A/N: I don't really have much to say for this update except for the fact that this is my first ever post after graduation. Yup! Yours truly is now a graduate and looking for a job. ^_^; Oh and we're also going to be moving to the next city in about a weeks time so not only did I just move out of the dorms back home, I'm also busy helping pack stuff for the move next weekend. But anywho, now that all the major hell is over and done with, I should hypothetically speaking have a lot more free time on my hands to be able to write and update quicker. Keep your fingers crossed and pray the bunnies don't desert me now. ;) ;)

And now, enjoy~

Nixon followed the path Syaoran took to see his son using his sixth sense, watching as the spirit was slowly absorbed by the brunette's body. Only once the deed was done did he see fit to finally leave the tunnel. Searching through the vast array of colorful auras that showed up in range of Nixon's vision, he took note of Kurogane's aura back in Fai's room while Masooma and Sakura seemed to be making their way to the kitchens. Knowing he at least did not have to worry about the crimson-eyed man for the time being, he located the aura he was looking for and started moving across the city towards it.

"Captain Numero, I would like call a meeting with the Elder's Council as soon as possible."

"Is everything alright, sir?" the man turned to him, alarm flashing through his aura.

"I'm afraid not," he replied with a small shake of his head, "I will disclose the details once I have spoken with the council, but it would be best if you start preparing your men for a fight in the near future. Alert the other captains as well. I would like it if you and the others are ready to move in-" he broke off in mid-sentence as another vision flashed across his eyes.

"Sir?"

"Damn it! Why the heck does he always have to act like such a-" catching himself at the last minute, Nixon turned to the bewildered captain once again. "I'm sorry; it appears as though I am needed elsewhere. Please alert the council that there is a matter of great urgency I wish to discuss with them before sundown. Word must not leak out to the civilians yet, but alert all the Captains. I will be in touch with you soon." He didn't bother to wait for a response, instead hurrying onward to where his vision had come from. He wondered if he would be able to stop yet another disaster from occurring, but hoped that even if he was late, he would still be able to bring it to a swift end. Heaven knew that they already had enough problems to deal with without this one being added to their plate as well.

Racing through the pyramid towards the room he had been avoiding like the plague for the last few days, Nixon prayed he would be able to make it there on time. However, the gods seemed to have had a personal vendetta against him, for they were not answered and he found upon entering a rather horrifying sight.

Fai's magic was pulsating wildly, the dark blue streaks almost tearing his natural blue aura apart, Kurogane and Sakura's auras red with alarm and worry. He could hear Fai's laughter, loud and disturbing and while it did explain part of the reason for their alarm, he was more worried about the cause of what had triggered Fai's fit of insanity.

"What the heck is going on in here that-" he growled irritably as he strode through the doors, but the full extent of what was going on hit him the minute he was over the threshold. Confusion, fear, uncertainty…it all slammed into him with the force of a herd of raging northern bullhorns and he had to slam a magical shield around himself to keep from losing himself in the tumultuous storm of emotions. "Fai!" he gasped, almost crashing to his knees as he tried to keep the barrier around him.

"Fai-san is having another fit, but his magic is too wild." Sakura cried, half panicking as Nixon saw her magic struggling to subdue Fai and failing. "It keeps overwhelming me and I can't stop him."

Extending the shield outwards, he used it to protect the princess as he climbed to his feet, taking charge of the situation because unlike the blonde's dimension travelling companions, Nixon knew what had gone wrong.

"Kurogane, help me hold him down." He ordered the ninja, weaving up a spell to help bring down the half-vampire's strength to a controllable level. "Sakura, when I tell you to, use a spell to bind him."

Fai was screaming like a madman, his garbled words mixed with crazed laughter that chilled Nixon to the bone. Ignoring the fear welling up in his heart, he grabbed hold of the blonde's thrashing legs just as Kurogane gripped his shoulders to hold him down. The stench of blood was thick so close to him, and Nixon could hear the sickening sound of flesh being ripped apart as the magician used his own claws to tear at it.

