A/N: I must say I'm a little disappointed with the response from the readers for the last chapter. I've noticed a bit of a pattern to it all. You guys always seem less interested whenever it's Nixon's POV. I wonder why though. You guys want to see less of him and more of someone else? If so, who? I personally think he's a cool character (and I say this in a very unbiased way *shot* ) but I'd like to know your opinion. Even though he's my OC, he's actually really hard to write (he's almost as bad as Kurogane when it comes to writing his POV) because I've turned him into this really complex being and keeping track of all those feelings and not letting it get out of hand is troublesome to say the least. But if you guys aren't enjoying the effort I put into it… well I can always use that energy somewhere else so yeah… tell me what you want.

On a different note, the first half of this chapter is taking place in parallel to the time where Syaoran found Nixon and heard the Oracle's confrontation with the Shaman.

The second half will probably make everyone go 'Finally!' because this is it people. He finds out the truth. So yeah, enjoy.

Kurogane searched his surroundings with his sixth sense, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the Oracle's aura but it skirted just at the edges of his awareness, appearing oh so briefly at one point of the city before going out of reach and then reappearing in a completely opposite direction. What the heck was wrong with that man? Couldn't he stay in one place long enough to talk? His dramatics were going to end up costing them all their lives if this kept up.

He had seen a vision. The mage had already told him about the blind man's powers of prediction. For him to be this freaked out about it, something big was going to happen soon, something that concerned the man himself, the witch or the mage. There was a possibility that it concerned all three. Given how emotional the man had been only three days back, he really did not want to see how the man might handle the situation on his own. No, it was best to seek him out and get him to spill just what it was that he had seen. Kurogane wasn't willing to let his friends get hurt any more than they already had been.

He couldn't quite believe the time difference between the worlds even though he had been aware that time would have passed differently in the two worlds. What had only been two weeks and three days in Clow had actually been over three months in Magihidusi. It was hard to believe they had rescued the kid less than three weeks ago but the mage had suffered in his place much much longer. Had he known of the suffering the blond would have gone through, would he have tried to find a way to get him out of that place? Of course. There was no doubt about it but seeing the shell of a man left behind from the time spent in captivity, Kurogane couldn't help but feel guilt gnaw at his heart.

If only he had known. If only they had never gone to that city in the first place. If only… if only the Manjuu had never truly been affected by those darned barriers. It all came down to those two words. The words of a wistful soul wondering and hoping to turn back time and change what was to come. 'If only'.

But as much as he wished to be able to go back and change their decisions, Kurogane was no fool. What had happened had happened. All they could do now was help the victims cope with the ordeal they went through and hope for the best. After all, the kid was hopeful that the other kid would soon start to remember the truth. And it had not even been three weeks since they had rescued him. The mage had physically healed completely so who was to say they couldn't hope for the best. Maybe they both would come out of it all relatively unscarred but definitely more experienced and mature?

The kid would still need a lot of therapy to regain the lost muscle mass and strength as looking at him now, one could see nothing more than skin and bones but once he was healed it would not be impossible to achieve. He had done it once so he would probably be able to do it again. As for the mage… well, his was more of the mental healing sort than anything else.

The Oracle's aura flared at the edge of his senses and Kurogane immediately took a one eighty degree turn, heading towards the market place. The Oracle was somewhere in the tunnels beyond that. What was it with that man and secluded caves and tunnels? Hoping the idiot wouldn't change locations before he could get there, Kurogane froze in his footsteps near the edge of the market when he saw the princess leaning over the fountain with her face pale as a ghost.

"Princess, what's wrong?" he asked walking up to the nearly hyperventilating girl.

Wide-eyed, she turned to face him, "K-Kurogane-san. You can see me, right?"

"What sort of question is that?" he asked in bewilderment. "Of course I can see you."

"No, I mean you can see me, right?" here she turned back to the fountain, staring at the water with unshed tears in her eyes, "when you look at me, you see me not…"

"Oi, Princess, you're sounding like the Mage right now," taking hold of both her shoulders, he turned her around to face him. The jade-eyed princess looked back at him with an expression that was three parts lost and one part scared causing his worry for the girl to mount. "What has gotten into you? Of course I can see you. Who else do you expect me to see?"

"You can't see her…" she breathed, seemingly to herself. "But… I-I…"

Trying not to let his exasperation get the best of him, Kurogane took in a breath to calm himself before rephrasing his question, "Why are you so freaked out?"

"I think I might have just kissed, Syaoran-san."

