Fai glanced at the scanner, frowning at the readings before shining a flashlight around the wreckage. The support beams were twisted, the glass roof curving inward in a parody of a convex lens, and spiderweb cracks stretched across the floor. The heart of Old City, the last stronghold of the resistance from a century past, consisted entirely of buildings in various stages of decay. For most of the citizens of The Republic, it was an unwanted reminder of a time when the world was still torn apart by rebellion. For Reclamation Agents like Fai D Fluorite, Old City was a goldmine of rare and priceless artifacts. A very unsafe, one-wrong-move-and-it-can-all-come-crashing-down-on-your-head goldmine, but a goldmine all the same.
"Are you getting this, Syaoran?" he asked, turning on his earpiece as he adjusted the focus on his glasses. Glancing around the room, Fai picked his way through the debris. He paused in front of a set of double doors riddled with bullet holes, consulting the scanner in his hand. With a grin, he tried to push it open, meeting some resistance. With a little effort he managed to squeeze through, coming into a vast hall with high vaulted ceiling, barely visible in the flashlight beam. Rows upon rows of towering bookshelves lined the room, their tops disappearing into the gloom several storied above. "Whoa, looks like we hit the jackpot, Syao." He grinned as he retrieved the nearest book and scanned its title. "This place is an agent's dream."
"That's a great find, Fai." Syaoran's excited voice crackled in his ear piece, and Fai grinned. He turned, shining the flashlight on the shelves, allowing his partner to compile a list from the video feed. "Most of these books went out of print decades ago. And that second shelf to your right appears to be filled with items from the blacklist. I bet if we turn those in to Director Rondart's department, we'd have enough cash to pay our rent for the next five years. And I'll finally be able to grab those system upgrades that you promised three paychecks ago."
"You know what?" Fai snickered as he pulled out a carry-light bag from his pocket and pressed the button to activate its hover mode. He also pulled out and activated a beacon and a repulsor shield to mark the location as his find, warning off the other agents. The code amongst government sanctioned Reclamation Agents dictated that once a beacon was set up, only the agent who set it up or their partner were allowed on site. After all, there was plenty of Old City to explore. "Because I'm feeling so generous tonight, the first haul is all yours. Do with it whatever you like. Now, would you like to make any special requests?"
"Oh! Can you grab titles A through F from that second bookshelf?" Syaoran's voice grew louder in his excitement, and Fai laughed, picturing the sixteen-year-old bouncing in his chair in front of the console as he scanned the list and rattled off the titles he wanted. "Oh, and that Xenology book set by Gollum Ishere, and the Encyclopedia Britannica sets, editions first through eleventh. And that Study of Architectural Evolution of the West? That one is on the second to last row of the fourth bookshelf you scanned."
Grinning at his partner's enthusiasm, Fai retrieved the requested items, securing them onto the carry-light until he ran out of space. "Get ready Syaoran, I'm sending out the first load now. Happy Birthday."
"Fai, my birthday isn't for another seven months."
"I know. This is an early birthday present." He tapped in the location on the outskirts of Old City where Syaoran had set up their base of operation. The carry-light rose higher in the air, zooming out of the doorway that Fai had opened earlier. "I'm going to have a bit of a look around. Let me know when you get the haul."
"All right, but be careful," Syaoran reminded him. "This place was declared highly unstable, even by standards of ruins."
"Seems pretty solid to me." Fai shrugged as he headed deeper into the chamber, subconsciously mapping the layout of the building. It was a lot bigger on the inside. "Syaoran, what's the area of this building in the records?"
"According to the Old City mapping scheme, this building covers about half a block," Syaoran replied, sounding distracted. "Why?"
"Because I think it goes much further than bigger than half a block. Are you still getting this?"
"Yeah— hang on, there's some kind of interference in the transmission." Syaoran's voice began to break as Fai went deeper into the building. "I think it might be from leftover radiation from the raid bombings… maybe you– should –ai, can you – me?"
"The signal is dropping, Syaoran. I'm not picking up on any radiation here though," Fai said, consulting his scanners as he arrived at a winding staircase that led deeper into the building. "I think I've found a way to the lower levels. I'm going to check it out so don't freak out over the radio silence. I doubt there'll be any reception once I'm below ground." He paused, waiting for his partner to acknowledge his words but was greeted only by silence. "I'll apologize for scaring him later," Fai murmured as he switched off the visual feed from his glasses. Transmitting data where there would be so much interference would waste batteries. He shone the flashlight on the stairs as he tested the structure for stability. Once certain that it would hold his weight, Fai carefully descended, keeping an eye on his surroundings as he went deeper. As he reached the fourth level below, he foot collided with something that caught his attention as it skidded across the floor with a metallic clang. Crouching next to the landing, he reached out with a gloved hand and picked up the mortar shell that lay on the mold-covered carpet.