"Now, Sakura!" Nixon yelled just as Kurogane pulled Fai's hands away from his chest. Fai's flailings increased in intensity and one of his kicking feet almost unhinged Nixon's jaw, causing him to lose his concentration on the spell lowering Fai's strength.

"Nixon-san, his magic is fighting back." Sakura grunted as Fai's laughter grew to insanely loud levels. The blonde's back arched off the bed as his body contorted and twisted this way and that, his claws swiping across Kurogane's metallic arm.

"Leave it to me." Nixon doubled the concentration of his spell, hoping to keep the magician down for good this time. Fai's magic may have been strong enough to almost rival the Oracle's, but in his current state, with his mind not being able to focus on anything, it was not impossible to subdue him, even if it did prove a hell of a lot difficult to accomplish. "Keep going with that binding spell, Princess." They needed to lock his vampire side away before doing anything else, out of fear that he would hurt himself or one of them unknowingly. The blue began to recede inside his body slowly as Sakura's warm, pink glow began to envelop him, pushing inside, slowly moving deeper and deeper, pulling in his claws as it went.

"Let me go!" Fai was yelling at the top of his lungs. It was a wonder he had not torn out his throat by now. "Please stop it! Killmekillmekillme!"

Sakura's spell seemed to have worked as his thrashing died down to violent shudders. Though Fai's chest was heaving with every breath he took, his hoarse screams turning to silent murmurs, still Nixon and Kurogane held him down, fearing a relapse.

"I've bound his claws for now." Sakura reassured them, finally deeming it fit to approach the men as she cast a sleeping spell. "He shouldn't be able to use them for a while again."

"What the fuck happened to him?" Kurogane exploded, his fingers still gripping the blonde's arms as Nixon saw his aura change colors from alarm to confusion and a hint of fear. Perhaps some part of the man was realizing the part he had played in this episode of Fai's. "Why did he keep asking me to kill him? And why was he laughing like that?"

"Whatever it was you said," Sakura spoke up before Nixon could say anything at all, "it must have triggered his fit, Kurogane-san."

"Whatever I must have said?" The man growled almost defensively in response and Nixon noticed how the princess drew back with the barest of flinches.

"Confronting a problem isn't always the best way to find a solution, Kurogane," he hissed acidly, finally pulling away from Fai as the blond fell into a fitful sleep, soft whimpers escaping his lips even as his self-inflicted wounds began to close up on their own.

"As opposed to letting the problem drive you into destroying yourself?" The ninja turned his attention towards him. "Forgotten your little episode in the catacombs, Oracle?"

"This is not about me," Nixon bristled.

"Oh yeah?" Kurogane challenged half-scathingly.

"Pushing someone to their limits just so you can get the satisfaction of being the one who made them fight back is not always the best idea."

"Oh, so this is about me now?" the ninja took a threatening step towards him but Nixon stood his ground. He heard Sakura try to say something but he was too angry to let the girl speak.

"It was your bullheaded persistence that reduced Fai to this." Nixon gestured towards the sleeping man and Kurogane recoiled as though Nixon had physically hit him. "You pushed and pushed and pushed him without even realizing how fragile his mind was. Are you satisfied now?"

"Don't you fucking dare pin the blame for this on me."Kurogane's fingers wrapped around his throat, squeezing his windpipe as the warrior lifted Nixon off the ground. "I did not-"

"Did not what?" Nixon half-choked, fighting to keep his magic from tearing the man apart for it could sense how the man was suffocating him. "Did not corner him when he clearly wasn't ready to talk? Did you really think he would still be the same man after everything he has been through? The old Fai might have gotten up and fought back, but this is not him."

"Shut up!" the warrior snarled, throwing Nixon against the wall in anger.

"Kurogane-san! Nixon-san!" Sakura chose that moment to intervene as she wedged herself between the two and started trying to push them both away from each other. "Enough, both of you! Throwing petty accusations at each other like children isn't going to help Fai-san, and it certainly isn't going to help either of you with whatever issues you guys have!"

"You're right, Sakura," Nixon replied, climbing to his feet as Kurogane finally let him go. Taking a couple of steps away, Nixon could feel eyes on the back of his head as he massaged his bruised throat. "We have a much bigger problem."

