Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . . 

By Dr Megalomania.

Chapter Four: Gift Uninvited

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!! EVERYBODY UP!! IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!"

Cocooned warmly in a tumble of blankets, his lover's arms and a few of Yue's loose long feathers, Yukito smiled sleepily as his brother's voice pierced his fragile sleep. The snow rabbit snuggled closer to his lover and breathed a happy sigh, knowing it was scant, precious moments before Keroberos would come barrelling in to wake his little brother. Touya groaned and wrapped his arms around Yuki tighter, "He's your brother . . . can't you do anything about him?"

"I wouldn't change him for the world, To-ya . . ." Yukito chuckled and raised his body up, so he could lean on Touya's broad chest; he stared down at the other man lovingly. Now, Yue had removed the sight defect from his eyes, Yukito didn't really need his glasses but out of habit and to lessen the amount of explaining he'd have to do, kept them on anyway. The dark haired man sighed deeply and reached up to cup his hand around the back of Yuki's dapple-grey hair, "I know you wouldn't . . . but . . ." He shook his head, allowing a rare smile to grace his lips, "It's not often I wake up to such a wonderful sight . . ."

They kissed softly.

As they pulled apart, Touya fell back to the pillow, while Yuki cushioned his head against Touya's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "Aishiteru, To-ya."

"Yuki . . ." The dark haired magician sighed, and held his lover tightly, "Aishiteru. Happy birthday . . ." Touya shook his head, as the sounds of Keroberos barrelled out of Sakura's room, and Syaoran swearing heatedly (and inventively) at him in Chinese woke the entire household. Downstairs, Ruby Moon yelled up an answering call of: "Eriol-sama~!! Can I open our presents?! Eriol-sama~!!"

"COME ON!! EVERYONE OUT OF BED!! THAT MEANS YOU TOO!!"

Hurricane Keroberos hit the next room, Tomoyo's quiet voice calling out a startled cry. There was unusual silence, before Tomoyo quickly called out, "Eriol!! What have you done with Keroberos?!"

Touya rolled his eyes, as Eriol replied quietly, too quietly for him to hear. But as a rift in the fabric of reality opened up above them, it soon became very apparent what Eriol had down with Keroberos.

"*Hiirawagizawa*!!"

Touya suddenly yelled as a very surprised Keroberos landed right on their bed. "Huh . . .?" The lion blinked, stunned by his sudden teleportation before bouncing up and down on the bed. "IT'S CHRISTMAS LITTLE ONE!! RISE AND SHINE!! CHRISTMAS TIME!!"

Tsukishiro Yukito giggled happily, as he reached out to grab his brother, stilling the excited lion. "Arigato, arigato Keroberos!!" The lion gazed fondly at his brother before licking the snow rabbit's face, "Merry Christmas, little one . . . and happy birthday!"

Yukito smiled as he pulled off Kero's cumbersome helmet so he could hold the lion closer, "Thank you . . ." Burying his face into warm, soft fur, he hugged Keroberos tightly, "Thank you, Oniichan!"

The lion wrapped his paws around Yukito's back as best he could and glanced at Touya imperiously. "Well . . ." The lion said gruffly, "What are you still doing here? Where's our breakfast?!"

"What am I? Your butler . . .?" Touya rolled his eyes, slipping out of bed, "Yue . . . Return to your guardian form . . ." He murmured quietly, while he pulled on his slippers and dressing gown. There was a bright flash of blue, and a large white feather floated over his shoulder. Touya turned and smiled, "Happy birthday, Yue . . . Merry Christmas, lover mine."

The moon guardian raised an unimpressed eyebrow, as his armful of Keroberos squirmed to lick his face. Touya got up and went to the window-doors to look out. The sky was clear; it was a rich, crisp bluish grey and the white fluffy clouds looked so very soft. The roofs of all the neighbouring houses were covered in at least a foot's worth of snow. Touya slid the door open, to step out on the little balcony that was over their extended garden. He looked around; their car was similarly buried with snow. The front path . . . everything was covered with so much snow . . .

And he would have missed it, had the feathers been their normal pure white.

Touya blinked as he stared down . . . the dirty white feathers were almost grey against the purity of the snow. They, like everything else were covered with snow, and the being they belonged to . . .

"Get Sakura . . . and Eriol . . ."

Keroberos blinked as Yue pushed him away and frowned at Touya, "Pardon me?"

"I said get Sakura and Eriol . . . *Hurry*!!" Touya threw his arm out, his key and the blanket on the bed flew across the room to him. The two Guardians were dragged out of bed and deposited on the floor, as Touya grabbed the items, and jumped out of the window. Keroberos ran out the room, as Yue ran over to the window and looked at Touya as he climbed down the side of the house. His gaze fixed on the front path of the house. A small startled noise escaped Yue's lips, the cold misting his breath as it left his lips.

"What . . . how did . . .?"

A black haired angel, with the same face as Yue, lay face down with his pale, almost blue lips kissing the pure snow that cushioned him.

"I . . . I don't understand . . ."

Several centuries ago, Clow Reed had created a mistake . . . a guardian who was driven insane and had to be sealed to protect the two others from him and the effect of the dark curses upon him.

"How . . . how did this . . . happen?"

Nearly fifty years ago, Clow Reed's other fatal mistake, a third reincarnation, tracked down and rediscovered this cursed guardian and released him upon the world as part of her revenge on Clow and all his descendants, all his beneficiaries of his magic.

"I . . . How could he . . .?"

Eight years ago, this cursed soul was the cause of Kinomoto Fujitaka's death, and played a major part of the mass murder of all of the Reed line of magicians in England and the rest of Europe. This damned angel had lead Clow's second reincarnation, Fujitaka, to edge of a pond and watched as the third reincarnation's Sun Guardian, a fearsome and not to mention hideous dragon, drowned him. 

"I don't understand this . . ."

