A/N: It's finally done! The chapter that is. I hope the length of the chapter will make up for the long wait. I'm too lazy to go and replace the chapter so I'll just put it up in a new post, okay? Enjoy!

Sakura felt the world twirling around her as she came to. With a groan she forced her lids apart despite great difficulty; it was as though someone had glued them together. Bright, artificial light assaulted her eyes, making her shut them almost instantaneously. She tried once again after a little while, opening them slowly, almost hesitantly, as she pushed herself into a sitting position…and blinked.

The low lighting of her bedroom in Infinity greeted her vision.

"So you are finally awake."

"Y-Yuuko!" She jumped almost a foot into the air as she heard her employer's voice. She nearly fell off the bed in her haste to turn around to face the older woman. Yuuko Ichihara, the hidden ruler of Infinity, was a tall, dark haired beauty with flawless, milky skin and exotic, wine-colored eyes. Despite the way that woman liked to dress, she carried herself with a grace and poise befitting of her station. With her long hair pulled back in a messy half bun and the remainder flowing way past her hips, dressed in a pair of artistically ripped jeans and a strappy, backless shirt, her appearance belied her age. Only those with magical sight would be able to feel the buzz of ancient magic about her person, strong enough to rival the legendary sorcerers and mages produced by the royal line ofthe now barren planet of Valeria.

"I take it you found what you were looking for."

"The kingdom of Clow… Touya-Nii-san… my parents… E-everything was… You knew all along, didn't you?" Sakura finally managed to gather her thoughts, though her tone was anything but accusing.

"I did."

"Why didn't you tell me, then?"

"The seal placed on your memories by the one that sent you to me all those cycles ago made it impossible for you to remember anything related to you past."

"But these past few weeks…"

"Your proximity to Xiao Lang served as a means to weaken that seal. The fact that you had continuous encounters with your brother helped as well."

"Xiao Lang- you mean Syaoran, don't you?"

"I do."

"I still can't recall having met him before." She frowned thoughtfully. "But when I first met him on that ship, it felt like I had known him forever…"

"Do you have any idea of what Fei Wong had done to you while you were being kept in his captivity?" Yuuko asked as she draped herself languidly on one of the chairs set in Sakura's room.

"I know he was trying to change me into a mindless weapon. He had the memories of my life with my parents and Nii-san and Yukito-san erased for that very reason, didn't he?" It felt strange, going back to addressing those two like she had when she was a little kid all of a sudden, but then again, now that she had her memories, she knew that it was only right to do so. "The training regime he had me go under after that was just to convert me into the perfect obedient weapon. That's why even after Fai took away my memories of the time in captivity when he broke me out, I still couldn't stop myself from killing anyone." Realization dawned on her, "That was why I never missed a single target!"

"Precisely," her employer nodded, "but do you have any idea of what else he did to you?"

"No."

"The princess of Clow was rumored to be a very powerful mage, one having the capability to surpass even the legendary Clow Reed himself. Only one other person is said to have a power equal to that of the princess… The young heir of the Li clan."

"But I heard the Li clan was wiped out in a massacre a few cycles back." Sakura frowned. "Around the same time Clow was taken over by Fei."

"It was on the same night, as a matter of fact." Yuuko said, pausing long enough to let her words sink in. "Fei Wong Reed wanted both the princess and the heir as his personal weapons."

"And judging from those files I stole…" Sakura said after a while, catching on to what Yuuko was getting at, "He got his hands on him as well. But he didn't use the same tactics with Syaoran as he did with me. Syaoran remembers his family. He recognized the sketch of his mother that I drew after a dream I had."

"No,"Yuuko sighed tiredly, shaking her head as she glanced as Sakura, "after seeing how you had managed to escape his clutches despite all the brainwashing, Fei Wong devised a new plan. He decided to use magic to suppress that child's personality and diminish his mind so much that in the end, he would be nothing but a mindless doll, carrying out whatever task his master willed. I have not been able to ascertain how he did it, but your magic was involved in the process, Sakura."

"What?"Sakura almost shrieked in surprise.

"That is why he feels so familiar to you." Yuuko pressed. "He has your magic inside of him. The original seal on your shoulder was designed to siphon off parts of your magic that gave you your compassionate nature, so that you could be used as an effective weapon. That part of your magic now resides in Xiao Lang, making him an empath. But since he was not born with this ability, he has a very hard time controlling it."

"But wouldn't that work against the whole suppression thing?"

