A/N: Wow, this makes it a triple update today. I want to thank you all for reviewing last chapter. I'm really sorry if I didn't reply to your reviews but I have two reasons for that. A) I have been quite busy. B) whenever I was free I was too lazy to log in. So yeah… but thank you all very much. Your feedback and comments are what makes you guys awesome readers. ^_^

So here's a treat for you all.

Enjoy!

Fai whimpered, curling in on himself as he slowly drifted back to the land of the living. There were voices all around him again, bright lights flashing past his eyelids, the word spinning and turning and twisting all around him. He could feel millions upon millions of tiny, multi-legged arachnids creeping beneath his skin, biting and chewing and gnawing at his flesh with their sharp, pointy teeth, their little, scrabbly paw-like feet crawling and pinching and tearing him apart, bit by tiny bit.

"Stop…" he moaned weakly, his lifeless fingers struggling, moving to pull them away from him. "Please, just stop…" His hands twitched as the urge to wipe the bugs off of him grew stronger.

Crich, crich, crich they went, with their never-ending teeth boring holes through his flesh.

"Leave me alone…" he begged with a pitiful whimper. He couldn't hold on anymore.

He just wanted it all to end.

This was too much.

Too much…

-0-

Syaoran saw the blonde curled up on the floor, mumbling incoherently as his whole body shook violently. Whatever it was that they had given the blond four days ago, it appeared that he needed it in constant doses. He could easily spot the symptoms of withdrawal setting in. But oddly enough, unlike a few days ago, seeing him in pain like this did not make him feel any better. In fact, it only made him feel worse.

Helpless.

Useless.

-0-

"No more…" They were everywhere.

All around him.

All over him.

Inside him.

Eating him.

Dissolving him.

Tearing him apart.

"Please…" he sobbed, his slightly clawed fingers clutching at his own flesh, fresh blood oozing from his raw wounds, painting the ground below him a gritty crimson. "No more…"

-0-

Syaoran didn't know what to do as he watched the delusional magician cry out to phantoms he alone could see.

He was still confused by what he had heard that woman say that day, though it had managed to shake his belief of what he had believed to be the truth. Her words had shed light on some of the questionable events that had occurred to Tsubasa during his time in captivity. While he could recall with profound clarity all the things his son had been through at the hands of his travelling companions, Syaoran could not recall the events that had led to the beginning of his torture in the first place. What was it that they had been searching for that they believed Tsubasa held the knowledge of? And what reasons did Tsubasa have anyways to withhold such information from those that he considered precious to him? And… despite the fact that this development had pleased him greatly in the beginning, why had Sakura and Kurogane left one of their own in a place like this to rot after the great pleasure those three had derived from Tsubasa's pain?

A loud screech brought him out of his thoughts as the door to the cell swung open and high heeled boots clacked loudly against the cold stone floors as the silver-haired woman strutted up to Fai.

"Hello, Fai," she cooed softly as she crouched down next to the rocking blonde. She slipped a hand into her jacket and retrieved a needle containing some sort of murky, gray colored liquid. Dull, blue eyes looked up at her as she slipped the needle into his skin and injected the drug. As soon as the empty syringe was back inside her clothes, Syaoran saw a look of recognition flitter across the blonde's face as his lips parted and he murmured something breathlessly, hope dancing across his pale, bloodied features as his body stilled. The woman smiled at him, gently cradling his face in her hands. A hesitant, almost cautious smile appeared on Fai's lips as he held her gaze. Again he mouthed the same words as before and it was with a jolt that Syaoran recognized it to be a name. But why was he calling this woman by that name? "Think you can remember it for me now?" the woman said and Syaoran was hit with a sense of déjà vu. This scene reminded him of the way Sakura had held Tsubasa before she had-

Fai crumbled on his side with a startled cry, whimpering almost inaudibly as the woman ran her fingers through his tangled, messy hair that had begun to turn a peculiar shade of dark grayish brown. He could see the angry red imprint of a palm on Fai's cheeks. She must have hit him.