Four years ago, in a battle for the Sakura cards, that almost cost the card mistress her life and the lives of her friends . . . which claimed the life of the Li Clan Head's cousin and closest relative, Li Meilin . . . This fallen angel sacrificed himself to protect the younger guardians he'd once desired to kill. His younger brothers, and his even younger cousins watched him as his body disintegrated, finally putting to rest a mistake and peace to a much troubled soul.

"Quickly, fetch some warm water . . . blankets . . . Quickly!"

Three years ago, this wretched soul's grave was disturbed and from it, someone unknown had stolen the skull from Hei-ying's resting body.

"Warm! Not boiling, but very warm!! Hurry!!"

Five minutes ago, this cursed angel was found, half frozen and almost dead on the path leading to the Kinomoto Household. How he'd come back to life was a mystery, why he now lay dying was unknown and why he'd returned to this household . . . a secret soon to be revealed.

Tomoyo took Ruby's cloak from her and wrapped it around Hei-ying, his lips were still blue, and he wasn't even warm enough to shiver. "He'll die if we don't warm him now . . ." She looked at Sakura, "Can you do anything?"

Sakura stared at Hei-ying for a moment before extending her hand. She called forth her staff and raised her hand. The Sakura cards floated rapidly down the stairs and into her waiting hand. Syaoran brought in another blanket as Keroberos pulled a pillow in from the living room.

Half running, half flying, Yue came down the stairs with a change of clothing, Yukito's warmest jumpers and trousers. Eriol sighed and knelt by his wife, "We should try and get him to change form . . ." He reached over and touched Hei-ying's left ear, the puncture hole from his earring still there. "But he hasn't got a false form anymore . . . it will take me a few days to create one . . ." Eriol paused and closed his eyes, "If I still remember the spell." He stood and dusted off his hands, "I'll need to fetch some of Clow's old spell books from my library."

"What is he doing here?!" Ruby choked slightly, her eyes wide as she pulled at the clasps that held Hei-ying's clothing on. "He died . . . We *buried* him!" She pulled back some of the black matted hair, to reveal the angel's eyes, "Two eyes?! Two ears?!" She shook her head hard, not really understanding, and giving voice to the confusion felt throughout the room, "This guy left this world with one of both! What kind of Christmas present is this?!"

Tapping her Windy card, Sakura commanded it to carry Hei-ying into the living room. The group followed him, as they shot nervous glances between each other. Hei-ying's skull had been one of those stolen from the Reed Mansion's small graveyard and now, here was the dead angel . . . barely alive, and clearly having been perhaps beaten to hell and back.

For what possible purpose had Hei-ying returned from the dead?

The house was very quiet. While everywhere else households celebrated the holiday, the one on the corner of the street remained still. As soon as the had Hei-ying in bed, tucked up in their attempts to get him warmer, Eriol left with Spinel to fetch his magic books, Touya, Tomoyo and Nakuru went out to by food, medicine, and material to repair the damaged clothing of Hei-ying. Though at this moment it was unclear if he'd be needing them long. Syaoran and Sakura consulted the cards, while Keroberos and Yue took care of their eldest brother.

Yue pressed a warm, damp cloth against Hei-ying's forehead. Hei-ying still wasn't shivering, which was a bad sign. It meant his body had passed the point of trying to keep warm – it simply couldn't generate enough energy – and was desperately conserving it, in a state of hibernation, a last ditch attempt to stave off a sleep from which there was no return. Yue bit his lip, Hei-ying was dying again; this time, a slow, creeping death. His own sleep was killing him.

It was clear he didn't have enough magic, that he needed a master to feed him magic as Sakura did for himself and Keroberos, Eriol for Ruby and Spinel. But neither could take him on or they would risk setting the Law of Triad into motion between the creations of Clow Reed, the master magician. As trained as he was to handle magic, Touya wasn't yet experienced enough to take on a fully-grown guardian, his magic would be completely drained within days without help to steady the relationship between guard and master.

Yue shook his head. Hei-ying had come here seeking their help. But why? How did he manage to come back to life, when all links to his existence had been severed?

"Doushite, Oniichan?"

Yue murmured thoughtfully, there was a growl from the kitchen as Keroberos pushed the door open, and padded over. A kettle of boiling water hung from his jaws. Yue took it and poured some in the bowl by his knees.  There was a long uncomfortable silence between the two brothers, before Yue tutted quietly.

"Keroberos . . ."

"Iie. I don't want to hear it." Keroberos snapped irritably, "You will not be transferring any amount of power to this . . . this *monster*!" The lion snapped and spat angrily, "If Sakura wasn't so kind hearted, she'd see that this was a perfect opportunity to rid us of—"

"Keroberos!" Yue spun and turned to him, his use of English a clear sign of his astonishment, "Didn't Elder brother prove to us that he—"

"No!" Keroberos snapped back, his own English tainted by his Osaka accent. The lion paced around restlessly, "I don't like this . . . his skull gets stolen, and now four years later, he returns?! Absurd! This is clearly some kind of trick—"

"We watched him *die*!!" Yue waved his hand in a sharp motion, frustrated at his older brother's stubbornness, "He *sacrificed* himself—"

Angered now, Keroberos' wings extended and flapped irritably, "You think of him in too bright a light, younger brother!" The elder lion snarled, his voice taking on a formal tone, urging Yue to trust the judgement of his protective older brother. "Must I remind you, Little One . . . this THING tried to kill you!!" He raised his sharp claws and pointed them toward Hei-ying's still pale face. "It would be best to slit his throat now, and ask questions later!!"

Yue stood instantly, his fists clenched at his sides. "Keroberos, do not take this tone!!" He felt Keroberos' magic flare with his anger, and his own respond. "You should not harm him until we discover his reasons for returning to us!" The angel's eyes narrowed, "He may lead us to our creator, he may lead us to Clow Reed! We must wait until he can tell us why he's here!"