"The seal that he has was designed to counter that." Yuuko shook her head as she climbed to her feet. "I need to get going now. Some important clients will be here soon, and I have to prepare for their arrival."

-0-

Touya found himself standing in the cockpit of a ship that was just about to dock on a space port as soon as the darkness that marked the memories' transitions receded. A Yuui that looked a few cycles older, probably somewhere in his late teens if Touya had to hazard a guess, piloted the ship.

"So this is it, huh, squirt?" The door to the cabin slid open and the dark haired man that had taken Yuui away from Valeria spoke as he stepped inside.

"After all these cycles," Yuui grinned, "I've finally found him."

"I'm happy for you, Yuui."

"Subaru, are you sure you can't come along?"

"Someone has got to make all those deliveries, now that my only pilot is retiring." The man ruffled Yuui's hair affectionately as though the teen was still just a kid."I'm sorry, squirt, but this is where we part ways."

"I guess so."

"Oh, cheer up. You'll be with your brother pretty soon."

Yuui smiled a hopeful smile. "Yeah…"

Darkness swallowed up the whole scene as the memory morphed once more.

-0-

Sakura went through her cupboards, throwing stuff haphazardly on the carpeted floor as she tried to find a particular set of objects. She paid little mind to the sliding of the door behind her as she found what she was looking for buried beneath some old junk from the days when she first started working with Yuuko.

"Found you!" She grinned, reaching out and plucking the objects from the bottom of her drawer. Holding one of the objects up to the light, she took a moment to admire the phoenix made of sapphires that adorned its hilt. Experimentally, she flicked it open and closed a few times, before twirling it around in her fingers, feeling a strange sense of fondness well up inside her at the thought of their previous owner. Fai had, despite everything he had done to her, been a very good person at heart. "I hope I'm doing the right thing." She whispered softly, as her hands stilled suddenly. She stared at the silver blades for a long while.

"Where did you get those?" Chii's soft voice broke her out of her reverie. Turning around, Sakura found herself staring at the brown-eyed girl with delicate pixie-like features, the very features that she herself had adopted when she had been escaping from those hunters on Koryo when she had run into Kurogane for the first time.

"Chii."She greeted her blond friend, but the other girl's eyes were fixated on the jewel-encrusted blades in her hand.

"Where did you get those, Sakura?" She repeated, her tone taking on an edge of hysteria. "They were… they belonged to… where the heck did you get them?"

"Chii, calm down." Sakura held up her hands as she stepped closer to her friend.

"Where?"Chii repeated desperately.

"A…"Sakura paused, wondering what to tell her. What had that blond man been to her? A companion? Mentor? Guardian? "A friend gave them to me before he helped me escape from hell." she finally decided. Fai had been a friend to her after all. She never knew what became of him though. But if Fai- no, Yuui- was to be believed, then the man that had helped her all those cycles ago was dead.

"Was he the man I saw when I called you?" Chii asked, referring to the time she had contacted Sakura to discuss the stolen files. Chii's reaction at that time had been what had prompted Sakura to confront Fai- no, Yuui, that man was Yuui, Fai's twin brother who had for some unfathomable reason chosen to parade around as his dead brother- on the matter.

"No, that was someone else."

"Yuui?"Chii whispered softly, a dejected ring to her tone.

"Yeah. But he decided to go around as Fai." Sakura nodded. It seemed Chii was still unaware of the other twin's fate then. But… how did she know the two? Fai- Yuui had obviously lied to her when she had asked."Chii… How exactly do you know those two?"

"How do I know them?" Chii laughed mirthlessly. "How do I know them? Those two idiots were my brothers…"

"What?"

"My cousins, actually…" Chii clarified, "but my dad adopted them both."

-0-

"What the hell?" Touya noticed a petite blond girl storm up to the pilot, her chocolate colored eyes flashing in anger. "I thought you were too busy with your research work to actually leave your lab when I asked you to come shopping with me. What are you doing at the space port?"

"Umm… Do I know you?"

"This isn't funny, Fai." The girl frowned. "And what's with your outfit? Why are you dressed up like a Goth? And when did you get a haircut? Not that I don't like this style or anything, but-"

"I'm really sorry to interrupt you, but seriously, miss, do I know you?" The girl stopped her tirade and scrutinized his face closely with a small frown. She must have realized something because the next minute she bowed to him, hastily stepping out of his personal space. "Oh God, this is so embarrassing." She blushed in embarrassment, "I'm so sorry to bother you, sir. I thought you were someone else."