-0-

"Does this have anything to do with your vision a few hours back?" Kurogane watched the man closely for any signs of alarm but the Oracle did not even so much as twitch as he calmly turned around to face him. Despite his earlier display of anger at Kurogane, the blind man seemed very much in control of his emotions, unlike the jumbled mess he had witnessed so far. Something had happened and for a brief moment, Kurogane wondered if that energy he had felt had been the spell the Oracle had been working on a few days back in the catacombs, but quickly dismissed the thought as the same urge to find the man that had gripped him then had not overcome him this time around. Perhaps the blind man had come to terms with whatever it was that had been troubling him?

"I'm afraid it does," the ex-Guardian replied. "The hunters have found a way to track the spell to Magihidusi and they're coming."

"How long do we have?" the princess asked worriedly, her gaze shooting towards the unconscious mage.

"Two days at most," came the answer, causing the girl to bite her lip.

"Is there any way to stop them?" Kurogane questioned, his own eyes shooting towards the blond who had suffered more than humanly possible at the hands of those monsters.

"If I had more time, I might have been able to shield the city itself, but as it is… we have no choice but to fight."

"What about that thing that turned you and the witch into Guardians? Isn't it strong enough to stop them?"

"The Shaman is cruel and inhumane." A dark looked crossed the man's face as he clenched his fists. "The price it has asked for in return is something I am not willing to pay."

Kurogane was rather irritated that the man was refusing to pay the price for a wish that could save them all so much trouble simply because he did not feel like he could pay the price for it. The Oracle had the power to get the stupid thing to protect the whole city, yet he thought it better to fight the hunters instead? Not that Kurogane minded a chance to beat up their sorry asses, but to deliberately put so many people in danger? To deliberately put the kid and mage in danger?

"Can you summon the damn thing here? Maybe me and the princess could pay the price in your stead." the ninja decided to offer. The fact that the Oracle's words from earlier about how he was responsible for what had just happened still stung. Maybe pushing the mage into a confrontation had not been the smartest of ideas, but he'd be damned if he'd let something even worse happen to him now. If there was a way to help him, then he would do it in a heartbeat.

"Summoning the Shaman is not up for discussion." The Oracle said firmly, "I have called a meeting with the Elders to discuss plans for evacuation and possible relocation for the civilians. It would be best if we were to send Fai and Syaoran with them to safety, the princess and you too, if you wish. This is not your fight, after all, so it would be unfair of me to expect you to stay."

"I'm not going anywhere." Kurogane replied stubbornly, "The princess and the kid can take care of the mage and the other kid. The witch can probably go with them, too."

"Masooma is a Guardian," Nixon shook his head, looking like he'd give anything to change places with her even as he said it. "She can't leave the Essence unprotected."

"Who will tell Tsubasa about this?" the princess questioned softly, "And what about Fai-san? I don't think telling him about the hunters would be a smart idea."

"I will leave telling Tsubasa up to Masooma, since she is the one currently dealing with him. As for Fai…I agree. It would be best if he did not know about it, but to get him to stay calm enough when the hunters come knocking…I don't see how that's possible without keeping him sedated."

"His vampire blood will break down the sedatives too quickly for that to work." The princess shook her head. "Putting him to sleep using magic for a long time would be even more detrimental to his health."

"Then what do you suppose we should do?" To Kurogane it seemed like there really was no solution for that problem, but the princess was the High Priestess of her country. Maybe she knew of some sacred magic that could help them out with this problem.

"There is one spell…" she offered hesitantly, "but it's not fool proof."

"What is it?"

"I could lock away his memories of the past few days."She replied, looking a little unsure, as though afraid her plan might not work. "That should be enough to keep him from having another meltdown, so long as he doesn't come into contact with the instigator of his problems."

"Would he come back to his senses?"

"That all depends on him, but seeing how he was just now…I can't say for sure."

"Can't you permanently take those memories away? The time-space witch did the same with your other self, didn't she?"

