uhhhhhh… I am making an oreo. A bunch of dark junk with a sweet, fluff filled center.

Blame chapter 33 of Clear Card for this. Ready, go.

Fai hefted the bag of groceries higher on his hip, shading his eyes from the sun with his other hand.

"I do believe we've gotten ourselves a bit turned around, Kuro-rin."

The ninja just groaned.

"How have we lasted this long when you have no damn sense of direction?"

"Well," The magician's smile sobered. "Syaoran was always the one reading the maps…"

Kurogane turned his gaze to the pebbled walkway, eyes shadowed. Fai only dared to make such a comment because their own Syaoran was off in this world's semblance of a library. It had been a little over a year their time since they had started this leg of their journey. Over a dozen worlds. Yet there had not been a single lead towards the possibility of reuniting a soul with a body. The lack of progress was taking quite the toll on the boy. Not having been able to return to Clow since their initial departure only weighed on Syaoran more. There had been no contact with Sakura since the princess-goddess of Nirai Kanai dreamed with the girl.

Syaoran had been withdrawn lately. He often emerged from his room in the morning with red rimmed eyes, from crying or lack of sleep, they didn't know. To say they were worried about him was an understatement. Mokona stayed with him unendingly, doing Mokona's best to give him the comfort he needed.

"Just ask for directions," Kurogane grumbled, stalking off towards a vendor selling grains.

Fai shook his head fondly and followed the ninja towards the more crowded side of the street. This world's road system was a vast maze, the pattern of the streets creating an intricate sun design when seen from above. The residents had long since memorized the layout, ambling around with no difficulty.

It had taken Kurogane and Fai no time at all to get lost.

They approached an older gentleman at a stall sagging under the weight of many types of powders and grain.

"Excuse me!" The wizard waved. "We are looking for the library. I'm afraid we're new to the area and could use a hand."

The grain salesman laughed, wiping his hands on his apron.

"Of course. Here, let me get you a card, unless you have one already?"

Fai shook his head, not sure what the vendor meant by that.

The balding man knelt down and shifted a few bags on the bottom shelf of his cart.

"If you're staying in town your inn should have been handing them out at the front desk, but- Ah, here we are," He stood and raised a small stiff paper to show the travelers. It was patterned with the same sun design as the town. "Now you're here," He made a tiny X towards the center of the circles. "And you need to go just a few turns to the north and end up here. The library is one of the smaller buildings. Red roof; you can't miss it."

Fai watched the vendor draw a trail through the path on the card. It didn't look all that far, though it was hard to tell when the map was so small scale.

"There you are. Feel free to ask for directions along the way. Everyone in town is used to visitors losing their way. There should be a stack of cards at the library that you can take," The man handed over the map and clapped his hands. "Now, I don't suppose you men need any wheat grain or rice?"

Fai smiled in gratitude.

"Sorry, not today. Thank you ever so much for the directions though. Much appreciated."

"Yeah, thanks," Kurogane said before the two of them turned and headed up the sidewalk. "This place is a pain."

It wasn't hard to follow the lines on the card, and it helped that major establishments marked on many of the street corners to aid in finding the most popular destinations. Even not being able to read this country's language, Fai managed to get them pointed in the right direction.

They walked along quietly, observing the strange town. There was clearly some form of magic here, but there seemed to be a myriad of sources, traces of spells and enchantments leaking from everywhere. Somehow, they had not caught sight of anyone using magic personally, so it was possible it was just imbedded in the land itself. The town was small, lush gardens and thick forests along its edges, with mountains rising up to the north and west. To the south lay a sprawling valley, a distant ocean to the east.

The people all appeared to be at ease in spite of the huge amounts of energy that swirled through the air.

"You think the kid'll find anything here?" Kurogane asked lowly.

Fai closed his eyes briefly against the thought of the boy having to leave another world behind with no further information.

"Is it even possible to bring the kid and the princess back?" The ninja added, even more quietly.

Pausing on the sidewalk under the pretense of checking their map, Fai sighed.

"If you had asked me before all of this started, if I thought it were possible to give a body back to a detached soul… I would have said no. And yet Syaoran is here with us now, and he has ripped his heart in two and given half of it to another. He's had his existence doubled and created Watanuki from nothing. He's had his time turned back and survived his heart returning to him. He's been to the edge of death's door and come back. If anyone could figure out a way to do it, Syaoran could."

He started walking again, the mood between them contrasting sharply with the sunshine beating down on them and the frequent singing of birds overhead.

"How impossible do you think it'd be to get him to take a break for a world or two?" Kurogane grimaced.

Fai gave a short, bitter laugh.

"That child has been working towards a goal since he was old enough to walk. I don't think he'd know what to do with himself if he weren't focused on a mission."

"He's going to burn himself out."

"You think I'm not aware of that? Have you seen him the last week? I just don't think there is anything we could say that would convince him to relax," Fai said, waving for them to turn right.