"You what?" whatever it had been that Kurogane had been expecting her to say, it most definitely not had been that. Why would the girl do something as stupid as that? The kid wasn't the one she loved and he even looked different now. What in the world could have driven her to… "Why the heck would you do something like that?" she flinched and Kurogane had to remind himself to loosen his grip on her shoulders a little. "And what do you mean by might? You either kissed him or you didn't."

"I don't know…" she cried, "I think I did. I can't remember what happened. One minute we were just talking about Tsubasa and Sakura-san and the next minute he was apologizing and running away and… I don't know… you can see me when you look at me, right? Not her. Not Sakura-san."

Seeing her distressed state, Kurogane wondered if perhaps the kid had been the one to confuse the two Sakuras. But he was older now. He was nearly the same age as Kurogane. How could someone that old make a stupid mistake like that? True this princess was the original of that kid's princess but to kiss this one just because they shared the same soul… That boy was in for a world of pain when Kurogane came across him next. Had the brat forgotten about the girl waiting for him? Had the brat forgotten that this princess belonged to his son?

"Hey, princess, calm down." Lowering his face to her level, he met her gaze and held it, "Breath. I see you when I look at you. Not the other princess but you, alright? Now calm down."

"You don't see her." that was all she said but he couldn't quite be sure whether the words were meant for him or herself. Trying not to yell at the girl for repeating it over and over again, he nodded.

"No, I only see you. Now can you tell me what happened? Did the kid try anything?"

"Syaoran-san? No! I mean… No, it was me… I think. I can't remember what happened."

His alarm must have shown on his face at hearing about her missing memories because the girl hastily added, "I blacked out for a little bit. And I think I kissed him then. Because Syaoran-san was… Something is happening to me, Kurogane-san. Something is wrong with me because… I can see her looking back at me in the water."

"Your other self?"

"Yes."

"But isn't she supposed to be just a memory?"

"Syaoran-san is not just a memory anymore." She pointed out, rubbing her arms as Kurogane felt her gently shudder under his hands.

"It could be an effect of that damned Essence." He said thoughtfully, "Although the kid never went through anything like this. Maybe you should go ask the witch about it." He suggested, removing his hands from her shoulders as he searched his senses for the Oracle's aura. It was still in the same spot, just beyond the marketplace, somewhere in those tunnels. He could catch up with the man if he hurried. Letting go of the princess he turned to leave only to stop at the sound of her voice, so small and hesitant and scared.

"Kurogane-san? Could you…" she hesitated, "could you come with me please?"

The Oracle's aura flared again, a foreign energy clashing with it in a brilliant display of power and Kurogane almost ran towards it but then he remembered the princess's question and sighed.

"Sure," he said, turning his back to the marketplace and the tunnels beyond it, "Let's go."

-0-

"No! Please, I'm sorry!" That was Tsubasa's voice.

Tsubasa? Alarmed, he looked around for his son.

"Sakura, stop!"

The darkness that had surrounded him before began to fade away as his surrounding morphed and changed and Syaoran found himself standing in the middle of a very familiar looking dungeon.

At the sound of Tsubasa's scream, Syaoran whirled around, his heart jumping into his throat at the sight of his son bound to a flat table and having his flesh carved out by a cruel looking copy of Sakura who stood over him with a silver knife glinting in the dull light that shone overhead. He would have mistaken this girl for the princess if it had not been for that crazed grin that nearly split her face or that manic gleam in her eyes as she reveled in the sound of Tsubasa's pained cries. 'Sakura' bent down to whisper something in Tsubasa's ear, lovingly wiping away the tears that leaked out of his eyes before drawing away. She laughed at his response before she slapped him in the face, her talon-like nails leaving crimson gouges in his cheek.

Tsubasa? He called out cautiously. He could sense his son nearby but it was obvious he was hiding from him. In a whirl of light and sound, the scene changed.

Tsubasa was now cowering on the floor, 'Sakura' standing by the door to the dungeon, 'Kurogane' and 'Fai' moving towards the teen with thick metal poles in their hands. Tsubasa hurriedly pushed away, almost trying to sink into the wall behind him before he was grabbed by the older men, who proceeded to drag him out the dungeon, jeering and spewing insults all the way as they brought him to a tiny cell with a pair of shackles hanging at the end of long chains that were attached to the roof somehow. The men bound his ankles to the chain, 'Sakura' pulling a lever that pulled Tsubasa off the ground. Ignoring the brunette's pleads, the men proceeded to hit him with the rods, focusing on the soles of is feet in particular as he half—hung upside down.