Bringing it up to eye level, Fai compared it to some of the other models he had recovered during his raids and let out an appreciative whistle. "No wonder there are so many banned books upstairs." Fai grinned as he pocketed the shell and started down the corridor. "This building was a shelter for The Resistance."
He approached the wall, tracing his fingers along the edges of bullet holes. Bullet holes often indicated a good find, and the greater the damage, the greater the value. Which was why the hole blown in the wall two doors down drew Fai's attention. He quickly covered the distance and crossed the threshold. The door was blown off its hinges, lying in wrecked pieces on the floor along with broken furniture. Fai frowned at the lack of trinkets in the room until he caught sight of a recording console, thrown on its side near the back of the room, partially covered in a moth-eaten curtain. Glancing around, Fai approached the console, setting the flashlight on the floor to push the console upright. He grunted at the effort but managed to set it right without breaking anything. He grinned when the console beeped and flickered to life. Even after all these years, it still worked. The console would fetch a handsome price, on par with the blacklisted books he'd sent off to Syaoran. Judging from the make, it one of those models that ran on self-sustaining batteries, claimed to have been capable of running forever. Production on those had stopped a few decades back when it was declared that the claim was a hoax, though this console had somehow managed to retain power. Maybe he could hand it over to Syaoran to tinker with first, see if the tech-head could reverse-engineer the technology. He scanned the data stored on the console until he reached the last recording made. The time stamp on the file was corrupted.
A sense of foreboding constricted his ribcage as Fai flicked his fingers against the play symbol. A blurry projection appeared on top of the console, slowly coming into focus. Fai felt his breath catch.
His own bloodied face was staring out at him from the video. The only difference was that instead of a bionic eye, the recording version wore a black eye-patch.
"What the…"
Distant sounds of explosions made him jump and it took him a moment to realize that the sound was coming from the recording. This is the final raid…
"My name is Fai D. Fluorite, High Mage of the Ceresian Court," said the man in the recording. He sounded out of breath, his voice barely above a whisper as the shouting in the background drew closer. "I am a dimensional traveler, visiting these worlds with my companions: Kurogane of Suwa, Syaoran of Clow, and Princess Sakura of Clow."
What is this? That's me, but I... I've never been here before. I don't remember recording this.
"I'm not certain who will find this message, if anyone does, but we have been ambushed. This world is a –" The recording distorted, breaking into static as the image froze. Fai blinked at the flickering visage, his throat dry as he gaped at the console.
This can't be real...
Fai reached out to turn off the recording, but moments before his hand touched the control panel, the recording began to play further. "— and they're erasing us. Sakura-chan is safe with Mokona, but they've already gotten to Kurogane and Syaoran. I've led the guards away, but now they're after me." Fai jumped at the loud crash in the recording and caught sight of the barricaded door behind his other self. His gaze slid to the debris littered around the room. His stomach churned as he saw everything in a new light. His eyes settled on the gaping hole in the wall. Unaware of the thoughts racing through Fai's mind, his recording-self continued. "Copies of my memories are hidden with the Fallen Lady. If you're seeing this, then it means that they've erased me, too. This message is all that remains. If I'm caught, my memories are not to be trusted. Whoever you may be, please, remember. Find the Fallen Lady. Find Sakura-chan. Help us. Please. Remember us."
An explosion rocked the room in the recording as the barricaded door blew inwards, the force of the explosion throwing the recording-Fai across the length of the room. The console itself fell sideways and part of the image was obscured as the curtain fell on top of the recorder. Dozens of armored men poured into the room, guns trained on the other Fai as their leaders warned him to stand down. The other Fai stood up, his eye turning cat-like as he glared at the members of the Guard, his nails elongating to foot-long claws. "Sorry, but I have no plans of losing myself tonight," he said as he shot towards the guard. The men screamed in agony as he tore them apart.
A piercing whistle filled the air. Fai fell to his knees with a cry as he clutched at his head, subconsciously mimicking his alternate self.
"Plans have a way of going awry. Didn't you know that, Fluorite?"
"Kyle..." Fai gasped, mimicking his double as the director walked into the room with another contingent of guards. Through watering eyes, Fai caught sight of the gun the director had trained on his other self. He cried out when the director shot him in the shoulder, guards swarming him before he could move. Fai brought up his hand to trace the bullet scar under his shirt, frowning in confusion. He clearly recalled having received that wound in a shootout with straggling rebels during a salvage run as a novice.
The guards dragged off the other version of him, Director Kyle following after them as his double struggled against his captors. Silence descended once they were gone, and Fai was left to stare at the recording of the empty room. Shaken Fai switched off the projector and stepped out of the room. Running a trembling hand through his hair, Fai turned away as he began walking back the way he had come. This required further investigation. It could be one of those prank consoles that ran a pre-designed simulation, replacing the main character's face with the watcher's. Such joke consoles had been popular at one in the past, but whoever had come up with that particular simulation had a twisted sense of humor.