"Isn't it clear?!" Keroberos shouted, a tiny waver of fear creeping into the lion's fury-filled voice, "He's come back to haunt us!! He'll try and take you from me, as he did before!!" The lion snarled ferociously, "I swore I'd die before I allowed it to happen again!! By Clow's word, I shall not allow harm to come to you again!!"

The white haired angel's face crumpled, all his anger draining out of him as he fell to his knees and wrapped his arms about his older brother's fur covered body, "Oniichan!" Yue pulled back, and stared at Keroberos for a very long moment. He closed his eyes for a moment, and dipped his head. They had to get past this. Somehow, Yue had to keep Keroberos from killing Hei-ying. "For Clow's sake . . . Keroberos, please . . ." Yue began but trailed off, "I know you are angry. . ."

"Angry?!" Keroberos scoffed hard, "Am I angry?" He laughed scornfully, his warm features taking on a dark glower, "This thing, you so affectionately call 'Oniichan' tried to kill you, he tried to kill Sakura and steal her cards . . . Why on earth do you choose to remember him as such a *wonderful* person when he spent his whole life making everyone else's hell?!"

"But he didn't!" Yue snapped, he breathed out hard, before trying to form his words in a way Keroberos could understand. "Keroberos . . . before you and I were born, there is a ten year gap between our creation and Hei-ying's . . ." Yue stared at him, "I want to know what happened to make Hei-ying like this . . ."

Keroberos blinked as Yue's eyes flushed slightly with a different colour. His mouth fell slightly open, as amber seeped into the tinges of Yue's eyes. He'd seen it happen before, but only when the angel was in Yuki's form, he'd assumed it flowed only one way but this . . . he gaped at Yue, as the angel began to speak in that one voice, that one voice that he kept hidden from everyone.

"I need to know, Keroberos . . . Why am I like this . . .?"

"I told you, Hei-ying tried to—"

"Kill me? Yes, this I know, but why? Why did he try to kill me . . .?"

"Because he hated us."

"Why?" Yue asked quietly, "We've got to understand it, Keroberos . . ." Yue's shoulders dipped, as he raised his hands to Keroberos' muzzle, "I know, oh, I know . . . you want to protect me, you don't want to lose me . . . but Keroberos . . . please . . ." Yue shook his older brother slightly, "Trust that I am strong enough to take it. I'm not a child, Keroberos . . ."

"But I promised . . ."

Yue's lips turned up in a slight smile, "You're so strong, Keroberos . . . I know you always will protect me."

Keroberos sighed, and glanced at Hei-ying. "I suppose it won't hurt to . . . give him a little boost . . . until he can tell us, how he came to be . . ."

Keroberos glared at Hei-ying's pale face. The jade eyes he knew so well were open a crack . . . and the blue-tinged lips parted. The angel began to shake and shiver, as the small amount of magic the two brothers had let off infused his dying body with enough to try and warm himself.

Hours later, as the darkness crept in, Eriol returned on Spinel's back. They landed quickly, and entered the house carrying several books and an enchanted piece of jade. He sighed heavily as he placed it on the table, and shrugged out of his cloaks. "Any change?"

"He's shivering . . ." Tomoyo placed a hot cup of soup before her husband and picked up his cloaks, "That's a good sign, because he's warming up . . ." She sighed and brushed a long lock of violet hair back, "Hopefully his magic will be enough to stave off any affects of frostbite . . ."

Eriol nodded and opened a book. "I'll be able to create his false form in a couple of days, the spell needs careful tailoring and . . ." He tapped the page, "I haven't done one of these for a very long time . . . it's quite a bit more complicated, now that I don't have all of Clow's memories to help me cast them."

Peering over the pages with deep concentration, Syaoran nodded. "The cards could tell us nothing . . . nothing that makes any sense now." He glanced at Sakura, her face still held a look of confusion. "All the cards say," Syaoran continued, "Is that we must be wary of water . . . and of time . . . the past is coming back to us." He shook his head, "But they can tell us no more . . ."

"Kyree can't be returning . . . can she?" Sakura spoke up; she glanced at her brother, "Clow? Is it Clow? . . . do you feel him?"

Touya shook his head as Eriol looked at her, "No . . . the guardians would have felt him a long time before we would . . ." He looked up at Nakuru as she walking past with her arms filled with material. "They would feel his presence in the world . . . and yet, they haven't." He looked at Sakura; "Spinel's found a way for all three of us to support Hei-ying until we can find a real master for him."

"Honto?" Sakura moved, and sat beside Eriol as he opened another book. She looked down at the ancient notes, all of which were in archaic English. Keroberos landed on the table nearby in his smaller form and looked over the notes with a critical eye, "Clow's handwriting never did improve . . . still illegible . . ."

Yue shook his head, as he moved closer and sat on the other side of Eriol. He pointed at the diagrams, "This is the transfer method." He looked at Eriol critically, "You will transfer a little magic from each of you to Hei-ying to allow him to support himself?"

"The only obstacle I see with the transfer . . ." Eriol nodded at Yue's understanding and continued, "Is the Obedience Spell Clow placed on his soul. . ."

He picked up another book, even older than the first, and opened it at the bookmark. Complex diagrams surrounded by Clow's terrible handwriting lay on the page as Eriol traced each line with a finger. The spell looked very simple at first, but if one chose to look a little closer, chose to consider the consequences of such a spell on a creation, one would instantly realise the horrifying penalty that would be reaped from such a spell. The creation would be chained to the person the spell was cast to serve for magic, for life . . . for all eternity. If the spell was cast with far too much emphasis placed upon it, if it held too much potency over the soul of the creation, that creation would face a life of serving a master's every single whim. It was meant to be a spell for the most dexterous of masters. Those who could recognised every command from their mouths - no matter how jokingly put, nor how absently spoken - would be taken as gospel. It was widely accepted, even by most master magicians, that the spell was for only the most disciplined . . . and that the level of discipline needed was unattainable by all. From Clow Reed, master magician, to this new generation, it was now known the Obedience Spell was far too unpredictable, that no creation deserved to be striped of free will and that no magician, no matter how powerful, experienced or steadfast of heart, could possibly be capable of managing a creation under that spell.