Tsubasa, I know you are here. He said quietly, closing his eyes just so he wouldn't have to look at the sight of his son being tortured. Another flicker and the memory changed.

'Fai' and 'Kurogane' held him down as 'Sakura' shoved a feeding tube down his throat, ignoring the choked whimpers that formed in his throat as blood leaked out of his nostrils. Tears steadily streamed down his face as 'Sakura' crooned and whispered at him almost lovingly.

Tsubasa, stop it. He said firmly. These memories were not changing randomly like they would in a dream. Oh no. his son was deliberately bringing these up for Syaoran to see. The purpose behind it, the brunette could guess at a little but he still hoped it was not what he thought it was.

The memory changed. 'Kurogane' and 'Fai' held him down yet again as Sakura poured water down his jaws, his body twitching and shaking under the weight of the grown men as he tried and failed to get air inside his lungs, drowning without really drowning.

Tsubasa, I mean it. He repeated his warning, reaching out with his senses to try and pinpoint where exactly the teen was hiding. There! Latching on to his presence, Syaoran sent out a burst of concentrated magic that blew the memory apart until he was left standing outside a crumbling building on a floating island. Almost ten feet away, eyes narrowed in anger and mouth pulled down in a frown, stood his son.

"Why are you here now?" he growled dangerously, crossing his arms across his chest.

Stunned by the anger he could see swirling inside those amber eyes, Syaoran was struck speechless for a moment but it appeared it was a moment too long because Tsubasa was striding towards him, fists clenched by his sides and teeth grit together.

"Why did you come back now, huh?" he stopped inches from his face, glaring up at him with nothing but fury and betrayal flashing across his features, "Why not stay wherever it was you had vanished to?"

Listen Tsubasa, I-

"Why did you come back?" Tsubasa yelled, "You left when I needed you the most." Syaoran bit his tongue and let Tsubasa scream. His son needed to say these things. It wasn't his fault. He did not know the circumstances surrounding his abrupt departure. Even so, his words cut deeply inside Syaoran's heart but it was okay. Syaoran could endure this pain. His son had gone through much worse. Even if this was the first time he was talking to the brunette face to face ever since that time when he had paid the price for that wish and turned into a memory, it did not matter because Tsubasa was his most precious son and he could endure his cruel words if only because Tsubasa needed to vent out his anger before he would be willing to listen to anything.

"You woke up inside me, I remember that now. And you protected me from some of it. But then you just vanished. You left me alone! With those… those… You were my father, weren't you supposed to protect me! Even when everyone else left my side, you of all people… I had always thought that… why are you here now? Have you finally decided to come and watch the broken spectacle I have become?" it seemed he had run out of steam as he swiftly turned on his back and stalked away, "why?" that one word weighed heavily upon his heart.

Would it mean anything to you if I said I never intended to leave you? He asked quietly.

"You still left me with them." The younger brunette replied bitterly.

If you are willing to give me a chance, I can… I can try and explain why I left. Or rather, he corrected with a small shake of his head, why I was made to leave.

"…I'm listening." Tsubasa said though his tone was a little frosty. It hurt Syaoran to hear his son address him in such an aloof manner but seeing where he came from, he was rather grateful Tsubasa was speaking to him at all. After all, looking at everything from his son's point of view, not only had Syaoran failed to protect him from his 'tormentors', he had also abandoned him halfway. Now he was paralyzed and useless, left on the mercy of strangers with no idea of what was reality and what was just a trick being played on him by his torturers.

I'd rather, you saw instead. He said, taking a step closer to the teen. Pulling up his magic, Syaoran worked to allow some of his own memories to slip out and infuse the space around them. Having the same soul as his son meant that he could easily bring up memories in here that did not belong to Tsubasa if he wanted to, just as he had briefly taken control of his body in Clow when he had not known the truth for himself and thought Sakura and Kurogane to be the bad guys as well.

I wasn't completely aware of my surrounding until a couple of days before I was pulled out of your body. He said by way of explanation, not letting the memory form until he had told Tsubasa some of the things he should know before seeing them. The minute I was pulled out, I thought it was just another ploy of Sakura-chan's and Kurogane-san's to harm you. So I attacked them.

The memory that played out before him was one of Syaoran's very first ones. In fact, this had happened only seconds after he had been pulled out of Tsubasa's body and given a semi-corporeal form.

Get away from him! he yelled, watching in wide-eyed horror as Kurogane moved towards his unmoving son that lay on the bed.