He tripped over a broken table, hissing in pain when he cut his arm on a jagged piece of wood. He heard a loud twang followed by a sharp pinching sensation in the back of his neck. Fai hissed, catching the bug that had bitten him and crushing it under his boot. Unnerved and somewhat annoyed, Fai hurried back to the upper levels.
"–ai. Can you – me, Fa—an, are you there?" Syaoran's panicked voice crackled in his ear. Fai didn't think he'd ever been happier to hear his partner.
"I'm here."
"Oh, thank God," Syaoran replied, sighing in relief. "I was about to call for a retrieval squad. I swear, if you scare me like this one more time, I'm applying for a transfer. You're giving me grey hair, Fai."
"Sorry, sorry. But you know how reclamation runs are. We have to explore everything," he said, keeping his tone light as he reached the library where the carry-all hovered in wait.
"I hope you found something interesting to make up for the mini-heart attack," Syaoran said, exasperated.
A heartbeat passed as Fai glanced back at the descending staircase. Suppressing the urge to shudder, Fai began to haphazardly dump books from the nearest shelf into the bag. "No… Nothing but useless junk down there."
-0-
Fai lay awake in the dark that night. With curtains pulled across the window, the flickering lights from the traffic outside danced across the cloth like a discordant play. He replayed the video in his head, frowning at the words his double had said. He couldn't figure out how the console had managed to get his name, but he was certain it hadn't been real. It had claimed that he was a Mage even though magic was nothing more than parlor tricks and sleight of hand. Maybe the console was wirelessly connected to the satellite network? That could explain how it had known about Syaoran. Maybe the simulation was designed to run a facial scan of the viewer and match their profile with their colleagues to provide a more realistic experience? And to give it more of a fantasy feel, they added unknown names to the story to keep things interesting.
Sighing, Fai turned on his side as he traced his finger around the bullet scar on his shoulder. How had the simulation known about that? Did it somehow scan him and add the element to the story it told? Whoever had programmed the console had done a superb job with the code, if it was capable of that. Such an advanced source code for the simulation ought to get them a nice bonus. Maybe they could— something shifted in the darkness and Fai stiffened. Careful not to move too swiftly, he reached for the light switch while feeling for the gun he kept under his pillow with his other hand.
"Don't move. They're watching you." Fai froze when he heard the girl's voice inside his head, brows furrowing as squinted at the shifting shadow. "Relax."
"Who—"
"Don't speak," the girl said, cutting him off. "Your room is bugged. You came across the console in Old City today, didn't you?"
Fai's eyes widened. He bit his lip to keep from demanding answers. "Who are you? Did you program that simulation?" Fai thought the question, unsure if the voice in his head could even hear him. First sign of madness: talking to voices in your head.
"That wasn't a simulation, Fai-san," the girl said.
Fai shot upright at those words, heart in his throat.
"What?"
"Act casual or you'll draw their attention. It took us a long time to contact both of you."
"Who are you?" Fai demanded, eyes darting from one flickering shadow to the next as he withdrew the gun from under his pillow. "And what do you mean 'contact both of you'? Who else is involved?" he asked, heart sinking at the realization that there had been only one other name in the simulation that he had recognized. Syaoran…
"Old friends."
"If we were friends, you would have provided me with names," Fai growled through the connection, jumping to his feet as he hurried towards the door. Paying heed to the sense of foreboding, he headed towards Syaoran's room. He needed to check on the teen. He covered the short distance and paused at the door to Syaoran's room. It was closed, same as every night. He knocked on the wood. "Syaoran, are you awake?"
Silence greeted his words.
Standing in the darkened hallway, Fai felt uncertainty grip his heart. It was well past midnight. Syaoran was asleep, like Fai should have been. He felt a flash of foolishness as he recalled having been bitten in the evening. He must have been hallucinating the voice. While bugs in the Old City weren't fatal, their toxins did cause hallucinations. There were anti-toxins in the first aid box. Did he really want to worry Syaoran so needlessly when he could take care of the problem on his own?
Fai turned to head towards the bathroom, feeling silly for panicking over nothing when the door creaked open.
"Fai-san, were you knocking?" Syaoran appeared in the doorway. His hair was mussed, but he was dressed in his day clothes and wide awake. His system was powered on, part of the control console resting on his bed with the screen displaying a complex series of codes that Fai was certain had nothing to do with their work. On a second screen, he could also see the layout the old tunnel systems that ran under The Republic and Old City. Syaoran shut the door as he stepped out in the corridor, peering at Fai in concern. "Are you all right? You look unwell."