Eriol sighed slowly, taking the words on the page in. //this spell . . .// His lavender grey eyes narrowed, // This spell is wrong . . . it is a curse upon us all!//

"Eriol-sama?" Spinel's murmured reminder shook Eriol from his musings, and the blue haired magician continued.

"This spell binds Hei-ying. During his first lifetime, preparing to be the Advisor of the Clow, it chained Hei-ying to Clow Reed's every command." He saw Sakura glance out the corner of her eye to her own guardians causing Eriol to add quickly, "But after seeing the affect it had on Hei-ying, Clow never used it again for any of his creations. For us however, it does mean that Hei-ying does not possess the mental capability to exercise his own free will . . . it would be impossible for Hei-ying to take orders from all of us, we must establish from whom he takes his orders . . ." He looked at Touya who frowned at him, "I know you don't have much practice at keeping a guardian, but since both Sakura and I already have two." Eriol paused again and glanced at Syaoran, "Tomoyo is too weak magically to even consider a guardian, although I'm sure my cute little descendant would likely be able to take him on, with a lot of assistance . . ." Eriol shook his head, "But Touya is closer to Clow in age and appearance and therefore more likely to command Hei-ying's co-operation. I doubt he'd be able to overcome his feelings of being ordered about by someone he thinks of as a child."

"I . . ." Touya shook his head as he spoke reluctantly, "I don't want to be his master . . . I have no desire to have a being serve me."

"Oniichan, you don't have to be a master, you can be their friend!" Sakura smiled warmly, "I know it sounds a little silly, but honestly Yue and Keroberos are free to be who they want to . . . I'm sure Hei-ying would be an excellent friend to you if we can help him." Sakura's eyes took on a serious glint, "He has had enough of a life where no one was there for him . . . it is a new beginning for him, we should try to make things right for him." She glanced at Spinel as the small cat landed, "But what exactly are we going to do to Hei-ying, until Oniichan is ready?"

Spinel Sun nodded, padding over in his small form and glancing at the magician. "The idea is to keep Hei-ying in a support, a cradle of magic, until he can orientate his ability to take in magic himself, and alter the dynamics so he can draw magic from the stars, not the moon as Kyree forced him to." The small blue guardian glanced over another book. "We will have to train Master Kinomoto to take on this guardian, teach him the spells . . ."

"Why?"

Touya frowned slightly as Yue and Keroberos both nodded. Ruby Moon sighed as she paused behind Tomoyo. "All guardians hand themselves over when they are transferred to a new master . . . it's like . . ." She sucked in her bottom lip and sighed, "It's like walking into a darkened, strange room. Your first reaction is to reach out and flip the light switch by the door." She paused, and bit her lip again, "But how do you know? How do you know there's a light switch there?" She shook her head, "You don't, it's just ingrained knowledge. The sight of the dark room tells your brain that there's a light switch to turn the light on. With us, the transfer of ownership isn't just one way. It's like, the last master turned off our light, and moved the light switch . . . then, when you come into the room, we don't actively tell you, but we sorta push the light switch into your roving hand." Ruby frowned deeper, "With Hei-ying, it's like someone has pulled the light switch off the wall altogether and thrown it out the window."

Eriol smiled slightly, as the rest tried to follow Ruby's explanation. The butterfly girl valiantly continued.

"And because of that, Hei-ying can't tell you where his switches are, what turns him on, or puts him out, what stops him when he disobeys you, or any sort of thing like that, it's like you're going to have to put your own switches into Hei-ying's mind, and we're going to have to teach you how to do that . . ." Ruby sucked in her lip and glanced at Eriol, "Did that sound right. . .?"

"It didn't make much sense . . . "Eriol admitted softly, he reached over and patted her hand, "But it is basically what we're going to teach you, Touya . . ."

Yue sighed, "We want to avoid activating the Ying Yang Syndrome between Hei-ying and I; so this teaching will have to happen quickly, we cannot risk allowing Hei-ying to draw more magic from Sakura or Eriol for too long. The transfer of ownership should happen as soon as possible." He glanced at Touya, "We're going to have to teach you how to control a guardian, and then you will develop your own variation based on this to control Hei-ying."

"Allowing Hei-ying to take his orders from you, Touya, will mean that Hei-ying will not have a chance to become dangerous again." Eriol pulled a sheet of paper up, and took a pencil up. He drew a moon, a star and a sun in a triangle, beside the sun and the star he drew a smaller moon and sun. He drew a circle around the large sun, and the star, linking their two orbiting suns and moons together. Eriol glanced up at them, pointing to the small moon and sun around the large sun.

"This is Ruby and Spinel. They draw magic from me, as a planet would from the sun". He pointed to the star, "Likewise from Sakura to Yue and Keroberos." He drew a small star beside the large moon, and drew one line around it to signify the orbit. "Hei-ying is influenced by the stars, like Sakura, his is a small power . . . It is stronger, when influenced by emotion, the more a star magic magician or creation desires it, the stronger the spell. Hei-ying is technically weaker than Yue, but his magic is consistent, not affected the movement of the moon. Keroberos far outweighs Hei-ying in terms of magic, the Sun guardian will always be the most powerful, not so powerful that he will tip the balance but his slight increase will always be significant. But . . ." Eriol sighed, "And it affects both magicians and creations . . . Sun influenced magic often bestows a whimsical nature, impulsive and a tendency to be overtly confident and in cases . . . like Mystrasa's sun guardian, far too arrogant for their own good."

Eriol smiled slightly as Ruby snorted quietly.

"Hei-ying is probably the easiest kind of creation to manage when managed well. The problems lie with Hei-ying's *personality*. Clow created him to be *too* intelligent."