"S-Syaoran-san." He heard the princess say breathlessly but his own gaze was fixated on the ninja who paused to study his features for a fraction of a second. Anger burning through his veins, he took a menacing step towards the duo, growling low in his throat as he did so. I said, Get. The. Fuck… AWAY FROM HIM! not giving either of them a chance to react, Syaoran raced at the red-eyed man, ignoring the princess's alarmed cry as he kicked the older man. The fact that his leg flew right through him did nothing to deter Syaoran as he whirled around to attack him again, Haven't you two had enough fun with him? He never did anything to deserve your hatred.

"Syaoran-san, stop!" Sakura raced ahead to stand protectively before the ninja causing Syaoran to stand down. Even if she was the cause behind his son's state, he did not want to hurt her

Despite everything that you did to him, I don't want to hit you, Hime. Step out of the way. He warned.

"It wasn't us." She shook her head. "Believe me. We didn't do this." Taking this distraction, Kurogane moved towards Tsubasa again and Syaoran felt himself go cold all over.

Stay away from him! he snarled, his breath catching in his throat at the ninja's next words.

"Oye, Hime! Get over here. Fuck! The kid isn't breathing."

The princess did not move from her spot however, raising her hand to summon her staff instead. Catching it out of the air, she slammed the pole on the ground, looking at Syaoran in what one might have considered an apologetic expression as a magic circle began glowing underneath Syaoran's feet. The horrified spirit was frozen in place, too shocked by the knowledge that his son was dead to do anything as multi-colored ribbons of magic began to wrap themselves around his body.

"I'm sorry Syaoran-san, but this is the only way. Time flows differently in that world then it does here, but please tell Fai-san we'll come as soon as we can." That was all he ever got from the princess before he was whisked away by her magic. The memory faded away, leaving them back on the floating island.

I was terrified. I had no idea what happened to you. He admitted quietly, I arrived in the dungeons that looked quite similar to the ones where we were being kept before. Only the person trapped in there wasn't you. I didn't care about that though. I had to know if you were okay but I did not have the means to return to you. So I turned to the next best thing.

A new memory formed around them.

Syaoran was kneeling over Fai's prone form, the blond dressed in nothing but a pair of tattered jeans. His long hair clung to his face and torso in wet ropy strands, his chest rattling with every breath he took, soft moans escaping his lips every now and then. His face was contorted in pain and he was covered grime and blood. Syaoran seemed to be studying the unconscious man's face for something before a malicious grin formed on his face as he thrust his hand into the other man's chest.

The blond trembled and moaned, a scream of pain tearing from his throat as his eyes flew open when Syaoran clenched his fist a little harder around his heart.

"Syaoran-kun!" the blond gasped, finally recognizing his tormentor. Syaoran cold detect the hint of betrayal and the question in his tone now that he heard the wizard for the second time and he grew ashamed of ever having felt pleasure upon inflicting such agony upon the man who had gone through it all for the sake of saving his son.

Can't take what you dished out, Fai? The Syaoran in the memory questioned viciously, his tone a little mocking as he glared down at the wizard, I'm going to make sure you suffer before I kill you. I'll make it a lot worse for you Fai-san. If you don't send me back to my son.

Feeling guilt claw at his gut Syaoran hurriedly cut off the memory at that point. Tsubasa was staring at him with something akin to surprise and a little bit of fear. The brunette probably had not though him capable of such cruelty.

I nearly killed him that day. I had no idea what had become of you, I was stuck in a dungeon with one of the last people on earth I ever wanted to even see again and I had no way to get back to you. I was so blinded by my anger and fear, I never paused to take into consideration that something was very wrong with the situation. Had I known… he trailed off, pulling up a new memory for Tsubasa to see. Hopefully, this would clarify the situation for him a little more.

Fai was curled up on the floor, his body twitching at regular intervals as he mumbled incoherently. The door to the dungeon was pushed open with a loud screech and in stepped the Fai's silver-haired tormentor. The woman's heels clacked loudly against the solid floor as she approached the blond, crouching next to him with a sweet smile on her face. Fai stared up at her with dull lifeless eyes until she slipped a needle into his skin and injected him with a murky grey liquid. Immediately, recognition fluttered across his gaze as he looked at the smiling woman hopefully.

One word escaped his lips and it was that word that made Tsubasa draw in a sharp breath.

"Ma-Mas-ooma?"

"That's not, Masooma-san." Tsubasa whispered, as though afraid a louder tone would shatter the memory.

