A/N: I am so so so sooooo sorry for not updating this story. I had this chapter written out for over a month now and I really thought I had updated it but as it would turn out, I wrote it down and then seemed to forget all about it, all the while thinking that I had put it up. I'd like to thank Bookworm5738 for reminding me last night that I had to still update this story. I'll be bugging my beta to go over this herself today though for the time being, I'm putting up the un-beta'd version of the chapter which just so you know, I did scrutinize over myself but then again, I always think my beta does a better job so I'll be replacing this with the one she sends me later on.
And now, enjoy the update~
He felt weightless. A lightless, soundless bubble surrounded him, detaching him from reality. All of a sudden, ribbons of magic latched onto his body, dragging him down and down until he slammed into reality. Groaning at the pounding that viciously attacked his head the minute he came to, he opened his eyes and blearily looked around. Inky black eyes met his gaze, their owner's face framed by tightly curled, equally black hair.
"Xing Hou?" he croaked weakly, bringing a hand to his temple where the pounding seemed to be the worst. His fingers came off wet, stained crimson by his blood. "What… What are you doing here?"
"Come on," the dark haired woman responded as she grabbed his arm and struggled to hurriedly get him to his feet, "the ship is about to explode. We need to get away."
"Ship?" he couldn't help but ask as her tried to recall what had happened. Shaking his head to get rid of the disorientation, he clambered to an almost upright position with her help before he remembered his companions. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know but we need to go." She replied with an urgent shake of her head as she started pulling him towards a gaping hole in the hull of the ship. He could see the desert bathed in silver moonlight right beyond the opening, the desert wind feeling nearly freezing against his skin as it blew. Sparks shot from torn wires all around him, the smell of engine fuel spilling from the tanks permeating the air like a thick fog. The charges danced and arced across the air periodically as they shot across the wrecked ship.
"Wait wait." He dug his heel into the metal flooring, eyes desperately searching for the others in the dimness, "We need to find them."
"Touya, we don't have time to look for them. This place can go up any second."
"We can't leave them here." He argued. The medic and her fiancé had both been manning the blasters but he could find no trace of them near the control panels. A low moan drew his attention towards the darkened end of the cockpit, near the very back and Touya hurried in that direction, Xing Hou close at his heels.
"Tomoyo," he crouched next to the unconscious woman, trying to gently shake her awake as he scanned the ship for the red-eyed man.
"Am I dead?" the medic groaned, weakly pushing off the ground into a sitting position as she looked around in confusion. "You will be if we don't get out of here fast." The Xing Hou replied in his stead as she hurried forward to help the medic up while Touya's gaze landed on Kurogane's unconscious form. Leaving the witch to help Tomoyo, he moved to the red-eyed man's side, trying in vain to rouse him.
A tiny fire started on the other end of the ship, forcing the hunter to give up on trying to wake the man up. Instead, he began calling on his magic to help lift his heavy body off the floor as he quickly began to drag the unconscious man towards the opening in the hull while Xing supported Tomoyo outside ahead of him. The fire spread at an alarming rate behind them, as though urging the hunter to try and get out fast. They had only managed to clear a distance of about fifteen meters before Mokona blew up in a brilliant haze of gold and yellow and fiery red.
-0-
Blood pounded in his ears as their feet collided with the sandstone floor of the secret tunnel. If he closed his eyes and ignored the panting breathes of his companions behind him, Touya could almost imagine himself being back here on that night. The night that started it all, his mother hurrying him along to the entrance of the tunnels with the Kaijuu's warm weight pressing up against his back in a comforting manner as explosions and shouts and screams rocked up the entire city- no, their entire world. That was the last time he had ever seen his mother, standing there tall and proud with tears in her eyes as she pushed him inside and wordlessly told him to protect his little sister through a desperate gaze. Then as the opening had closed up behind him, he had seen her turn away from them, wiping tears before they could flow down her face as her magic had risen all around her in magnificent golden tendrils, their familiar aura mingled with a deadly determination that he had been able to feel a long way away from the place where they had parted until… it had all gone out like a candle being snuffed out in the dark of the night.
He had known then in his heart that she was gone. That their mother was gone just like their father had gone while trying to protect his precious family and his precious world. Now here he was, the exiled prince of that conquered kingdom, setting foot in the very tunnels he had used to escape a long time ago. He was back after so many cycles of purposefully having stayed away but then again, maybe this forced return was fates way of telling him that he had to do something to reclaim what had been lost. He was the crown prince after all so maybe, today with this tiny band of rebels he would be able to spark something that would flare up into a revolution. He was not foolish enough to think that this act alone would be enough but maybe it could be the start. He would have to go over everything in more detail with Yukito and Sakura once they were done with this but now that his hunt for his little Kaijuu was finally over, he would be able to try and turn his attention to another thing that had been long due.