"Can say that again!" Keroberos scoffed darkly, he glanced at Touya, "That's one thing you're going to have problems with . . . Hei-ying is too intelligent, if you say something he doesn't understand he will make himself pass out so he can focus all of his mind on sorting it out." Keroberos shook his head at Touya's deep frown, "No, not like running into walls . . . like . . . he always sorta went into a trance, and his body just stopped working . . ." Keroberos raised a furry eyebrow, "You are going to have to be very, very precise with him. You think Yue is bad? Hei-ying is worse, if you do not tell him in the most accurate way you can, he will do what *he* thinks is your intension."

Yue stared at Keroberos, "I didn't know that . . ."

Keroberos shook his head, "Never seemed to be any reason . . ." The lion nodded, "I suppose that's why I survived for as long as I did before you were created . . . Clow told him to train me in magic; he had to carry out that task before he could do anything else."

"Is there any way, any method we could use to change his personality?" Syaoran finally spoke up. He glanced at Sakura; he was most certainly not comfortable with Hei-ying, worried sincerely for Sakura's health and security. "If he is still dangerous, I suggest we remove any elements of his personality that makes him that way . . ."

"It's not so easy . . ." Eriol sighed, "Once a guardian is formed, a guardian is formed . . . Short of killing him and then creating a guardian in his likeness, I see no way of changing Hei-ying. We could select and erase parts of his memories, the parts that contribute to his madness . . . we can selectively change his memory but . . ."

"The problem with that is that nobody knows for *sure* why Hei-ying is the way he is . . ." Tomoyo shook her head, "We can't just change Hei-ying because we don't like his colours . . ." She looked up at the table of magicians. "There are memories I don't want . . . but if I forget them, I only risk letting those memories happen again . . ."

"Tomoyo-chan is right; we can't just force Hei-ying to change!" Sakura nodded, "Mistakes are there to be learnt from. Let's try to learn from our past, and help Hei-ying *now*!" She looked at her brother, "Ne? Let us please try hard! Let's try our best for Hei-ying!"

Sakura leant over the table to stare into her brother's eyes, and the taller magician pursed his lips. He really didn't want to take Hei-ying on as his guardian; the whole idea seemed cruel, forcing this damaged guardian to become another's slave. . ? Not to mention, Hei-ying, even if he was under the control of Mystrasa Kyree had been the cause of his father's death. Did he really want to harbour his father's killer? Yue turned slightly, and reached out to touch Touya's arm, his amethyst eyes quietly pleading. Relenting, Touya sighed, "Very well. What will we need to do?"

"We will have to wait until the spring . . . if memory serves, Hei-ying was created in the spring therefore his body will be physically at its strongest then." Eriol sighed, "And we need time to prepare the spell. It's a very large spell, and leaves very little room for error. If it is worded wrong, even in the slightest, we could harm ourselves, and maybe even kill Hei-ying in the process."

Sakura nodded, "Hai." She glanced around, "This house then . . ." She sighed and looked at Eriol, "This house then would be too small for a spell of that magnitude."

"I'm afraid so . . ."

"Sakura-chan . . ." Syaoran took her hand and stared at her seriously, "We have money enough between us to keep this house. But while we wait for Hei-ying recover enough, you may as well move in with us, move into the Tsukimine Mansion . . . it would minimise how much normal people see, the gossip of constant activity at this house would cause problems . . ."

 Sakura glanced at her brother, who closed his eyes, and nodded slowly.

"Agreed."

And so it was . . .

The Kinomotos packed a few belongings, and locked up their house, taking enough clothing to last them for a while. Sakura made sure to take her cards and her key, her favourite dark pink cloak wrapped about her body, warm against the hard winter. She used the Small card to shrink their belongings, and Eriol took them to the mansion. As Sakura flew ahead with Keroberos, Touya drove their small family car, with Yukito in the front seat watching patiently over his elder brother, Hei-ying, as the dark angel slept in the back seat.

The New Year celebrations in the Tsukimine Mansion were a happy affair, as life began to settle down there. Yue and Keroberos both remarking on how well Eriol had managed to recreate his house after it had been bulldozed to make way for a funfair. Eriol had completely recreated the same house from England, with four floors, rather than the six it had in England, and the three it had had here in Japan previously. Eriol suggested that the guardians could have the six rooms on the fourth floor, while the humans could have the third floor.

"I didn't think I'd ever need the mansion again after I tested Sakura," Eriol peered into Yue's room, "I hope everything is to your liking. . ."

Yue's room was ice blues, pale purples and silver, motifs of moons, wispy Japanese clouds, rabbits and snow decorated the room and curtains and the bed. The traditional four-poster bed, which Clow had always given to his guardians, was placed near the middle of the room, the headboard resting against the wall. The windows were of a decent size, and Eriol had made sure Yue had a window seat that overlooked the garden. To the other side of the room were some book shelves, filled half with books, with plenty of room for Yue's collection, a wardrobe with a chest of drawers beside it, and a broad writing desk with a large mirror that possessed the same moons and rabbit motifs as the walls only etched into he edges of the glass. The small lamp was enchanted, requiring only a wave of a hand to switch it on. The dark blue glass lamp shade had moons etched into the glass, with snow flakes hanging from the rim like rain drops, the lamp itself was bronze with little rabbits etched into the metal. Yue looked around the room, and placed down his bags, "It's fine . . ." He murmured, "But Yuki. . ."

"You and Yuki may use this room as you please . . ." Eriol smiled knowingly, "Touya has a double sized bed, as you will notice you do as well . . . therefore, it really doesn't matter where you sleep."

Next door to Yue, Keroberos claimed the room closest to the stairs. His sunshine yellow and orange room was bright and airy which complemented its dark wood panelling, with easily opened windows and a large sill for the window, rather than a seat. He had the same furniture as Yue, with the exception of a desk. Instead he had a dressing table, and places enough to put his belongings. Sakura had brought his small drawer/room from her desk, which she kept in her new room. Ruby and Spinel had their rooms as well, Spinel's was beside Keroberos' and Ruby's was opposite Spinel's. 