Yuui laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "It's alright, Miss…?"

"Chii." She straightened, holding out her hand for a shake, "ChiiFlourite."

"Yuui." He shook her hand, grinning amicably. "Can I ask you something, Miss Chii?"

"Go ahead."

"You said I look like someone you know. Can I ask who?"

"My dumbass brother." She answered with a sheepish smile. "You two look so similar, it's kinda scary to tell you the truth. When I spotted you a few minutes ago, I could have sworn you were Fai. He can be a real goof sometimes, though he gets all serious when it's something related his work, but-" the girl stopped chattering when she noticed that the blue-eyed blond had stopped a few feet behind her, "uh, Yuui, everything okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Did you say his name was Fai?"

"Yeah, Fai D. Flourite." She nodded, appearing somewhat confused.

-0-

"The first time I met Yuui," Chii smiled softly, "I made a complete idiot out of myself. Fai had been forbidden to ever speak of his twin when he was exiled from his home planet, so I never even knew he had a twin until I bumped into Yuui at the spaceport. Those two had a very rough childhood. Yuui never really spoke about it, but even after his people banished Fai, Yuui was never really treated nicely."

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Beats me. All I ever managed to get out of either of them was 'because we bear the curse of the twins'. Sounds quite silly, no?" Chii settled on Sakura's bed, her eyes fixated on the twin blades in Sakura's hands. "Their whole lives revolved around that curse, though."

"He had just arrived on Celes, and he really had no idea where to go. He said he was looking for a long-lost relative since his mother had passed away and he had no place to stay. Feeling sorry for him, I invited him to our home for dinner."

-0-

"Dad, I'm home." Chii announced as she opened the door to a modest-looking apartment, taking her shoes off and placing them in a small wooden rack next to the door. "There's someone I'd like for you to meet."

"Someone for me to meet?" A voice floated out from one of the inner rooms. "So, you finally decided to bring your boyfriend to meet me, eh?"

"Dad!"Chii yelled, her face uncannily resembling a tomato. "I'm never bringing Hideki over if you're going to try and embarrass me every chance you get."

"That's what fathers are for, sweetheart." Her father laughed, "Bring your friend to the kitchen, will you? Your brother still had some last minute things to add to his project, so he asked me to watch the soup for him."

Somewhere in the apartment, a door opened. "Guys, can you keep the noise down? I'm working here!"

"That's the idiotic brother I told you about." she said to Yuui as she led him down the hallway and through a comfortably furnished living room. A documentary about Flourite and its magical properties was playing on the Holo-TV.

"Will he be joining us for dinner?" Yuui asked, his voice carrying a hint of hopefulness.

"No idea. When he's in one of his fits, he forgets about pretty much everything else. I literally have to shove food down his throat when a deadline for one of his projects is near."

"I see."

"Make yourself at home, alright?" she said, gesturing towards the sofa cluttered with books and something that resembled a blanket. "I'll go get Dad." Touya watched silently as the girl quickly stuffed her arms with whatever she could pick up and hurried out the door to their right. A short while later, he heard the girl, Chii yell once again, "Fai! Dinner is about done. Get your lazy butt down here! We have a guest over. Go keep him company for a bit." Looking over at Yuui, he noticed that the blond teen appeared nervous.

"I'm busy." Fai shouted back and Touya wondered vaguely why all the members of that household liked to yell so much.

"Faiii!"Chii screamed before a door was slammed open and then shut quickly, followed by a muffled argument. A couple of minutes later, the door reopened and Touya heard the soft padding of bare feet against the wooden floor as someone approached the door. Apparently the Yuui in the memory had heard it as well, since he quickly jumped to his feet as soon as his mirror image walked into the room. A spark of blue magic flew from Yuui towards Fai, before everything in the room began to shake at the intensity of the magic that began to gather in the mediocre living room.

-0-

"They nearly blew up the living room when they first met. It had been almost thirteen cycles since they had last been together." Chii said, her fingers softly tracing the blue phoenixes. "Everyone was shocked to see Yuui, but I was kinda furious at the time. My adoptive brother had a twin and I never even knew about him. It took a lot of explaining from Dad and Fai to get me to calm down again. Fai and I never got to hear what Yuui went through, but whatever he told Dad, my father decided to take him in as well. Even though he could fly a ship better than most professionals, he was still a minor at the time and he didn't have any place to go."

"How did Fai end up working for Fei Wong?"