"I'm fine. I thought I heard something but… why are you still awake, Syao? You don't usually stay up late," Fai said, frowning when Syaoran looked away. The gun in his hand suddenly wiehged a ton.
"A couple of old friends asked me for a favor," Syaoran replied as he flicked on the lights.
"Old friends?" The question came out sharper than Fai had intended and Syaoran's head snapped up, eyes wide as he caught sight of the gun in Fai's hand.
"Fai-san, why are you—" Syaoran cut off when Fai brought the gun up to his face.
"Who are you? And where is Syaoran?"
"What are you talking about?" The imposter eyed the gun as he backed away.
"Fai-san is what the girl in my head called me. I thought I was hallucinating but— no matter. Who are you? And what have you done with my partner?"
"I am your partner, Fai," the imposter insisted.
"Don't lie to me. Where is Syaoran?" The moment he took a step towards the imposter, Fai realized he'd made a mistake. The imposter dropped to the ground, spinning around to kick Fai's legs out from under him. The gun fell from his hand, skidding across the tiles and out of his reach. Fai wildly kicked out with his left foot, catching his attacker in the face. He crawled across the floor as the imposter gave a pained cry. Snatching the gun, Fai scrabbled to his feet and whirled around. "Don't move or I'll shoot."
The imposter froze, eyes wide, blood dribbling down his broken nose as he stared at the gun in Fai's hand.
"I'm going to ask you once," Fai growled, covering up his fear with anger, as he rested his finger on the trigger, "Who are you and where is my partner?"
The only warning Fai had was the whoosh of air as something hard collided with his back, sending him sprawling on the floor. Fai elbowed the imposter's partner in the ribs, crawling away as he struggled to maintain his grip on the gun as his attacker tried to snatch it away. There's more than one! The gun went off with a loud bang, and Fai's attacker cried out in alarm.
"Oh, fuck!" snarled his attacker, a powerfully built man with crimson eyes and black hair. The bullet had grazed his cheek, leaving a deep gash that would most likely scar once it healed. The man seized the gun as he got off Fai and stood up, training the weapon on Fai instead. "What the hell is wrong with you, mage?"
"Who are you people? Where is Syaoran?" Fai snapped, feeling his heart hammer against his ribcage. He was outnumbered and unarmed. And there was no sign of Syaoran. Someone had to have heard the gunshot though. Fai had to stall these two until the guards arrived.
"That is the kid," the man insisted. Fai glared at him.
"Kurogane-san, the neighbors will have heard the gun go off," the imposter said, and Fai's stomach sank.
"Damn it," the man, Kurogane, growled as he reached in his jacket and withdrew a capped syringe. "Give it to him," Kurogane ordered. Fai shook his head, retreating, until Kurogane snapped. "Stay where you are, dumbass."
Fai bristled at the tone but knew better than to retort, especially when the man had his own gun pointed at him.
"I'm really sorry about this, Fai-san," the imposter murmured as he approached Fai, indicating for Fai to hold out his arm.
"You won't get away with this," Fai hissed, shooting a venomous glare at the imposter. Much to his surprise, the boy flinched at his words before steeling himself as he gripped Fai's forearm. He slid the needle under Fai's skin, pumping the cold liquid into his vein. Fai gasped as drug spread through his body, darkness encroaching at the edges of his vision as he sank to the floor. "What… what was that?"
"It's just a sedative," he heard the imposter assure him as the doorbell rang.
"Get rid of whoever is here. I'll take care of the idiot," Kurogane ordered as Fai felt his hold on consciousness slip.
-0-
Cold water splashed on his face. Fai woke with a gasp, his head snapping up as he tried to stand. Ropes dug into his chest and wrists, the latter tied to the armrests of a comfortable, cushioned chair. Fai shook his head, hoping he wouldn't be sick as he blinked the water from his eyes and looked around. It only took him a moment to realize he was somewhere in the Old City, underground, judging by the musty smell of the air. The room had a homey feel to it. A series of monitors covered the wall to his right, systems similar to the ones Syaoran used set up on a table set before the monitors.
Right in front of him stood the brute Kurogane with an empty bucket. The imposter Syaoran stood a little to the left behind the man, his hands resting on the handlebars of a wheelchair that was occupied by a green-eyed girl. Fai felt a tinge of satisfaction to note that he had broken the imposter's nose, leaving it swollen and bandaged. His heart sank when he realized he couldn't spot the original Syaoran anywhere. What had the imposter done to him? Where were his kidnappers keeping the boy?
He scanned the room once more, a jolt of relief piercing his uneasiness as he realized his bionic eye still functioned. That meant his kidnappers hadn't messed around with it, hopefully because they didn't know about the tracker installed in it. The original purpose had been to facilitate rescue efforts in case he ever got trapped somewhere in the ruins while on a salvage run. But if he failed to report in at the headquarters in the morning, the Guard would be alerted and someone would be sent after him.