Kurogane growled, stomping ahead like a thunderhead, his dark cape flowing behind him.

"Stupid kid…"

A smile crept back onto Fai's face, hastening to catch up to his companion.

"Come on, Kuro-sama. Let's collect our son from the library and drag him back to the rooms. Maybe if you sit on him long enough, he'll give in a take a nap."

It was a testament to how worried the ninja was when his only response was a grunt.

"He left?" Kurogane balked.

Fai's brows furrowed. That was unlike Syaoran. He knew better than to run off without them. A different kind of worry pooled in his gut. Either something very good or very bad must have happened for him not to wait until they came to get him like they had agreed.

"Um, yes," The desk attendant shrank under their intense gaze. "I only remembered him because he left without putting his books away. He had been very respectful when he arrived, making sure to ask all the library rules, but then he ran out suddenly and left everything out. Its not much of a problem, but it seemed odd to me. That and the little white spirit that was with him," She ran her fingers over the edge of her desk nervously.

"Can you show us what he was looking at?" Fai asked.

"Yes, I was in the middle of restocking when he left, so I haven't had a chance to clean up his table. Its over this way."

The mage and the ninja trailed the young woman to a table a few rows of shelves away. It was scattered with a handful of ancient looking tomes, two newer books sitting off to the side. One of the older books was still open, a pencil stopping the pages from turning.

Kurogane scowled.

"I can't read any of this."

Fai leaned over the desk, squinting at the text crossly.

"I can make out a word here and there, but not enough to gather any meaning from it."

The librarian hummed, a tiny, anxious sound.

"What is it?" Fai righted himself.

The woman's eyes roved the collection of books, fingers coming up to press to her lips.

"Its… You are traveling, correct? It's a small town and I haven't seen you before, and you can't read our language…"

"Yeah, what of it?" Kurogane snapped, but not out of anger.

"He was researching The Cradle Pool. Its like a… how have I heard foreigners put it? Its ah- Like the Fountain of Youth?"

A pit formed in Fai's stomach at the unsettling look on her face.

"A local legend?" The ninja speculated.

The young woman shook her head, her long braid bouncing on her back.

"Its real. Its up in the northern woods. An hour or so from the city gates. I- Authors like to romanticize it. They're always writing things like uh, this here," She pointed to a line towards the bottom of one of the open pages. "'Brings life to the lifeless', and how it's a natural wonder, guarded by spirits who only let the oldest and purest souls be revitalized."

"By your tone, I'm guessing that isn't the case?" Fai breathed, exchanging an apprehensive glance with Kurogane.

"Locals have learned its best to leave the pool be. Its not worth the risk. While its technically the truth that if one enters the waters, they can emerge young again, that's not often what actually happens. The spirits that live in the northern forest are more like imps than guardians. They're as likely to chase someone away as they are to hold someone in long enough for them to get so young that they wink out of existence. People have traveled from great distances to investigate it, only to never be heard from again. Others have come down from the hills, young again and cocky, boasting that they were allowed to use the pool's healing powers, only to wake up days or weeks later back to their original age or even older. Some think the water itself is sentient."

Fai swallowed, feeling like his lungs weren't getting enough air.

"The kid isn't that much of an idiot," Kurogane sounded unsure.

"He's desperate…" Fai said slowly. "If it said something about bringing life to the lifeless. If the book talked about souls…"

"How do we get there?" Kurogane demanded, brandishing a blank map and pencil at the startled woman. Fai blinked, he must have missed Kurogane grabbing more map cards when they came in.

The path out of the town was drawn out quickly, with shaky hands.

"I hope you get there in time," The librarian's voice faded as they hurried towards the exit. "He was a really sweet kid."

They rushed through the forest, due north. Fai had never been so grateful for a worn footpath to exist, but with it they knew they were at least heading in the right direction. The trees around them grew taller and wilder, vines snaked around branches and strange floral smells wove down from the mountains. Here and there Fai spotted a flicker of movement.

There were spirits here.

The feeling of magic on the air intensified, and Fai wondered if the strong energies in the town were actually just making their way down to the valley from here.

Winded from their long run, Fai almost didn't hear the voices over his own breathing.

Kurogane slammed to a stop, wrenching the mage back by the arm.

"Listen."

Fai had to hold his breath to make it out, but sure enough, a soft voice was coming through the trees ahead of them.

The ninja stepped forward silently, motioning for Fai to shadow him.

They moved through the forest like ghosts, eyes widening when the foliage above them opened up to let sunshine pour down onto the wooded ground. A large pond shimmered in the middle of it, light flickering off the ripples the wind stirred up.

In front of it stood Syaoran.

Fai hated himself a little for being so relieved when everything about the boy's posture screamed defeat. His head hung low, his shoulders were drooping, and when Fai came to a stop, Syaoran gave an audible sniff. He raised a hand to wipe at his face and Fai's heart broke a little.