I know. Syaoran agreed, equally quiet. But Fai-san did not know that. And at that time, neither did I…

"Think you can remember it for me now?" the woman crooned softly, though Syaoran was looking at Tsubasa's face as one color came and the other flew by across his face, He heard Fai cry out as the woman hit him, watching as dots began to connect in Tsubasa's mind but he let the memory play. Tsubasa had to draw the complete conclusion on his own. The woman ran her fingers through Fai's knotted hair, playing with a random strand in an almost bored manner as she continued speaking. "You know, Fai, I had really hoped you'd be able to tell us something this time." Her hand trailed down his face to his neck, "After all, this doesn't have to be this way." Her hand trailed lower and Fai squeezed his eyes shut in fear. "All this pain…" the memory blacked out a little at this point because Syaoran had not been paying attention to it at the time, drawing conclusions of his own when it happened the first time around.

The sickening sound of breaking bones was what caused the memory to come back into focus, Fai screaming in pain as tears steadily flowed down his face. Even now, only one word escaped his lips, the name of the woman he loved. The silver haired woman continued speaking, looking almost bored as she snapped his fingers one by one.

"Masooma-san's precious person…" Tsubasa mumbled, stumbling a couple of feet away from Syaoran just as he finally let the memory fade away, focusing his attention on his son, "the man who went through everything I did… that was him!"

Syaoran said nothing in response, knowing that only if Tsubasa drew the connections on his own would he believe the truth. After having gone through so much, he was not going to believe anything that someone else told him. he was bound to trust his own judgment a lot more.

"But if he was there… and that woman… she was… she wasn't Masooma-san… but Fai-san thought it was her… so then… I… Sakura, Kurogane-san and Fai-san were not… that woman was the one that… she was the one that did this to me?"

Syaoran shook his head, confirming his son's theory. Sakura-chan never hurt you Tsubasa.

A/N: And there you have it. Only seven or eight more chapters left to go hopefully and then it will be the end of Broken. It makes me go all sad and melancholic at the thought of seeing this story end if only because so many things are coming to an end in my life. I will be giving the final 'final exam' of my undergraduate life in less than twenty four hours. It feels rather scary to be honest and for some reason I don't want to see this stuff from the other side if that makes any sense. Anyhow, I've been thinking about creating a facebook profile where the readers can all get random updates, see artwork and talk to me about ideas and stuff. I haven't actually gotten round to it yet but if you feel like it's an interesting idea then let me know and I will make one. ^_^

Also, I need your help with deciding how to make Tsubasa react to this knowledge. Vote for one of the following

a. Tsubasa is shocked to hear the truth but believes his father but he asks Syaoran to give him some time to come to terms with this new information and not let the others come see him yet.

b. Tsubasa is still in denial and Syaoran has to knock some sense into him to make him believe the truth.

c. Tsubasa believes Syaoran and asks to see Sakura and the others to apologize for the way he acted around them because he feels guilty for behaving so hatefully when around them.

Here's a little sneak peak for the next chapter but just know that I won't update until I get a better response from you guys.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell us something was wrong you moron?"

"Because nothing is wrong Kurogane…" he laughed. Everything was fine. "I'm fine. Nothing is wrong at all. Everything is perfectly fine. Nothing wrong. Nothing… at all…" Yes. He was fine. He was safe. He was back with the people who cared about him. People who loved him. They would never hurt him. He had Masooma and Kurogane and Sakura and Mokona and Nixon and Syaor- Syaoran had tried to crush his heart! And his chest had been torn open and there had been blood. Blood. So much… His hand touched his chest and there was nothing there. So then… wait… no… Syaoran had… but then he was… fine. He was at Magihidusi now. He was safe. He was fine. Fine. Everything was fine.

"Maybe all that is nothing to you, but it's a whole lot of something to the rest of us. You don't have to deal with this shit on your own you moron. We are supposed to be your friends so let us help you."

"Help… me?" Could they… could they really help him? What would they do if he told them about her voice inside his head? How would they get it out?

'Go on Fai. Tell them you can hear me. Then maybe they can tear me out of your head.'

Just to get it out there, the 450th, 475th and the 500th (if I ever manage to get there ^_^; ) reviewers will be getting a special treat from me in the form of a TRC one-shot request each that I will write for them once Broken is finished. You can request crossovers if you feel like it so long as I am familiar with the other fandom. Any genre is fine including romance, humor, horror etc and any pairing too so long as it's not Yaoi because that is something I refuse to write.

Now I gotta go hit the books, final exam and all so ttyl~