Their rooms were decorated to their tastes, Spinel's with royal blues, strikingly formal yet warming in its own studious way, and many, many bookshelves and Ruby's was beautifully decorated with curling summer flowers in deep red hues. With her large windows facing the west, the evening sunset would break in and burnish the walls with the richest autumnal ambers and oranges, golden stripes of sunlight more restful than fire. Each room held the same kinds of furniture, but they were tailored to suit each guardian.

Sakura climbed the stairs and met with Eriol as he came out of Spinel's room. They glanced at each other and then to the end of the corridor. The room next to Yue's – much to Keroberos' protests – was turned into Hei-ying's room. As the dark angel slept, Sakura and Tomoyo tried their hardest to make the room look like Hei-ying was welcomed there. Sakura used her powers to decorate the room in dark greens, and Tomoyo patiently worked on repairing the angel's robes. She tried not to change the design too much, keeping the same black and jade green. Eriol provided her with a new stone for the chest, and Ruby helped to sew the hand and foot spurs.

As Eriol continued to plan the spell to save Hei-ying, the four guardians lent the dark angel a little of their magic to sustain him. Even Keroberos relented on Yue's request, at least outwardly

Sakura opened the door, and walked over to the windows.

"Ohayo, Hei-ying-san!!"

She threw open the curtains letting the sunlight pour through. She'd gotten up nice and early, to give her small amount of magic to Hei-ying. Sakura planned on staying with the guardian, seeing if she could wake him even a little. As the winter melted into the spring, Sakura noticed that when the small transfers occurred, Hei-ying would regain a little colour in his cheeks, and maybe open his eyes a little. Sakura grabbed a brush off the dresser and made herself comfortable on the bed, "Ne, Hei-ying-san . . . will you wake for me today?" She brushed evenly, trying to work out the small knots that gathered in his fringe. His sleek black hair wasn't shiny or sleek anymore, with his life threatening lack of magic, his powers tried to keep him in existence rather than work on his looks. Hei-ying's pallid eyelids fluttered as she allowed some of her magic to bleed into him.

Sakura smiled warmly at this. "Wakey~ Wakey~!"

There was a chuckle from the doorway, as Tomoyo opened the door and looked in. "Sakura-chan?"

"Hai!" Sakura nodded, as Tomoyo entered and came to sit on the other side of the bed. Tomoyo opened her hands and whispered a quiet incantation, a bunch of roses appearing quickly in her hands, "Tomoyo-chan! You're getting better!"

Tomoyo blushed slightly, "I'm still very much a novice though . . ." She placed the roses on Hei-ying's bedside, and picked up the small sewing basket from the seat nearby. Tomoyo pulled out Hei-ying's robes and her needles. She'd been repairing the angel's robes, with the help of Sakura and her magic to provide the material needed. Tomoyo decided to work on the lapels today, as Sakura continued to brush his hair. The two women sat in companionable silence, until Nakuru swung the door open, "Ohayo!!" She sang happily, "How is the patient?"

"He's doing fine, Nakuru . . ." Tomoyo looked up and smiled, "How are you today?"

"Genki as always!!" The guardian spun in a circle, and ran over to Hei-ying's bedside, "So eldest cousin, will today be the day?!" Sakura giggled as Nakuru folded her arms and sighed impatiently. "Mou!! He should be awake and helping with the chores!"

"Nakuru-chan doesn't like polishing the floor, does she?" Tomoyo teased gently, "Maybe you should have Keroberos dust with his tail!"

"Hai!!" Nakuru held up a finger and nodded, "Yue-kun should do the washing up!" She blinked suddenly, as a familiar voice murmured deep inside of her mind, "Ara . . .?"

"Nani?" Sakura looked up as Nakuru stilled, "What's wrong?"

"That's right!" Nakuru smiled widely, "Eriol-sama wonders if you would like to eat breakfast, he and Syaoran are making it!"

"UN!" Sakura nodded enthusiastically, "I'll be happy to!! Ne, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Hai desu ka." Tomoyo folded her sewing, and started to pack it away. She brushed off the small thread clippings and stood, "Let's go together, Sakura-chan."

Nakuru was already bouncing out of the room and had grabbed Tomoyo's arm to drag the young woman out of the room. Sakura giggled happily, as Tomoyo called out for Nakuru to slow down. She looked down at Hei-ying, and leant forward to whisper, "Are you sure you don't want to join us? Ne, Hei-ying-san?"

As Sakura raised her head, she became aware she was no longer in Hei-ying's room. She blinked and looked around; the person on the bed had changed. A girl with long black hair lay sleeping. She sighed in her sleep and turned her face away from Sakura. The card mistress jumped and stood quickly, turning as the room suddenly plunged into darkness. Beneath her feet, her magic circle suddenly appeared, burning brightly with magic. As it had when she'd unwittingly released the cards, magical forces stirred under her feet.

Sakura stepped back slightly as the magic grew and grew. "Na-Nani?!" She raised her head as she started to see and hear things, past, present and future. . . cherry blossoms became snow became rain became cherry blossoms became snow became rain became--Simultaneously she saw Eriol swing his large gold— Yue draw a pale hand back, a cold blue orb formi— An elderly man with hard grey old eyes throw the study door open and see Clow and Hei-ying, kis---oran and Meilin, side by side, exchange a determined look as they prepared to figh—losions of magic as the spell came undo--inel draw breathe before firing his deadly ruby bea—ith dark grey eyes, growl as he threw his hands into the air, magic swirling uncontro—moyo turning her camera on upon the moon and glimpsing the sight of – her cards shaking hard as they swirled around her in --ather looking up at her mother who had just fallen from—Touya and Yukito exchanging barbs about having a sister compl—flutter her butterfly wings and laughing as she chased her brothe—his sleek black hair loose and dripping wet as he washed it in the pon—ing Clow leaf after yellow leaf, not understanding that autumn did— Four dragons twist and turn over one another as they flew over the Great Wall of Chin—A young Clow Reed, with his dark blue eyes wide open, and his hair unbound, he reached out with his hand and his staff appeared. He looked a little apprehensive as he closed his eyes and held out his free hand. A card appeared there, and Clow threw it away from himself. Sakura felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as he spoke words she couldn't hear, but recognised easily. He drew his staff back and swung it hard as he—blackness, water . . . she was underwater, she was drowning. . . and there was a voice. It echoed under the water. . .