"You know, Fai," she began in a conversational manner as she played with his hair, "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. "All this pain…"

"Why are you forcing yourself to go through it?" Her voice was soft as her hand traced a line up and down his bare torso, "All this pain…" her soft, frozen fingers burnt fiery trails along his arms as she caught hold of his hand. "You could easily end it all and…" she looked at him with that beautiful smile of hers as her fingers gently wrapped around two of his. "Everything would be alright. Ne, Syaoran?"

"Aaauurrgh!" Fai screamed in pain and Syaoran stumbled back. This was just like how Sakura had behaved with Tsubasa. And the words this woman spoke, and the name Fai had been calling her… Could it be that the drug had been…

N-No… he shook his head, eyes wide as he stared at the scene playing out before him, it's not possible. I know what I saw. It was real.

But none of this made any sense.

"Come on," the woman purred lightly, and Sakura's voice echoed similar words in his memory. Fai was trying to retrieve his hand from her but the woman held fast, her fingers moving to grab the magician's thumb, "You're needlessly making this hard on yourself." Syaoran heard a sickening crack as the blue eyed man cried out once more, "Just tell me where it is…"

"Tell me where it is hidden," Her cold green eyes bore into his, "and I'll tell Fai-san and Kurogane-san to leave you alone."

"Please…" Fai gasped, tears of pain freely flowing down his dirty cheeks as he tried to cradle his broken fingers and push away from her at the same time, "I don't- Aaargh!"

"Wrong answer." The woman glared at him coldly. Even as a spirit, Syaoran found himself wanting to give into the nauseous feeling creeping up his throat and throw up as he heard the wizard's scream right after another crack. "You will tell me."

Shaking his head, Syaoran slid to the floor, his hands clutching at his hair in frustration as his mind started up linking all the things that had happened and those that he had observed with what he had thought he had known. And as he struggled to fight his inner turmoil, trying to ignore the way the magician screamed in agony every now and then, unbidden, a memory of lifetimes past rose to the surface.

Syaoran sighed, pushing his unruly bangs out of his eyes as he made his way out of the cave. Helping out at the excavation site was fun, but it was tiresome work. Knowing that he was alone, the brunette raised an arm and sniffed himself a bit. Great, not only did he smell of dirt, he also smelled of sweat. A cool shower would be nice right about now. A smile lit up his face for a fraction of a second at the thought as he stepped out into the sun, before something fast and pink collided into his chest, making him fall to the ground in surprise.

"Syao-ran!" He heard a sweet voice chirp happily before he found a pair of arms wrapping around his neck.

"S-Sakura-Hime?" he gasped in surprise, fighting a blush that threatened to bloom across his face as her sweet scent of fresh apples and cherry blossoms reached his nose. "H-Hime!" He cried out, realizing the position they both were in and his current physical state, "Please d-don't. I'm covered in dirt."

"What?" She said with a playful smirk. "I'm not listening because my name isn't 'Sakura-Hime'."

She had been drilling him on and on about calling her just by her name and not the title she carried. Guess he had forgotten… again. "Right." He sighed softly.

"I haven't seen you in a while," she murmured the words into his clothes as her arms tightened their hold around him, "I've missed you…"

Hearing her confession made him want to smile. "I've missed you, too." He said as he hugged her back.

A few moments passed by before Sakura seemed to realize their position and scrambled to get off of him while apologizing, only to fall back, pulling him onto her when she failed to notice his arms wrapped around her waist.

"S-So why are you here, Hime?" He asked once the two had managed to climb back on their feet, but Sakura merely raised her chin with an annoyed huff and refused to look at him.

"I don't know who you're talking to," she pouted cutely and Syaoran immediately realized his mistake.

"Sorry," he gave her a sheepish grin, "What brings you here, Sakura?"

The sight changed and he found himself being tugged to the outskirts of town, moving across the sandy desert till they ended up atop a small hill made out of rocks. A lone tree stood atop the pile of rocks, blocking out the glaring sun as they settled down beneath it to take in the beautiful sight of the vast desert and Clow Country itself.

"Syaoran, you look tired." Sakura said softly, biting her lip once the two had settled down beneath the shade of the tree. "Have you been eating properly and getting enough sleep?"