"How are you feeling, Fai-san?" the girl said in a lilting voice as the wheelchair rolled to a halt in front of him.
"Like I was knocked out and kidnapped by a bunch of filthy rebels," Fai replied, throat parched and voice hoarse, but he didn't dare ask for water. He didn't know what else they might drug him with. "Director Rondart won't be happy to learn that a bunch of your kind survived out here in the ruins all these years."
With a growl, Kurogane slammed the bucket into the floor, uncaring of the tiles he broke in the process. Fai flinched when the shattered fragments hit his bare feet.
"Fucking unbelievable. I can't believe he turned the mage into this," the man said, gesturing at Fai. One of the man's arms was a prosthetic, Fai noticed, composed of dark grey metal. Some of the sedative must still be in his system, for him to take so long to notice such an obvious detail. "When I see that bastard, I'll rip him apart with my bare hands."
"It's not Fai-san's fault, Kurogane-san," the green-eyed girl said, as Syaoran moved out of Fai's line of sight. The girl offered him a gentle smile, resting a warm hand on top of his bound one. Her skin was soft, which Fai thought was odd for a rebel living in ruins. "I know you're confused right now, but it will make sense soon. My name is Sakura. You've already met Kurogane-san, and Syaoran-kun, you already knew."
"What do you want with me? I'm just an ordinary Reclamation Agent," Fai said, wishing his voice wouldn't shake so much. He'd never been kidnapped before, but they had covered this scenario when Fai had first signed up with Director Rondart.
"If you're ordinary, then I'm a fucking sweet maker," Kurogane scoffed as he crossed his arms and leaned against a table in front of the monitors. Syaoran reappeared at Sakura's side, handing her a pair of clear IV tubes before stepping back.
"You're anything but ordinary, Fai-san." Sakura shook her head. "For a long time you helped me recover my memories. Now I want to return the favor." She unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and began rolling them up. Fai watched her struggle with the sleeves in confusion, the act made difficult by the fact that his wrists were tied to the chair. It wasn't until she began disinfecting a part of skin in the crook of his elbow that he understood her intentions.
"What do you mean?" Panicked, Fai struggled against the ropes, uncaring of the way they chafed his wrists. Kurogane moved to grab his arms, holding them still long enough for the girl to stick a needle in skin before repeating the act with his other arm. The pricks stung, but that was nothing compared to his mounting terror as he saw his blood begin to flow into the tubes, traveling over the sides of the armrests and dripping to the floor from the open ends. "No, no, no, wait. Stop!" he cried, eyes widening when the blood began to flow faster the more he struggled. "What are you doing? Take them out! You're going to kill me!"
"Quit being so dramatic, idiot," Kurogane snapped. "We're getting rid of the drugs in your system."
"By draining me dry?" Fai snapped back, nearing hysterics.
"You'll be fine once you drink my blood."
"What?" Fai gasped, freezing long enough to gape at his captors in disbelief.
"You're a vampire, Fai-san," said the imposter. "And Kurogane-san is your prey. Once you've had his blood you will recover and the drug will be cleansed from your body."
"First I'm a magician and now I'm a vampire?" Fai's voice turned shrill as he eyed the growing pool of blood by his feet. "You're all insane." He renewed his struggles, even though the act did nothing more than quicken the blood loss, making him dizzy. "Please, take them out," he begged, tears pricking his eyes when they didn't react. "I haven't been drugged. Take them out or you'll kill me."
"Everything will be okay, Fai-san," Sakura assured him as she patted his hand.
Fai struggled harder, gasping for breath as the world swam in and out of focus. I'm going to die… Exhausted, Fai slumped in the chair, watching through blurring vision as Kurogane sliced his own wrist. Fai didn't understand what was happening until the bleeding wrist was pressed to his mouth. The taste of copper exploded across his tongue and Fai gagged, leaning as far away as his position allowed. When Kurogane made to follow, Fai clenched his mouth shut, stifling the urge to gasp as he breathed through his nose.
"Come on, you stubborn bastard, drink," Kurogane said. Fai shook his head, pressing himself into the chair. Kurogane pressed his wrist against Fai's mouth again and Fai bit his lips to keep the blood from getting in. The ropes chafed his wrists as he struggled, rubbing his skin raw, but he didn't care. He had to get away. He refused to be a part of such madness.
Kurogane grabbed him by the nape of his neck, keeping him in place as Syaoran moved to pinch the bridge of Fai's nose. With his air supply cut off, Fai had no chance but to open his mouth, immediately choking on the crimson liquid. The blood dribbled down his parched throat, awakening a primal instinct that left Fai shaking. Pain erupted in his gums as his teeth elongated, his senses going into overdrive as he focused on the blood. With a savage cry, Fai tore into the yielding flesh of Kurogane's wrist, lapping up the blood that flowed. He felt strength return to his body as the blood rejuvenated him.