Ancient magic that was dormant for the nearly twenty cycles past sluggishly rose to greet the returning prince as they came to a halt outside a blank stretch of wall, not unlike any other walls of the cavern so far. The path seemed to carry on ahead to a long winding staircase that rose higher and higher and higher till it reached the palace. Back the way they had come, this path opened up into a very normal looking stretch of the desert that did not look any different from the rest of the vast deserts that covered the surface of Clow. His companions paused right behind him, wordlessly watching him as he reached out with a hand and gently caressed the weathered stone. He could feel their curious gazes on his back but he ignored them. The magic thrummed beneath his fingers, greeting him like an old friend as slowly runes began to appear in the stone from the point where his skin made contact, slowly rippling outwards as an illusion surrounded the four standing in front of the secret entrance- hiding them completely from prying eyes.
Pulling out his sword, Touya made a shallow cut in the palm of his hand, watching the crimson liquid well up before he smeared it across the stone in offering. He had to pay the toll for all four of them since none of the others were of the Royal bloodline of Clow and thus were never actually intended to set foot in this sacred cavern. He wasn't sure if any of the others understood the significance of this act but he did not have the time to impress it upon them. But as they all ducked inside through the slowly opening wall behind them, watching the stones shift with something akin to fascination, Tomoyo met his gaze with a tender looking smile, as though wordlessly thanking him for all that he was doing for them. Shaking his head, he looked away. He never did have a choice in the matter did he now? The minute his Kaijuu had decided to help the brat, he knew he would be following right after her. It wasn't like he would allow himself to lose her a second time.
"From what Xing has told me, the shipment is being kept one of the branches that break off the main tunnels and-"
"Don't talk about the kid like he's not even human." Growled the red-eyed man, causing Touya to pause for a moment.
"The cargo is a person?" Xing turned her surprised gaze to Touya from where she had bent down to observe one of the half dried up fountains that trickled water down the outcropping rocks and into the lake in the middle of the cavern.
"It's the Li brat," he responded trying to keep his tone casual though a pang of regret and guilt did assault him as he thought about how tough life must have been for the brunette.
"Mei's younger cousin?" she asked quirking a brow.
"Yeah, him." he replied, ignoring the looks Tomoyo and Kurogane shot him, he began purposefully marching through the sand, suppressing the sigh that threatened to escape his lips as he caught sight of the nearly dried up reservoir. These sacred grounds had always required a priestess to look after them, her prayers causing the water to remain bountiful and healthy but now without his mother or his sister performing the duty, it was slowly dying and there wasn't much he could do about that either. "There are several ways to get to where he is being kept using the tunnels outside but there we might just end up running into one of the patrol guards. Today is the first time anyone except for the Royal blood of Clow has ever set foot inside this cave. I know of a few passages that can get us there undetected but once we have left this place, I expect you all to be so quiet you shouldn't be able to hear yourself breathe."
And then without waiting for any of them to speak, he was smearing his palm against another outcropping rock and silently watching as the stones began to shift aside and form a sandstone staircase going even further down.
-0-
"No… That's ridiculous," the handler laughed shakily, her face losing all color as she looked at Sakura and Yukito for confirmation of her fears. "It can't be… He wouldn't… not to him… Not to Xiao-lang…"
"Fei Wong's secret weapon," Sakura nodded grimly, "It is Syaoran."
For just a minute, Meiling wanted to give in to the never ending spiral of guilt and panic that threatened to consume her as she gazed into those green, green eyes. Eyes that seemed to hold so many regrets as though half of what had happened to her cousin was the fault of this person standing before her. But that couldn't be right. She had known from Touya that Sakura had been missing for just as long and no word of her ever having been an accomplice of Fei had ever reached Meiling. And that was saying something because the red-eyed Li had taken it upon herself to find a position in the heart of that bastard's den to find what she could about her remaining family. In a way what she had done had not been any different than Touya but while the prince had taken up the position of a lowly grunt that kept out of Fei's attention, Meiling for her rather distant relations to the main house of the Lis had been able to worm her way to the top, never caring who else she had to take down in her quest to get there.
It had been difficult to pretend like it didn't matter to her- all those things she had done, lives she had destroyed, all to find this one person. It had been hope that had kept her going. Hope that by being at the top, she'd be able to protect him. That was the only reason why she had ever been able to look herself in the mirror each day but now to suddenly find out that she had failed in that one goal a long long time ago, it was becoming rather hard for her to draw the next breath.
But she knew she did not have that luxury. No. She could not afford that luxury. Not when… not when Fei was planning on using Xiao-Lang the way he was.
"Your magic is familiar." Her charge spoke up, suddenly pulling Meiling out of the thick, confusing waters she seemed to have submerged in. She turned around to find the witch staring at Yuui with a puzzled frown before her gaze turned sharp as she jumped to her feet, towering over the still seated blond. "Why is your magic a part of the city's security system?"
"It's not my magic." The blond responded in a tone she couldn't quite place.