"Yes." He nodded with a grin, feeling elated that she worried about him so, "Thank you for worrying about me."

"Neh, Syaoran?" she spoke, using the same quiet tone that she had used to ask him about his sleeping schedule.

"What is it, Sakura?" He made sure he got it right this time. It wouldn't do to have her not talking to him again.

She looked over at him once, before looking away again, her delicate fingers curling around the hem of her skirt as she asked in a slightly hesitant manner, "If… If I asked you to do something, would you?"

"Faster than your heart could beat once," he promised without missing a beat. In his heart he knew it was true. He'd do anything for her without a thought. "Just say the word."

"Then…" she said, encouraged by his response, "Could you please… get some rest now?"

Syaoran could only blink in confusion at her odd request before it clicked in place and he gave her a rather hesitant nod. "A… Alright then." He leaned back on his elbows, preparing to lie down when her soft whisper of 'Twelve' made him sit back up.

"Eh? Twelve what?" he questioned, looking over at her.

Sakura's eyes flickered down to the hand that she had placed on her chest and he followed her line of sight. "It's already beaten twelve times. Well… now it's actually twenty, and you said you'd do it in one." She teased him lightly, with a gentle smile playing about her lips, and he couldn't help but give her one in return.

"My deepest apologies." He apologized in a rather formal, yet playful manner, as he lowered his head.

"You're forgiven," the princess raised her nose in the air in an equally playful yet haughty manner. "Now get some sleep."

"Right away, Hime."

"You're hopeless." She heaved a sigh at hearing him revert back to the formal address.

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly as he started lying back down, until she stopped him, insisting that he sleep while resting his head in her lap instead. After letting his tongue run off in another act of stupidity, Syaoran had struggled to explain the situation to her about how inappropriate that act would be, but in the end the sight of her wide, innocent-looking eyes carrying that expression of hurt at his refusal had made him yield to her request, finding himself rewarded by another one of her beautiful smiles as he lay down to rest.

With her hand brushing through his hair, Syaoran had finally succumbed to sleep, a pleasant, restful sleep that he hadn't been able to catch in ages.

It only felt like a few seconds later, but judging from the position of the sun he could safely assume a few hours had passed when he was awoken by her urgent whispering. His mind still groggy from sleep caused him to react instinctively as soon as his gaze focused on her frightened features. He shot upright as though struck by lightning, his senses on high alert. "Hime! What's-" but never got to finish his question as he was shoved away by her, and a second later Sakura cried out in pain.

The black snake slithered out of view just as Sakura doubled over, clutching her wrist in agony as screams spilled from her lips. Syaoran could do nothing but watch her helplessly as she writhed on the ground, with her crimson blood spilling in the dust as the venom started spreading through her body. Shocked and screaming at himself for letting this happen to her, Syaoran gathered the dying princess in his arms, clutching her to him as her heart thundered beneath her ribcage. Helplessly calling out her name, he could only watch as all life seemed to leave her body and she grew still.

Finding the peaceful expression on her face, he clutched her body close to him, helpless tears spilling from his eyes as he pressed his head against her chest, afraid of what he would hear, or rather not hear. But to his immense surprise and joy, he found her pulse beating slowly but strongly beneath her chest. Breaking out of his reverie, Syaoran tied a makeshift bandage around her bleeding wound and rushed her back to the castle, knowing that despite this sudden stroke of good luck, Sakura still needed proper treatment.

Hours later, after an explanation about the cruel yet harmless snake that had bitten the princess and the effects that its venom had on its victims, Syaoran was left alone with the unconscious princess. Trying to reassure himself that she was still there with him, Syaoran hugged her gently, resting his head on her chest once more to listen to her heartbeat. She felt warm and alive, breathing ever so softly in his arms. It felt like an eternity had passed before she started to stir. He pulled back to look at her face, not wanting to miss the moment when she opened her eyes.

"Sy…Syaora…n?" Her voice sounded tired and weak, but the smile that she gave him was as beautiful and energetic as ever.

"Sakura…" he couldn't help but sigh in relief as he enveloped her in another hug, feeling his heart skip a beat when her small arms repeated the motion.