"So that's the name of the bastard." Chii spat bitterly. "My dad got an offer from him first, since his work in magic was well known all over Celes. He refused the first time around, but the bastard blackmailed him into joining some research facility. We all began seeing less and less of Dad after that, though he quit his job about a cycle later. Things began to return to normal though he started getting sick all the time until..."

-0-

"Chii, honey," A pale skinned man with dark, midnight-black hair that reached past his shoulders walked out into the living room. The brown-eyed blond quickly switched off the Holo-TV and jumped to her feet. "Go to the market and buy some Raki fruit for dinner, will you?"

"Why not send Yuui instead?" she pouted, making her way towards the door despite her complaint.

"Because, unlike you," Said blond piped up smugly, "I'm not in danger of growing fat if I keep on being a couch potato."

"What?" Chii rounded on the other teen, her eyes flashing in anger. "Just because your magic burns off all those extra calories you consume does not mean you can be lazy all the time!"

"He'll be going with you." The dark haired man cut in before Yuui could retort.

"What?"Yuui yelped, looking at the man in horror. "You're sending me shopping with Chii? What did I ever do to deserve such torture?"

"Woohoo! I'm not going alone!" The girl did a little dance step before grabbing hold of the blond's hand. "Let's go!"

"Be nice to your sister, Yuui." The man reprimanded with a smile, "You can go remind your brother about dinner. I think he's at… What was that kid's name? Oh, yes. He's at Masayoshi's house."

"But he still goes shopping with me first, right?" Chii grinned at her father before dragging her brother out the door without even waiting for a response.

"Hey, wait a minute! Uncle never said anything about me going shopping with you." Yuui protested.

The memory shifted and Touya found himself back in the Flourite residence. The living room appeared to be in a state of disarray, but the thing that immediately caught his attention was the figure sprawled out on the floor in a shallow pool of blood.

-0-

"As it turned out, the people Dad had quit working for didn't like being turned down the way Dad had. They decided to pay him a visit. To make an example out of him for others. I think Dad knew they were coming for him. That was probably why he sent us out of the house at that time."

-0-

"Dad!Uncle!" Three simultaneous cries pierced the air as the three teens rushed towards the fallen man.

-0-

"After Dad, they went after Fai." Chii said, her fingers curling around the daggers as she held them close to her heart. "I don't know what they offered him in exchange, but whatever it was, it caused a huge row between Fai and Yuui. Sure, they used to argue before as well… I loved to make the two bicker with each other, but never before had they resorted to hitting each other. I wasn't there when it happened but…"

-0-

The memory shifted once more and Touya found himself looking at the twins. They appeared to be in the middle of a heated argument.

"I'm not going to let you do it, Fai."

"You don't have any say in this matter, Yuui."

"Do you even realize what you're saying?" Yuui half-yelled.

"I know what I'm doing."

"Taking up that bastard's offer is nothing but suicide!"

"They're willing to pay for Dad's treatment."

"You know as well as I that Uncle Ashura's condition is because of them. Joining them won't do him any good."

"It'll keep him alive!"

"Do you think Uncle would want to live a life like that?" Yuui yelled angrily.

"I'm not going to let him die!" Fai snarled.

"He'd rather die than have you become a slave to those bastards!"

"Shut up, Yuui!" Touya was just as shocked as the twins when Fai punched his brother in the face. Yuui lay on the ground, stunned as Fai towered over him, breathing hard. "You have no idea of what would have happened to me if he had not taken me in." He whispered harshly. "You were living an easy life back in Valeria. How would you know anything?"

"I don't know anything?" Yuui hissed venomously, his legs kicking his twin's out from underneath him. Jumping to his feet, Yuui crouched over Fai, his eyes narrowed in rage as he picked the other off of the ground by the collar of his shirt. "You were lucky you got exiled, Fai. My life was anything but easy. Being shunned by everyone around me because I was born a magical twin... 'Don't go near the prince. You'll catch his curse. He's the reason we're facing the droughts. Our crops are dead because the prince is an evil child. He's cursed his own mother!' Their whispers followed me wherever I went. But then again," he laughed bitterly, dropping the other's collar, "compared to you, my life must have been pretty easy."

"Shut up!" Fai yelled angrily, kicking the other blond back on the ground, "Just shut up! I don't want to hear about it. Ashura is like a father to me. He took me in when everyone else wanted me dead. He treated me like a human being. Not some… exiled, plagued prince."

"In other words, you don't care what happens to you?" Yuui growled heatedly, glaring angrily at his twin from his position on the ground.

