculations. "Ruby's calculations, I presume?" His voice was subdued.

Yue frowned, but answered. "And Suppi." Warily, he continued as he scrutinized Kero's reaction. "It was a forty."

Kero's bright golden eyes glanced up to meet his, but he didn't seem surprised. If anything, it was as if a hypothesis was confirmed in his head. He seemed somewhat...put off. "A forty." He repeated, humming under his breath. "Hm, yes. Very interesting."

Was the animal going to make him ask? Yue frowned, impatiently speaking up, "What were you saying about teleportations?"

If a giant lion could shrug, that was exactly what Kero had done just then.

Yue glared hard at the creature. Kero was the only one who dared to treat him - him! The commander of the Enforcers! The only living, breathing person who has ever directly spoke to Big Brother! - as if he was one of equal rank or nothing important at all. It infuriated him to no end. "Teleportations required level ten magic." Yue coaxed, keeping his temper in tact.

Kero didn't budge. He just leaped from the floor onto his lab table, stretching across the steel rectangle. "So do the math," the creature finally answered, peering at Yue casually.

Yue scowled. He'll deal with Kero's disrespect later. For now, he paced. "Four." He was starting to think aloud, but it was okay because he was only talking to Kero. "One person can't possibly transport four people." There was an expectant pause before Yue finally spit out what he wanted to confirm with the creature all along, "One Variant can't possibly have that much magic."

Kero settled down further, making himself comfortable and rubbing his chin in the fur of his arms. "Not if your ancestor is Clow Reed." He spoke so casually, as if he said the sky was blue.

01:26

"Why would you call yourself Renege?" Takashi asked as he stretched his arms over his head. He was sitting at one of the many tables scattered around the cavern. He was thoroughly impressed with what the Renege had turned the cavern into. There were screens lining the walls, tables and labs set up all around. It looked like a high quality scientific research center. He wondered where all the money came from.

Rather than Chiharu answering his question as he had expected a new voice entered in the conversation. "Renege, verb, going back on one's word, or to play a card that is not the same suit when the card game is to play the same suit, in other words, break a rule of play."

Takashi blinked at the bookish young lady sitting at the end of their table. She had large, thin frames that covered half her face, and straight brown bangs that covered even more.

"That's Naoko." Chiharu stated in explanation.

"I'm...a journalist. I know what Renege means." Takashi continued to look at the studious woman. When Naoko looked up briefly at him, he smiled warmly at her. She merely looked back down at her book. Unfazed, Takashi turned back to the topic at hand. "So why the hell would you call yourselves that?"

Chiharu grinned. "There's a story behind that."

Takashi smiled, "Well, if you'll do me the honor -"

But a panicked voice interrupted, reverberating throughout the cavern. "CODE RED! YUKITO, YUKITO - CODE RED!"

The leader immediately half-marched, half-ran over to the yeller, glancing open mouthed at the screen on the wall. Flashes of navy blue and white -

"The Enforcers are at the entrance." Yukito stated quietly, but the whole room heard.

The rebels reacted immediately, people began gathering up their things, shutting down the table holograms -

Yukito had sprinted to a far end of the room, seeming as if ready to lockdown, but Chiharu's voice rang out. "Stop!" The Renege members turned to her in surprise. "There's no need - We have the Cavalry!"

As if the word itself was their saving grace, the rebels cheered and Yukito abruptly changed direction toward a closed off room at the far end.

"What's the Cavalry?" Takashi asked cluelessly, but his question was lost in the ensuing chaos.

01:37

"Clow's ancest-" Yue growled, cutting himself off in his annoyance. "Keroberoes, I'm fucking serious."

"You think I'm not?" The animal didn't look at all serious, licking his paws nonchalantly as he laid on top of his lab table.

"There's only one." Yue didn't sound so sure of himself then. "There is only one descendant of Clow."

"Is there?" Kero grinned.

Oh, he was asking for a punch. Through gritted teeth, the commander growled, "You told me there was only one and I killed him at Granatopolis."

The lion laid his head down on his arm, shrugging, "I must've miscounted."

Breathing heavily, clenching and unclenching his fist, the commander looked ready to strangle the lion right then and there.

01:45

Syaoran bore an unreadable expression, a hard edge to his eyes, as he twirled his right hand in the air - a double edged sword formulated in the air as he did so. Without missing a beat, he grabbed the handle and swung the sword in a flashy wide arc before slamming the blade against an Enforcer's head. Swish, swish, swish. The sword was a silvery blur.

Meiling waved her hand over some sheets of paper laying around the tables as she passed by, using her plain magic to snatch them up. She clapped them in between her hands, closed her eyes, then separated her hands. The pieces of paper floated in the air between her hands and formed themselves into sharp paper blades. With a wave of her right hand, she sent them whizzing straight at the rows of Enforcers piling in the open cavern entrance.

Oddly enough, Tomoyo stood aside, away from the physical combat. Her face hardened to a closed expression, as if a mask was put in place. She narrowed her eyes in concentration at an Enforcer, then she raised her hand, her palm open. The Enforcer moved oblivious - until she abruptly closed her fist - then he choked on thin air. Both of his hands went immediately to his throat, before he went limp then fell on the ground. Tomoyo glanced at his body emotionlessly before moving onto the next Enforcer. Sometimes, she even used both hands to do two at a time.

Last, but definitely not least, was Eriol. His talent indescribably incredible. He, too, did not have a weapon. With an unreadable expression much like Syaoran's, he quickly knocked the first row of Enforcers down with a few strikes from his elbow and edge of his hands to the major nerves - his moves so fast, one could only see a blur. But the surprising part was what he did next.

He just...disappeared. Then reappeared in the middle of the ranks of Enforcers, effectively confusing the Enforcers' uniform formation. Again, he ran through his routine of hand-to-hand combat, his moves too fast for the Enforcers to anticipate.

With the four working so quickly, all thirty of the Enforcers were knocked unconscious and piled in a large heap by the entrance of the cavern in just ten minutes.

Syaoran opened his right palm, then slowly closed it into a fist at the same time as the sword disappeared into an unknown pocket. Meiling flattened the paper she had in her hands, effectively using her plain magic to remove the blood stains and returning the paper back to its regular flexible sheet. Tomoyo brushed off her clothing, not at all involved in the combat physically. Eriol reappeared next to his Cavalry friends. None of the four looked at all happy as they gazed upon their handiwork.

"That, Takashi, is the Cavalry." Chiharu stated. Someone had heard him, after all.

His assumption was quick, "They're Va-"

"No." Chiharu looked up at him with a hard, resolute look in her eye. "They're People."

"H-how…" Takashi was sure he had dislocated his jaw.

Naoko grinned - a rare sight, indeed - eager to explain.

2:00

NOTE: I revised the century in chapter 1 (The Zeroth Hour) to 25th Century (the year 2400s), because I'd like to think that by the year 3000, things will be a lot more advanced than this.

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed. (And by all, I mean like two people but my heart goes out to my few amazing friends.) And I know you guys are super duper smart, it was just a not-as-simple-as-you-thought question. There's actually going to be twenty five chapters - yes there's 24 hours - but remember, the first chapter was the zeroth hour.