"Help me. . . Sakura . . ." The woman, was it her voice that pleaded? Sakura's cheeks hurt from trying to keep in the air, "Please help me. . ."

"Water . . ." Clow's older voice now echoed as a bright dot of magic appeared in front of her, "Water is something that flows, forever flowing . . ."

"SAKURA!!"

She looked around trying to find up, trying desperately to find the surface. Soft strands of black hair floated around her, and she turned to find a small boy with incredibly long black hair floating under water. In his hands, he held the small bright dot of magic tightly to his chest. He stared at her with implacable green eyes, a dark smile spreading over his lips as he watched her drown. //Hei-ying?!// Sakura screamed mentally as she felt the crushing water on her small chest. The child version of Hei-ying, possibly no older than five, blinked and reacted to the mental scream. He looked concerned for her, even though he was under the water and appeared to be in no trouble at all. Sakura reached for him, //Hei-ying!! Please!!//

The child Hei-ying blinked slowly, his hair flowing in front of his features, beginning to obscure him from view. His eyes glowed dimly from within the black mass, as his pale hands thrust forward. The small point of light, a small star burning brightly in the dark water, pulsed strongly. Sakura reached for it, the water was crushing her! She gasped, coughed and spluttered. She began to choke, as Syaoran's voice broke through the water. "SAKURA!! WAKE UP!! SAAAAKURAAAAAA!!"

Hands, pale and weak grabbed at her. She was drowning, in this darkness and yet she felt no fear. The small star assured her silently that she wasn't in as much trouble as she feared. She reached out to grab the small point of light, before the bony, pale hands twisted in her clothing and pulled hard.

The young version of Hei-ying's eyes widening as his hair parted, and he screamed silently under the water with sheer terror.

The small point of light was just out of her reach . . . and Sakura went crashing out of consciousness.

"Sakura-chan!!" Tomoyo shook Sakura hard, as Syaoran chanted another spell. "Sakura-chan!! Wake up!"

She'd looked away for a moment, Tomoyo was sure it hadn't even been a second, before Nakuru suddenly snapped into her full form and ran back into Hei-ying's room, her ruby shard bow drawn and looking for a target. As they rushed back into the room, they found Hei-ying holding Sakura protectively in his arms. He was knelt on the floor, she was soaking wet as if she had been underwater. Sakura was pale and Hei-ying was breathing laboriously. His eyes, once brilliant shades of jade, were now a dark forest green. He rasped as he spoke, wheezing hard, "A vision . . ." He whispered urgently, "It's a vision. . ."

Ruby made her magic weapons disappear, and rushed to his side as the dark angel passed out, and Sakura slipped from his grasp. "Sakura!!" Keroberos ran into the room, Touya and Yue at his heels. "I felt magic, powerful magic!" The lion growled, as he approached the fallen body of Hei-ying, "You . . ."

Falling to her knees, Tomoyo reached out and grabbed Kero's neck, "No!! He's asleep; he pulled Sakura out of whatever it was that had her!"

Growling impotently, Keroberos padded around the body of Hei-ying irritably, before bending over to grab his collar in his jaws and started to drag Hei-ying back over to the bed. Ruby Moon had exclaimed then that Hei-ying's arms were wet, as if he'd reached into a well. Spinel arrived with Syaoran and Eriol shortly after that, and Syaoran was trying every incantation he knew to wake Sakura up.

"Clow . . ." Sakura opened her eyes, and blinked slowly. The light after so much darkness was painful, and she winced.

"Sakura!" Keroberos' Osaka accent was heavy as he nudged her gently, "Sakura! Daijobu ka?"

"Ha. . . hai. . ." Sakura struggled to sit up and smiled gratefully as Syaoran supported her, "Arigato Syaoran-kun. . ." She raised her head a little higher and looked up, "What was that? For a dream it was surprisingly strong . . ."

Yue stared at her for a very long moment before speaking softly; "I think something powerful is coming now . . ." He glanced over at Hei-ying. Keroberos sat beside the dark angel, staring intently into the peaceful features. Hei-ying looked as if he was dead again, but the steady rise and fall of his chest told them otherwise. Yue breathed in as he met his older brother's golden eyes, what secrets were hiding deep within Hei-ying? Yue sucked in his bottom lip for a moment longer, and looked at Touya. The taller boy stared at him intensely, fear for his sister almost naked in his eyes. Yue shook his head, "Sakura . . ." The honey gold haired girl blinked and looked up at him, as he knelt beside her and explained in patient, quiet tones, "You called out to all of us, with your magic . . . and Hei-ying was the closest to respond . . ." He looked at her very seriously, his amethyst eyes glowing dimly from under silvered hair, "What did you see?"

Yue's intense gaze, even after ten years, made Sakura swallow. She stared back, her own emerald eyes deeply focused as a chill ran over her body and she replied softly, "I don't remember . . ."

As Clow had done before them, Sakura, Eriol and Touya came together and placed the mansion under a very powerful spell. Now placing every week for the outside world, as a month for those who dwelt within. The spring came soon enough, melting away the snow. Keroberos sighed as he walked around the gardens. "It's like stepping back in time . . ." He murmured quietly as he rounded a corner. True to his memory, standing in the middle of the grounds, was a huge Sakura tree. He walked up to it and blinked, "Ho?" He hummed, "This hasn't blossomed yet?"

Familiar feelings rolled over his sense as Yue landed nearby, "Keroberos . . . what are you doing?"