All too soon, Kurogane pried himself free and stepped out of Fai's range. Dissatisfied and wanting more, Fai tried to follow, only to be held back by the ropes. He snarled, struggling against the bonds as his strength fled, and he sagged in the chair, gasping for breath.
"What... what did you do to me?" he panted, viewing the world in vivid shades of crimson and gold through his human eye, superimposed with the dull images he received from his bionic eye.
"We're draining the drugs that Kyle used from your body," Syaoran explained, pointing at the IV needles that were still stuck in Fai's arms, draining his blood that continued to pool around his feet. "We're also trying to jumpstart your vampirism using Kurogane-san's blood. Whatever drugs Kyle has given you have suppressed your vampirism and are altering your perception of the world. Right now, your mind automatically pushes aside or explains away anything that doesn't fit with what Kyle made you believe. It's not very different from what he did to Kurogane-san and I, but your vampirism means we can speed up the process of returning your memories instead of waiting for a week for the drugs to clear out."
"You must be confusing me with someone else," Fai said, trying not to gag at the taste of blood still fresh in his mouth. "I'm not a vampire. Please, tell me where Syaoran is and let us go. I promise, I won't even tell them where you're hiding, but... Let me take my partner and go."
"We're not doing this to hurt you," Sakura said as she rolled her wheelchair to a halt in front of him. "Tell me, do you recognize this room?"
"I've never been here before." Fai groaned as the world spun around him, his head falling to his chest as he clenched his eyes. "Please... you're killing me..."
"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Fai-san. We don't have enough time to restore your memories the same way I did with Kurogane-san and Syaoran. But that's okay. You're almost rid of the drug, so just don't think about it for a while, okay?"
"Don't think about how you're making me bleed out?" Fai gave a hysterical laugh, dissolving into a fit of coughs when he couldn't draw in enough oxygen. Kurogane pressed his injured wrist to Fai's lips and Fai clenched his mouth for a second time.
"Drink," ordered the man and Fai shook his head, tears prickling his eyes. "If you don't want a repeat of what happened earlier, drink."
Fai mulishly kept his mouth closed until Kurogane and the imposter once again forced the blood down Fai's throat. The primal urge took over once more, and soon enough, Fai bit into the man's wrist, greedily lapping at the blood. By the time Kurogane pulled his arm free, Sakura had appeared before him again, a glowing ball of energy floating between her hands.
"What is that?" Fai demanded, panicked as he began struggling anew but the ropes held fast.
"Memories that you had me copy for you," she said, a soft smile tugging at her lips as she gazed at the ball. "You taught me the spell in this very room, after Kurogane-san and Syaoran-kun had been taken. You asked me to return them to you if they ever made you forget." She held out her hands towards him, the ball of energy following the motion. Fai shrank away. The smile on Sakura's face dimmed for a moment as she withdrew. "Fai-san, you gave up so much to help restore my memories. Please, let me help you in return."
"I swear I've never met you before," Fai cried. "Please, just let me go."
"Those bastards really did a number on you, mage," Kurogane said as he approached. Fai whimpered as the man towered over him, trying to curl in on himself. Was he going to force Fai to drink more blood? "I'll let you hit him before I snap his neck."
"I have no issues with Director Kyle. Please, let me go," Fai begged, swallowing the urge to throw up. His stomach churned, and he looked away, unable to meet Kurogane's gaze.
"Mage." Fai flinched when a heavy hand landed on top of his head, though Kurogane did nothing else, waiting until Fai had looked up before speaking. "It may not look like it right now, but we're trying to help you. We're your friends. I gave up my fucking arm for you, dumbass. You think I want that sacrifice to go to waste by hurting you now?"
Fai gasped as a burning sensation spread through his torso, looking down just in time to see the ball of energy vanish inside his chest. For a moment, nothing happened, and Fai let out a hysterical laugh, looking at his captors. And then, as though he'd stuck his fingers in a power socket, a jolt of electricity rushed through his body, making his limbs seize up before he was immersed in darkness.
The world became a jumble of sounds and color as sensations and emotions crashed into him like ocean waves crashing against an ice wall. A storm raged and the wall crumbled, his breath catching in his throat as snippets of memory rose to the forefront of his mind. Starting from his time as a child running through the frigid halls in Valerian castle, hiding with his brother before the guards came to get them, the valley of sinners, his deal with a monster. Faster and faster they came, flashing through his mind: escaping the valley, growing up in Ceres, running from a mad king, traveling to distant worlds with a group of misfits…
"Fai-san?" Sakura called hesitantly.
He groaned, head lolling on his shoulders as his eyes refused to open.
"Fai-san?" The voice belonged to Syaoran this time.