"Could have fooled me." The witch snorted in disbelief as she glowered at the blue-eyed man.
"Fei Wong tore apart countless homes and families in his thirst for power Miss." He replied in a voice of forced calm. "Mine was no different."
"Even family members don't have as identical magical signatures as what I'm getting from you now." She insisted rather stubbornly. Her stubbornness had been one of the reasons why she had ended up with Meiling in the first place.
"What about identical twins?" he finally shot back, looking rather angry for someone who had appeared so composed only a moment before. "I'd appreciate it if you would stop trying to pry into matters that don't concern you." For all his righteous anger, the blond was rewarded by a rather sharp slap from her charge, the latter's eyes blazing in fury as she glowered at the man.
"I have a fucking seal placed on me using your twin's magic and you're telling me not to look for ways to remove it because it doesn't concern me?"
"Masooma, calm down." Meiling said tiredly returning her attention to Sakura as she did so, a little pleased to see her charge do as she commanded in front of these strangers. "I'm figuring since you came to me on such short notice, you have some sort of plan to thwart that bastard's scheme of whatever that's going on? Whatever it is, count me in."
"And me." Masooma declared without missing a beat, her anger at the blond all but forgotten as she met Sakura's gaze, "If there is a chance to deal some damage to that bastard's carefully laid out plans, I want in."
"We're breaking Syaoran out." Sakura confided causing Meiling to grin just a little. Maybe she wouldn't have to beat herself up over having failed her cousin and his family just yet.
"I'd propose Miss Masooma sit this one out," Yuui spoke up suddenly, "the seal seems to have drained her of most of her magic. She might only serve as a hindrance in what's to come."
"I'm way better off than you are right now." The witch exploded, "Hindrance and drained magic my ass."
"Must say it's a rather nice one at that." The blond piped with a smirk that seemed entirely too sudden on his face making the hunter wonder if perhaps he was bipolar. Despite the severity of the situation, Meiling couldn't help but chuckle as Masooma tried to suppress a blush.
"Tell you what Mister Yuui." She replied casually, "You try and keep up with me till we get Xiao-Lang away and maybe I'd be willing to discuss the appeal of my ass with you over some drinks."
"I'll look forward to it." He grinned playfully before turning serious as he looked at Sakura. "Like Miss Masooma pointed out, Fai's magic is embedded in the very core of this world's security system. I can over ride the seals and codes set in place if someone can get me close enough to the core." Here he turned his gaze to Meiling who nodded in return.
"I can get you in. But we will need to cause enough ruckus to convince Fei to send out his-" she paused, trying to steel herself for what she was about to say, "Fei needs to deploy his secret weapon to deal with the problem instead of sending the usual riffraff."
"Wouldn't the trouble with the security core be enough to warrant that?" Yukito spoke for the first time in quite a while.
"We can't take any chances with this." Sakura cut in before Meiling could respond, "There are no second tries as far as this thing is concerned. The greater the ruckus the better. Besides, a distraction would be helpful for Touya and the others when they open a portal."
"I can round up some of the others," Masooma offered, others being the previous magicians that had been placed under Meiling's care. Unlike what the rest of the hunters thought about her methods, Meiling had only ever truly hurt her charges in front of other hunters and even then just to prove to them that she was not a sympathizer in any way or form. Of course it was sometimes a lot harder to convince the magicians to go along with her act long enough for them to be released from her custody and place in the field. It was all rather complicated but every single wizard or witch that passed under her care was a supporter of her cause and she knew from experience that they would be willing to do what was asked. Heck there were even those who would do all that and then some just to repay their debt to her.
"We can't bring in people we can't trust." Sakura said, biting her lip in a worried manner as Masooma made her way to the exit.
"Don't worry about that." Meiling shook her head with a tiny smile as the witch grabbed a dark cloak from the closet beside the door and vanished into the night pulling the cloth over her head. "Masooma will have them all ready in an hour at most. In the meantime, do you guys have a plan to infiltrate the castle or did Yuki bring you all here because you've got nothing else?"
"It was a very hurriedly put together plan Mei-chan," the bespectacled hunter said with a sheepish grin, "we wouldn't mind a little bit of help working out the kinks."
"What sort of kinks are we talking about here?" she quirked a brow.
"The kind where you tell us how we can get in without being caught?"
"I'm afraid that's going to be impossible," she said with a wry grin, "but that doesn't matter, because we won't be trying to."
A/N: The identity of the mysterious witch Touya contacted has finally been revealed and so is the identity of Meiling's charge who just happens to be Masooma… I swear that witch worms her way into pretty much all of my stories no matter how hard I try to keep her out of them. But anyways…that aside, Meiling will be helping them work out the kinks in their hastily put together plan and Touya and the others are getting one step closer to finding Syaoran.
Please feel free to yell at me for forgetting about the updates in your reviews. But! Don't forget to tell me what you thought about the chapter too ;) ;)