"I don't." Fai responded without missing a beat."I'm not going to let him die like that."

"…"

"You won't understand." Fai said after a while, as he turned his back towards the blond, "You weren't there… You never were."

"…I guess you're right." Yuui climbed to his feet gingerly, walking past Fai with his head bowed low. "I'm sorry I tried to care about what happens to you."

-0-

"Whatever went on between those two that night, Yuui left the next morning. His letter said he was going back to work with his mentor. It was around that time that I started developing an interest in cyber tech. Fai went away to work on some top-secret project, leaving me alone to take care of Dad. The money was good, though. Dad spent his last days in comfort. I lost contact with Fai half a cycle later, right after Dad passed away. He didn't even show up at the funeral. Yuui came, though, even if he left an hour after the burial. Yuuko was an acquaintance of my father. When she learnt of my skills as a hacker, she offered me a job here on Infinity. I kept searching for them both even after I came here, but until now… I thought they had both died."

-0-

"I'm so sorry for your loss." It was a bright, sunny day, but the atmosphere of the small gathering was somber. Men and women dressed in pale, silver clothes lined around the edges with crimson, blue, and gold walked up to the one of the twins, Touya suspected it to be Yuui since that was who this memory belonged to, and Chii. The adoptive brother and sister were standing next to a mound of freshly-dug earth. They were the only ones there that were dressed in deep blue clothes. Chii's eyes were puffy and bloodshot and even as she accepted condolences from those that had gathered there, tears continued to flow, unhindered, down her pale cheeks.

"He didn't show up." Yuui stated dully after a man expressed his sympathy for their loss and left.

"No." Chii sobbed weakly as a beautiful woman with pale features and dark, raven-colored hair walked up to them. She was dressed in a pale silk blouse and a pencil skirt, the pencil heels of her shoes digging into the slightly damp earth as she approached them, though it did not make her any less graceful as she stopped before the two.

"Your father was good man, Chii. I'm very sorry that you lost such a wonderful father. He loved you very much."

"Thank you, Miss…" she trailed off, trying to put a name to the woman's face.

"Ichihara. Yuuko Ichihara." The woman responded with a polite smile, "Hello,Yuui." She looked at the blue-eyed teen.

"Miss Yuuko," he nodded politely, indicating that he knew the woman from somewhere, "How did you know my uncle?"

"We go a long way back." She responded with a cryptic smile before turning her attention to the girl. "Ashura told me about your skills,Chii. I know this is not the ideal time to say such a thing, but I have to leave shortly and I might not be able to come here again in the near future. I have a spot open for someone like you in my firm." She pulled out a small card from the handbag she was carrying, handing it to the slightly surprised looking girl. "Contact me if you are interested, alright?" She turned and left after passing a gentle smile to the girl.

"You should take her offer." Yuui said quietly once the woman was out of earshot.

"What? Why?"

"Working for her would be good for you." He answered. "Besides, I'm afraid I won't be around much after today."

"…."

"You should go. There isn't anything left here for you."

The memory shifted once again. The Yuui sitting at the counter of the bar appeared several cycles older than the last memory. A man wearing a pair of spectacles approached the blond. Taking a seat next to him, the newcomer ordered a drink before looking over at the man hunched over a drink.

"Yuui Valeria, am I correct?" the newcomer said, taking off his glasses to reveal stormy grey eyes. Tucking the specs into an inner pocket of his jacket, he smiled. "Kyle Rondart." He grinned, offering his hand for a shake.

A/N: And so it begins. Well what do you think? Personally speaking, my favorite part in this whole chapter was the fight between Fai and Yuui. I mean seriously, despite everything, a normal person can't love another, even their twin that unconditionally. This resentment makes them a bit more human, no? What do you think? What was the part that you liked the most in this chapter? Hmm… one more memory filled chapter left to go.

Okay so normally I tend to decide stuff on my own but for some reason, I want to know what you guys want to happen next. Here's a few questions that I'd like for you all to answer, k?

How do you think will they find Syaoran?

Should Sakura go along for the rescue? If she does, then should there be a fight between the cold Syaoran and Sakura?

What should happen to Fai once he's done showing them the memories? There are still a few things left that will explain why he did what he did to Syaoran but some of you might have been able to guess by now. What should Kuro's reaction be like? And Tomoyo's?

Hmm… can't really think of anything else for now but if you guys have any more ideas, feel free to let me know. Until next time.

-Nims