"Don't crowd over him like that," said Kurogane and Fai felt a rush of relief towards his kidnap—wait... what?
Fai furrowed his brows, slowly sorting through the tangled mess of his memories. He could recall his life in Valeria and Ceres and the journey to reclaim Sakura's memories, all the way until Nihon with clarity. He could recall Kyle's failed attempt at stealing Sakura's soulless body from the healing tree. He could remember the original Syaoran somehow managing to stop Kyle while warding off the clone at the same time. He remembered Sakura's soul returning to her body and the princess waking up even though Kyle succeeded in stealing a feather. They'd left Nihon, only to arrive in The Republic, a country that had been ruled by Kyle Rondart for decades.
It was harder to recall the details of what had happened after they'd arrived, but he did know that the Guards employed by Kyle had captured Kurogane and Syaoran. Kyle had used the stolen feather to augment his magic and rewritten their memories, making them believe they were citizens of The Republic. Fai had hidden Sakura and Mokona in the ruins of the Old City and gone to rescue his companions, though not before teaching Sakura how to create and restore a copy of his memories.
He'd managed to rescue Kurogane, but had slipped up and gotten himself caught instead. Kyle had taken great pleasure in robbing him of everything that he'd been. And just to twist the knife a little deeper, Kyle had turned Fai into a loyalist to his rule
"Mage." Kurogane's rumbling voice brought him back to reality. Fai squinted up at the warrior. "You back with us yet?"
Fai only managed a croak, feeling as if his brain had been turned to lead. He let it fall to his chest, closing his eyes as he tried to rearrange his mindscape into a more cohesive form. Sakura had done a marvelous job with the spell for her first time, though her inexperience meant that she'd been unable to prevent the more unpleasant side-effects, hence the disorientation.
"I don't understand... Did I do something wrong?" That was Sakura speaking again.
"No..." he whispered, fighting to get the words past the thorns stuck in his throat. "You were wonderful, Sakura-chan."
"Fai-san, you're back!" she cried happily and Fai found himself in the princess's crushing embrace. "I was so worried I wouldn't be able to fix what Kyle did to you."
He tried raising his hand to pat her on the back, only to discover that he was still tied to the chair. "Mind letting me out of these ropes, Kuro-tan?" He gave the man a lopsided grin. "I know you're enjoying having me all tied up, but let's not play games in front of the children, shall we?"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, dumbass?" Kurogane growled as he moved to untie the ropes, roughly tugging at the knots.
"Oh, nothing," Fai sang before wincing as the rope dug into his wrist. "Ow! Do be gentle with me, Kuro-wan."
"Shut up," Kurogane snapped, though there was no bite to his words. If anything, Fai could pick up on a hint of exasperated fondness in his tone. Fai merely grinned in response, glad to be reunited with his companions.
-0-
Sunlight creeping in through the parted curtains of his bedroom window woke up Kyle long before the alarm rang. Burrowing his head underneath the covers did nothing to help as sleep continued to evade him. After half an hour of stubbornly refusing to get up, gave up on sleep and clambered out of bed. Grumbling to himself, he made his way towards the bathroom, eyes half-closed only to slam his toe into the mahogany frame of his bed. Kyle let out an explosive swear as the last vestiges of sleep were replaced by agony. Hopping all the way to the bathroom, he took a moment to tend to his throbbing toe.
Growling in annoyance, he ventured further into the bathroom, nearly cracking his head against the bathtub when the rug slid across the cold tiles. He managed to avoid lasting damage by grabbing onto the shower curtain, ripping the fabric off its pole. A sense of unease settled in the pit of his stomach, but Kyle disregarded it as he carefully approached the sink and reached for the toothpaste. His fingers closed around an empty tube.
"I told Bob to replace this yesterday!" Kyle growled as he tried to squeeze a small amount of paste onto his toothbrush.
Once done with that task, Kyle performed his morning ritual of adjusting the water temperature just so before stepping under the shower spray. He let out a pleased groan as water rained down on his head. He lathered up his hair with his favorite shampoo, relaxing slightly as the soothing scent of strawberries filled his nose. He soaped up his body and was just about to step under the water when the shower sputtered and started barraging him with freezing water. A high pitched shriek rang throughout the mansion.
Two minutes later, shivering and thoroughly annoyed, Kyle stepped in front of the dresser to brush out his hair. Having foregone the conditioner thanks to the water heater breaking down, his hair was tangled badly and his ponytail came out resembling a bristle brush.
At breakfast, Bob the second spilled scalding tea over his lap, resulting in another high pitched shriek. A change of clothes later Kyle departed for work before further bad luck befell him. Note to self: Get rid of all idiotic minions. Look into promoting Fluorite and Li from faithful, brainwashed field agents to faithful, brainwashed lackies at the mansion.