"I was so…scared…" she admitted, her breath tickling the skin of his neck.

"I was terrified." He murmured in response, burying his face into her hair as he recalled the fear he had felt at the thought of losing her. "I thought you'd never open your beautiful eyes ever again."

"Mm-mm." She hmmed, shaking her head from side to side. "I was scared that you were going to get hurt." She clarified. "And then…and then I was scared…I wouldn't get to see you anymore…" Several sobs interrupted her and shook her small body until she finally burst into tears. "Syaoran…" she wept, clinging desperately to him with no intentions of ever letting him go. It was as if she held the same fear in her heart, the fear of him disappearing the minute she let go. "Syaoran…oh, Syaoran…" She remained in that position for a long time, crying her heart out and all he could do in return was hold her, murmuring her name in reassurance to her over and over again.

She felt so fragile in his arms, like a china doll. The smallest bit of pressure would break her apart, but he did so anyway, knowing that it was the only way he could ever reassure her of his presence.

"Sakura. I'm here. I'm here…It's okay…"

It was already sunset by the time Sakura let go of him, sniffling softly as she did so. Reluctantly, Syaoran mimicked her actions, sitting back up in his chair. Her eyes were puffy from all the crying and a stray tear still clung to her cheek. Unable to resist, Syaoran brushed her cheek with his fingers. "Why did you do that?" He asked softly, his fingers trailing through her hair.

"Well…" Her voice wavered a little so she started again, "Well, it's because you're always the one to get hurt." She gave him a tiny smile, "You always have to look after me and protect me. So…I have to protect you too, neh?"

As much as Syaoran wanted to crush her to him and tell her to never, ever think about doing something like that, he now knew how she always felt when he got hurt. Besides, she'd already suffered enough on his behalf. He did not want to add to her misery by telling her not to do something like that again. "Thank you." was all he could manage in the end.

"I'll be protecting you, too, from now on." She promised softly.

"Did you believe her?" the quiet words, spoken from somewhere behind him, had Syaoran whirling around, his body tense in anticipation of an attack as the memory faded away only to be replaced by a blank, inky nothingness. The pale pink petals of cherry blossoms drifted all around him, gently caressing his face and arms as they floated by. Shaking his head once to displace the illusion of the dream world, Syaoran looked around once more, only to find himself still standing in the midst of trailing sakura petals.

"This is not an illusion, Syaoran." The man standing before him was around the same age as Fai, with a slightly darker skin tone and messy black hair. His grey eyes were unfocused and staring right through him, but Syaoran could tell that somehow the man knew where the other was standing.

"How do you know my name?" Syaoran growled, shifting his stance ever so slightly in an attempt to counter any attack this strange, apparently blind man might launch at him.

"I know a lot more about you than just your name." The man grinned nonchalantly in response. From his posture, he seemed quite at ease, but Syaoran had seen Fai's equally relaxed posture during confrontations when they had been searching for Sakura's feathers. This man's apparent ease only set the alarm bells ringing in Syaoran's head.

"Relax," the man raised his hands in a peaceful gesture as he took a step towards him. Syaoran narrowed his eyes, his muscles coiling up even further in anticipation of a hidden attack. There was something about this man, something he couldn't exactly put his hand on, but it set him on edge. "I come in peace."

"Who are you?" His warning growl stopped the man in his tracks.

"You don't recognize me?" the man seemed almost surprised for a second before grinning widely once again, a cheerful, happy-go-lucky sort of grin that reminded him of Fai instantaneously. "Of course, how silly of me." He laughed, shaking his head. "You had not been able to see through Tsubasa's eyes until much later."

"Who are you?" Syaoran ground out once more. Who the heck was this guy? How did he know so much about him and his son?

"My name is Nixon Blaze," he responded, keeping the smile fixed on his face. "I'm…"

"The Oracle!" Syaoran blurted out automatically, cutting off the older man mid-sentence.

The Oracle blinked a couple of time before shaking his head in melancholic way. "Why is it that people always cut me off mid-introduction?"

"What?" Syaoran gaped at the older man, before realizing what he had done. "Sorry." He flushed, realizing belatedly that he had indeed cut off the other man when he was speaking.