"O-okay, thank you…" Fai heard Syaoran say, his voice cracking. "I didn't think so, but it couldn't hurt to check. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me."

Mokona, the faithful little creature, patted the boy's cheek.

In the slightest of movements, Kurogane put a thumb on his sword, ready to draw it. For the briefest of moments, Fai was confused. Syaoran was unharmed and sounded like he had no intention of entering the pool. The mage blinked, and then a feeling of dread crawled down his spine.

In the trees. Hovering overhead. Emerging from the water. Crawling out of every shadow were spirits. Their eyes were wide, blank with innocence, and yet Fai was gripped with the sudden urge to grab Syaoran away from them and run far, far away from here.

A whisper on the breeze, and then Syaoran nodded, giving a short bow. Fai's heart flipped at the motion, and Kurogane twitched, both clearly expecting the spirits to go for his exposed neck.

They didn't move.

Syaoran righted himself and turned away from them, face crumpling once he saw his companions at the edge of the clearing.

"Sorry- I'm sorry I didn't wait. I don't know what came over me, I just-"

Fai almost teared up himself at the heartbroken look Syaoran pinned him with.

"Its alright," He said soothingly. "But please don't do that again, you gave Kuro-puppy and I quite the scare, okay?"

"Yeah, kid," Kurogane agreed, apparently too relieved to bother arguing the nickname. "Let's hea- KID!"

Fai's heart stopped.

All at once, the guileless faces of the spirits turned wicked and they burst into motion. Syaoran spun, and Fai felt the familiar crackle of energy that came with him summoning lightning.

He wasn't going to be fast enough.

Magic bled from Fai's fingers as he wrote a shield into reality.

The ninja rushed forward, sword drawn.

Mokona let out a scream when Kurogane's outstretched hand missed Syaoran by a hairsbreadth. The spirits had woven themselves around the boy's arm and yanked, jerking him backwards into the water with a splash that went much too high to be natural.

The shield stopped any enchanted water from raining down on them.

Fai's pulse raced. He darted toward the water, weaving protective barriers around his family like spiderwebs. The spirits writhed against them, spitting with displeasure at their targets being out of reach. A massive bear-like spirit slammed into the magic wall and Fai was alarmed to see part of his spell begin to burn and fizzle.

Just what were these things?

"Get Syaoran!" He ordered to Kurogane, readying a blast. He let it loose at the surface of the pool, satisfied when it did what it was supposed to do. Water swelled up around it and then parted around Syaoran's signature.

The ninja was in the middle of the bowl of water in an instant, his cape whipping.

A sound like fire crackling resounded around them and to Fai's dismay his shields gave a hiss, dissolving rapidly.

The spirits in the trees fired. Blasts of pale yellow shot towards Kurogane like bullets.

"No!" Fai couldn't cast that quickly.

"NCHA!"

The heat from the sudden blast sent Fai stumbling, bringing his arm up to protect his face from the blinding flash of light. A resounding boom echoed through the clearing over the sound of trees crashing to the forest floor.

Disoriented, Fai staggered, eyes refocusing enough to see the spirits scattering, screaming in fear.

"Come on! This way!" Mokona cried.

Fai ran towards the creature, fears alleviated at the sight of Kurogane dashing in their direction. They stampeded through the underbrush, hoping the spirits had been intimidated enough not to pursue them.

Mokona hopped up onto Fai's shoulder, shaking like a leaf.

"Mokona was so scared! Mokona had to use the Ncha Canon or else Kurogane and Syaoran might have been really hurt!"

"That was YOU?" Kurogane yelled. "What the hell!"

They slowed their pace when there was no sign of being chased. Fai panted, wiping sweat from his brow. He looked to Kurogane, nerves frayed. He couldn't see Syaoran. The ninja's heavy cloak was blocking him.

"Is he okay? Syaoran?"

Kurogane stilled, and Fai's breath stuttered.

"What? Let me see him."

Kurogane turned to face him fully, his arms wrapped around… No, no he was much too small. That couldn't be.

"He was only under for a moment…" Fai breathed in disbelief. His eyes roamed over the tiny fingers, the small ears, delicate looking features on a round face. The child's eyes were closed, a pucker to his bottom lip, but his small chest was rising and falling evenly. He was asleep.

"Syaoran is so little. Is he okay?" Mokona worried.

"The kid was already a kid. Wouldn't take much to send him back this far," Kurogane's hands looked giant, holding up the little body. "Damnit kid…"

Fai lifted a hand to Syaoran's forehead, reading the magic laced into his skin. He cursed.

"I don't think this is anything I can fix," He bit out.

"Someone in town will know what to do, right?" Mokona asked tearfully.

There was a quiet moment. Fai and Kurogane stared down at the unconscious child, at a loss.

Fai steeled himself.

"I guess we'll find out."

Me: give them some sweet baby fluff

Also me: lace it with SAD