"The price for something like that would be too high."Kurogane had to bite back a growl of frustration at that. It was irritating to find out that magic was not as magical as one would have liked it to be. All this talk of high prices and limitations and consequences made it seem so annoying. Though he had firsthand experiences with why the prices were needed and why it was limited, it did not mean he liked it. Stuff like this was annoying at the very least. "It would also render his recovery impossible. The spell is self-sustaining as it will use Fai-san's magic to power itself once it's in place, but it should die out in four days' time."

"Four days is good." Nixon declared with an approving nod."So spelling his memories away for a short while it is. Would you like to attend the council meeting?"

"Isn't that supposed to be only for the council members and the Guardians?" Kurogane quirked a brow, even though the man this question was directed at would not be able to see the gesture. "That's what you told us last time, or did you lie about that?"

"It is. But I will handle the council's objections. Your input might prove to be valuable, since Fai mentioned you have seen your fair share of battles."

"I'll come."

"And you, Princess?"

"I will too. But will it be wise to leave Fai-san on his own? I'm not sure when Syaoran-san will return."

"I will ask someone to come and watch over him." The Oracle promised as he turned to leave. "I need to talk to the captains for now, but I would like to discuss a few strategies with you after the meeting with the council. I will send someone for you when they have assembled."

"I guess I should get started on that spell, then."Sakura murmured as the door closed behind the Oracle's retreating back. "You shouldn't blame yourself for it, Kurogane-san." She added after a little while as the golden magic circle lit up underneath her feet as she started working on the spell to seal away the mage's memories. "Masooma-san diagnosed Fai-san with schizophrenia. What happened here was just one of the many episodes yet to come…"

"Even if he's sick," Kurogane sighed, pulling up a seat and settling down to indulge in his guilty pleasure of witnessing magic at work once again. "It doesn't change the fact that I was responsible for triggering this one."

"You did not know." The princess reasoned as golden tendrils snaked through the air, slowly pulsating as they attached to the magician's head one by one.

"I should have noticed it." He responded bitterly. The princess did not reply, for she was absorbed in her spellwork by now, leaving Kurogane to sit there and regret the part he had played in the blonde's descent to insanity, even if she said otherwise.

-0-

The meeting with the councilmen could have started out a lot better in Sakura's opinion, especially considering how the old men and women who comprised of the city's council had objected to Nixon, of all people, calling for a council meeting when he was no longer a Guardian, and then daring to bring in two foreigners to the meeting on top of that.

The Oracle had calmly reminded the members that he could very easily beat each and every one of them present there with one hand tied behind his back and it was because of that very strength that the Shaman had appointed him to that position in the first place. Just because he no longer held the status did not mean he did not have the power he previously possessed. Continuing in a very polite manner, he had subtly told them all to shut their mouths and listen to what he had to say, or risk getting killed at the hands of the hunters without him there to defend them.

There had been an outcry from the council members about how they had even come to locate the city that had served as a haven for the magi for the past five hundred years, before someone accused Nixon as the fool that had led to their discovery. Nixon had calmly listened to the councilors shout and accuse him of being foolish enough to go and rescue a lost cause- for they had received reports of how that foreign magician was now insane. Sakura took note of how fast the news travelled around the city, but then realized they probably had people watching them at all times, and with the way Fai had been screaming, they were bound to have heard him.

Nixon had not even batted an eyelash when talks of punishing him and having him exiled began. Sakura ended up protesting about the unfairness of it all because really, wanting to exile someone for breaking a stupid rule like abandoning their loved ones if they were ever captured by hunters was just plain ridiculous. Was this how they had run this city for so long? Baalkon, one of the oldest council members, had merely scoffed and said that a mere child –and a foreigner at that, too- could not even begin to comprehend how a city was to be run. When Nixon only shot her a wry smile in response to the councilman's exclamation, Sakura took it as the okay to let her station be known to these old fools who were so set in their old traditions they could not see the way their culture was slowly dying out.