"It's alright." The man laughed, "It's kind of funny actually. You wouldn't believe the number of times I have gotten that response from people when I introduce myself. Anyhow, I wasn't going to bring my title into our conversation, you know."

"You weren't?"

"Nope," The Oracle's grin was back in place, "Never really cared much for it. I was going to tell you that I'm a friend of Fai's."

"Oh." Syaoran felt another petal gently caress his cheek, reminding him that he had somehow arrived in the dream world. "Why am I here? What the heck is going on? Where in the-"

"Relax, Syaoran, one question at a time, okay?" Nixon cut him off. "You're here because I needed to talk to you. You've already guessed half of what is going on. The rest, I'm going to help you understand, okay? But before we head of in that direction, I need you to answer my question."

"What?" Syaoran asked after a while, having waited long enough for a question that didn't come.

"Did you believe her?" Nixon asked, his face serious all of a sudden. "Princess Sakura, when she made that promise to you. Did you believe her then?"

"I don't see how my having believed her then would change anything now."

"You'd be surprised by the change a little bit of belief can bring sometimes." He answered cryptically, reminding Syaoran quite a lot of the now-dead witch of the dimensions.

Syaoran stared at Nixon long and hard, unable to stop himself from remembering all the feelings that had rushed through him when he had heard Sakura promise that to him. Nixon, in turn, merely stood there, a patient smile settled on his features as he waited for the spirit to come to a decision.

"I… I did." The former clone admitted after a while.

"What made you stop believing in her, then?" Nixon asked.

"What made me…" he repeated incredulously before exploding angrily, "Are you crazy or something? If you really are that all-knowing Oracle, then you already know what she did! You'd know what they… and you still have the nerve to ask me? After everything they put my son through, you still have the nerve to ask me what made me stop believing her?" He had no idea when he had crossed the distance between them, but Syaoran found himself screaming in the blind man's face, his amber eyes glaring holes through the murky grey, sightless ones of the other man. "You're the all-knowing one, right? You tell me! What do you think could have possibly happened to make me not believe in her?" Breathing heavily, he took a step away from Nixon.

"Are you done screaming now?" the older man asked serenely.

"You bastard!" Syaoran growled, swinging a punch at the blind Oracle only to find his fist captured by the other man. Instead of trying to free his hand, Syaoran attacked with his other, only to be stopped in the same manner. Without even pausing for a heartbeat, Syaoran swung his leg at the other but to his great annoyance, the blind man dodged it with ease. "Stay still!" he growled angrily, twisting in the Oracle's hold to bring his leg in a back hook but the Oracle nimbly slipped out of the attack's range while somehow still managing to keep his hold on Syaoran's wrists.

"Did you ever stop to think for a second that maybe…" he ducked his head to avoid Syaoran's vicious kick, "you were seeing only what they wanted you to see?"

"Wha-" The strange words had him stumbling despite himself. What they wanted him to see. What in the world could that- the image of Fai hopefully looking at the silver haired woman, calling her a name that he knew belonged to someone else flashed in his mind's eye. He heard Fai's pained cries echo all around him, begging him to make it all stop, make it go away.

"See the connection now?" Nixon asked softly, letting go of his hands as he stepped away from Syaoran.

A/N: Okay so just so you guys know, the memory that Syaoran saw in this chapter is not my own work. I used parts from momoxtoshiro's story 'Protecting you' with their permission. It's a really cute story so I recommend you guys to read it. I read it a while back I simply couldn't resist using it so I asked them and they said they were okay with it as long as I gave them credit for their work, which I have so here's a link:

.net/s/6298687/1/bProtecting_b_bYou_b

I have no idea whether it will show or not though since can act pretty weird at times. Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. This has got to be the longest chapter in this story so far, by the way. ;) ;)

I'd love to hear your feedback on what Syaoran should/would do now. Oh and umm… I need a name for the silver haired woman that was torturing Fai in this chapter. It's kinda funny. I've been using her for almost nineteen chapters now and I still don't have a name for her. Any suggestions?

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

I will soon be changing my penname to 'Obsidian Butterfly'.