The first sign that bad luck had followed him all the way to his office was the report that his BMW, or the Brainwashing Mechanical Wonder, had exploded when the power source overloaded. Mass-indoctrination of new minions was pushed back by weeks. Kyle prided himself on his hypnotism spells, but those were time consuming. The BMW had cut the time it took to create a faithful minion to merely a fraction what was needed to bewitch a minion. The second sign was when minion Bob the Leader One reported that Bob the Minions One, Two, and Three had fallen asleep and lost track the elusive Kurogane. It had taken him an entire month to track him down and they'd lost him after a week!
Relieving Bob the Leader of his office via window, Kyle's mood lifted a fraction when he received a message from Li and Fluorite, the most competent of his brainwashed minions.
"Director Kyle," Fluorite's face grinned at him from the screen. A wooden box roughly the size of a grown man was visible behind him, which his partner appeared to be tinkering with. "Syaoran and I have discovered something that you would be really surprised to see. Permission to bring the package directly to you?"
"Permission granted."
"Great," Fluorite's grin widened to fill the screen before transmission was cut off.
Perhaps they managed to find the Lost Library of Ancient Arts, Kyle thought as he swiveled in his seat to look at the display mounted on the wall behind his desk. His gaze wandered along the collection resting behind the glass, sliding across countless treasures he'd borrowed along his journey and coming to rest upon his most prized possession. Encased in a magic-nullifying secondary case to mask its presence, floated a snow white feather with distinct crimson marks along its spine. A small tube linked the case to the display setup, powering the protective magicks that secured his collection. An empty book holder took up the space next to the princess's feather, just waiting to be filled. Kyle intended to give that place of honor to the Book of Forbidden Knowledge. That book was the sole reason he had come to this world, although having built a comfortable life for himself here, Kyle had decided some time ago that after creating a copy to present to his master, he would retire from Fei Wang's service and settle permanently in this world. After all, he had done enough to repay his master for creating him.
A knock on his door drew Kyle out of his musings.
"I hope you weren't too busy," Fluorite said as he and Li hauled the heavy trunk with them inside. Something grunted when Fluorite let it drop and Li gave the blond an apprehensive look although Fluorite continued grinning. "We went through to a lot of trouble to get this, just for you."
"Well then," Kyle nodded, tapping the control that barred entrance to his office for all minions. If this was really haul from the Lost Library of Ancient Arts, and the markings on trunk resembled those on the ancient manuscript already resting on the other side of the princess's feather, then no minion should see what the trunk contained. Moving out from around the desk, he approached the trunk. "Let's see what you've brought."
"Certainly," Fluorite grinned as he undid the latch and stepped back. Filled with excitement, Kyle opened the lid, only to receive a fist to the nose. Stars twirled across his vision as he collided with the desk. Shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness, Kyle felt his heart stop as he realized what exactly his no longer brainwashed minions had found.
"Hello, Rondart," Kurogane of Suwa growled, teeth bared in a savage grin as he advanced. Behind him, Li and Fluorite both stood ready with weapons drawn. "You've got something that belongs to the princess."
Kyle scrambled to his feet, slipping behind the desk to put some space between himself and the three dimension travelers. Not that the mahogany desk would prove to be much of a hindrance for a ninja. Cursing under his breath as he saw his dreams of retirement shatter, Kyle reached for the talisman his master had granted him to allow dimensional travel. As the black smoke swirled around him to carry him across the dimensional walls, Kyle had a disgruntled thought. I really should have just stayed in bed.
-0-
Kurogane punched the wooden desk, feeling a hint of satisfaction when it shattered. The slippery bastard had managed to slip away again. This is the last time that I've let him get away.
"Kuro-puu," the idiot sang, drawing him away from his fuming, "I've taken down all the enchantments on this case. Can you punch through the glass and grab Sakura-chan's feather?"
"Why don't you break the damn thing yourself?" Kurogane grumbled even as he moved around the shattered desk and approached the display case.
"Ah, Kurogane-san," the kid piped up, looking guilty and excited at the same time, "please be careful. Some of these artifacts are very fragile."
Kurogane barely refrained from rolling his eyes. The brat had the same love for useless, ancient crap as his clone before him. Nevertheless, he took care not to damage anything but the glass, extracting the secondary case carrying the princess's feather. Handing it over to the manjuu for safekeeping, he stepped away to allow the kid to approach the now-accessible shelves with all the restraint of a toddler standing before a sweet vendor. The mage ooh'ed and ah'ed as he helped the kid collect the stolen artifacts, nodding along as the boy explained the history behind each item he handed over to the manjuu for storage. Shaking his head at their antics, Kurogane leaned against a wall, crossing his arms across his chest as he focused on the future. Next time they met, Kyle Rondart would pay for everything he had done to Kurogane's companions.