"I am the Crown Princess to the throne of Clow," she had said frostily, drawing herself to her full height to impress her regality upon them. She couldn't help but take note of the way some of their eyes strayed to the scars on her face- from the time Fai had lashed out at her in his sleep- and she had to stomp down on the urge to shy away. "I have been raised and trained my whole life in how to run the affairs of an entire country, so do not insult me by dismissing me as a mere child who knows nothing about the running of a mere city." The council had all looked a little taken aback by her declaration, now looking at her instead of the scars on her face. Nixon had chosen that moment to put in his two cents.

"The man with Princess Sakura is the courtesan of Princess Tomoyo of Nihon country, a very powerful miko of her own right. This man also happens to be the captain of the royal guard and also one of the most powerful warriors in his world. The 'lost cause', as you have called him," Here his voice had taken on a frosty edge, showing just how much patience and love he had held for the council, "happens to be a prince and a court mage of the highest station in my home world. The boy that came with Princess Sakura and the warrior Kurogane is a direct descendant of Clow Reed. I am sure you all can understand the repercussions Magihidusi would face if any of these foreign dignitaries are slighted."

Seemingly miffed and put in their place for the time being, the older members all quieted down while a comparatively younger member stood up and apologized to the pair on behalf of the entire council before offering Sakura and Kurogane a seat. Sakura was a little surprised about how Nixon had known so much about them all when it was quite clear from the look on Kurogane's face that he had not yet told anyone about courting Tomoyo, least of all Nixon.

The same council member, a middle-aged man by the name of Nebean, then asked Nixon to elaborate on how the hunters had come about to locating the city in the first place. What had followed had been a lengthy discussion interspersed with the older members(mainly Baalkon and a woman and a man that Sakura mentally decided to call Pointy Nose and Squinty Eyes respectively because really, these people were annoying enough to make her resort to giving them silly names in her head) who kept on making outrageous accusations every now and then, though Nebean and other younger members of the council managed to curb them before the issue could escalate. Still, despite their support, it still took Nixon over three hours to get their approval to have complete command of the Magi defense and patrol force as well as get their assent to have the civilian population relocated to the catacombs until the threat was dealt with.

Issues with gathering supplies, crowd control and defense arose, among other things, as well as possible means to misdirect and stave off the impending hunter army. Sakura offered her services as a healer for the injured and Kurogane agreed to help guard the Essence and lead some of the troops that were to act as decoys for the hunters. Nixon only laid out a rough outline of his plans before the council, but after grueling them for another two hours they were finally allowed to exit the meeting chambers. Nixon offered them the choice of going back to their quarters to rest for the night, but once Kurogane learnt that the blind man was going to go ahead and flesh out the plans for their counterattack and defense of Magihidusi, he declared he would be going with the Oracle.

There was nothing Sakura wanted more than to be able to go back to her room and sleep for a little while, but…Seeing the two men head down towards the barracks, however, Sakura pushed her tiredness away and followed after them. They were going to do this for Tsubasa and Fai's safety, and she wanted to be a part of it. She could see the approval in Kurogane's gaze as he allowed her to enter the barracks before him with a small nod, causing a bit of a silly grin to break out on her face for a brief moment despite the seriousness of the situation. Little did she know that on the other side of the pyramid, a certain blond magician was finally waking up once again...

A/N: Next chapter is when we finally get around to seeing Tsubasa's reaction to the truth so leave loads of reviews. ;) ;) Here's a little bit of sneak peak at what to expect

Sakura-chan never told me your situation had been this bad. His father said solemnly as the memory faded away and Tsubasa had to bite inside of his cheek to keep from breaking down into hysterics.

"What do you think I would have done?" he replied bitterly.

I never thought you had it in you to ever tell her to kill herself. Syaoran said quietly.

"And I never thought you'd try to kill Fai-san…" he laughed though there was no humor behind it.

I was just so angry… the brunette murmured as he brought up his bloodless hands and stared at them as though he could still see the blood flowing down the palms of his hands.

"And I was just too scared and tired." Tsubasa replied softly.

So yeah, there you have it. Please leave lots of reviews to motivate me into updating quicker because trust me when I say this, I have a couple of crazy busy weeks coming up ahead for me and I will need all the motivation I can get.