"This blossom tree . . ." Keroberos turned and looked over as Ruby and Spinel landed with them, "It's not blossoming . . . isn't it getting a bit late for it?"

Ruby blinked and looked up, "It's really old, Eriol-sama had it twinned from the same cherry tree from the Shrine . . ."

Walking up to Keroberos, Spinel sat beside him and looked up, "It's probably too old to blossom now . . ."

"You know what would finish this scene off . . .?" The group of guardians turned to find Eriol and Sakura behind them, Touya, Tomoyo and Syaoran either side of them, carrying picnic baskets. Each was dressed in their magic robes, Eriol wore his minus his large hat, and the hem of Sakura's large pink cloak pooled at her feet. Tomoyo's robes consisted her purple cloaks, and incorporated some of Eriol's design.

Sakura chuckled, "I remember when Clow did this . . ." She stepped forward, and pulled the Flower card out of her pocket and flung it into the air. She pulled out her key and called out her star staff, "Although . . ." Sakura twirled it around her wrist, she giggled, "When Clow did it he was able just to say one word . . ."

The beautiful Flower card danced as Sakura commanded it to restore the Sakura tree. The tree bloomed, and Sakura petals rained down all around them, Ruby lifted her arms and spun around delighted, as Yue walked over to sit in the shade of the tree. Spinel shook the petals off his head, as Keroberos turned to Sakura. The young woman giggled and caught the card; she smiled at Keroberos widely, "Os that better?"

"Well, of course it is!" He grumbled, he rolled his eyes, "Don't you become too much like Clow now! That man was far too weird!" He turned away and padded over to Yue's side, muttering loudly, "And then Clow was a man with so many problems . . . he would do this. . . oh! And this!!"

Sakura shook her head as Keroberos continued to grouse about Clow's many problems. One of which – she averted her eyes determinedly to the sunny day outside – was languishing in the dark within. Touya shook out the blanket nearby, and sat down, glancing up at the Sakura blossoms, he looked over at his sister. Since the vision, Sakura had seen nothing more, and remembered even less. She said she knew Clow was involved in some fashion, and she'd seen a woman but it wasn't Kyree. Hei-ying would return to his full form, but would not be violent. Aside from that, Sakura could remember very little else. It disturbed Touya and Syaoran, but until Sakura could relate more there was nothing they could do about it. They would have to wait until Hei-ying was recovered. Tomoyo knelt and began to unpack the food, as Eriol walked over to the tree and spoke quietly with his guardians. "Is it really okay . . .?"

Syaoran settled down, and glanced at Tomoyo, "Nani?"

She clasped the box of sandwiches; "We've left Hei-ying alone . . . should we not watch over him?"

"The spring will rejuvenate him . . ." Ruby sank down beside her, and reached in the box to pull out a carton of juice, "Eriol-sama says it's only a short time until the spell is ready for him . . ."

Touya sighed, "And soon we will find out the truth . . ."

He stared out of his room's window, and sighed heavily.

"Well . . ." He murmured to himself, "At least that creation o' Clow's escaped . . ." He turned from the window, and pulled his jacket up tighter, the cool of the night seeping in. "What help 'e can find is another matter all together . . ."

Left with no other choice but to trust his own murderer, Marcibay Hilligans shook his head, and sank down on his bed. He looked up, as there was a quiet knock at his door and the woman walked in. The woman, whom that magician, Maduokai, called Lady Asil had been there the entire time, and Hilligans had no doubt that she – like him – had been raised from the dead.

The time which they'd been brought to was vastly different from when he'd been alive, but this Lord Maduokai, the man who'd brought him back from the dead, was from the same time as Hilligans was, he could just feel it.

Strange magic resonated around this castle, and the strange land surrounding it told Hilligans he was nowhere near England. He sighed as she walked up to the window and stared out. She had not been so fortunate as Hilligans; her mind was blank. She could only move around, drifting like a ghost. While he was able to regain his memory within a couple of years, she continued to drift. She rarely spoke, her accent faintly aristocratic. Her eyes were beautiful, and her hair was long and black. She sat in the chair by his bed and stared at him.

"Wha' d'yer want, lassie?"

"Nothing." The faint reply came, "I just . . ."

Hilligans shook his head; Maduokai really hadn't perfected his skills enough when he'd brought this poor young woman back to life. She was left with no desires, no wants, she drifted around this castle alone with no thoughts to keep her attention. Her memory was like a fine sand in an hour glass, continually running but going nowhere. She'd forget things almost as soon as she knew them, names only staying with her for a short period of time before she just let them go. He glanced at her hands, and saw a brush there. "You came t' me t' get yer hair brush'd?"

She blinked, "I suppose so . . ."

She sat still in the chair as he got up, and walked over toward her. He gently pulled the brush out of her loose grasp and began to brush her hair. "How d'yer want your hair t' look t'day?"

There was no response from her.

He could see her looking in the mirror at herself and he sighed as he stared at her expression.

She didn't really care.

------

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: [runs around happily in circles] WAI!! WAI!! Everyone who reviews is wonderful!! My beta reader is brilliant!! [falls to knees humbly and bows] I thank you all very much! I hope that this info dump chapter was long enough or not too long, it's just like Tainted Soul, and There Lies Hope, this Find Redemption is threatening to turn out much longer! I like to think that is because I am slowly becoming more and more experienced with this style of writing!

Yue: [raises eyebrow] Or could it be because you are pulling a J.K and writing until the Writer's Block gives way?

DrM: Cruel!! Cruel I say!

Yue: No, cruel would be bringing up a certain— [DrM tackles Yue to the ground and claps her hands over his mouth]

DrM: [grins angelically]

Kero: Hey, if Hei-ying is back. . . and . . . [reads chapter] If this Hilligans bloke is back too doesn't that technically mean Cl—

DrM: [throws pillows at Kero] QUIET!! [growls] Sheesh, stop it already!! [glances at readers] hey, while I deal with these two, why not leave a review and let me know your thoughts about this fic so far!! Thank you!!