I AM SO SORRY THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG. I don't have any good excuses, so I really hope you all can just forgive me for dropping the fic for so long? A random review finally made me realize how I'd left this alone after promising to rewrite it, so here we are! I will continue to work on this, but school is really busy this year. I'll try and revise as many chapters as I can before the new semester starts, but then I probably won't have time to work on any more chapters. Again, I am so sorry for this! But thank you everyone who read and reviewed before, and for anyone who will still continue to read this! I love you guys bunches!

Chapter 1- The Sapphire Café

"Three customers!"

"Got it," Fai replied, quickly untying the apron around him. Many years had already passed, and he had long since freed himself from that accursed prison. Just as the witch had said, he had the power to cross dimensions on his own. He went to the witch's home, met her part-time worker, and was told to come to a world called "Sapphira" to get a job.

Sapphira had no magic and was practically the opposite of Valeria. It was rare for snow to fall, and even then, the town rarely received more than an inch. Fai couldn't believe it, but he actually missed the snow. Just a little, of course. He hated Valeria and anything from his old life. Thus, Sapphira had been a good thing, despite its few issues.

Fai grabbed three menus and went out in search of the three newly seated customers. The café was nicely packed today, which meant he and several other servers would have a nice tip sum by the end of the day. If he was lucky, he'd have enough to pay this week's gas. Although Sapphira was by no means a snowy land, it often rained. Riding a bike to and from work in the rain was not enjoyable.

He heard the customers before he saw them. The three of them sat in the back of the café in a booth. Only one of them- a muscled dark-haired man- was truly making a racket. Fai stifled his chuckle, composing himself.

He put on his best smile and spun around to meet the group. They were definitely foreigners, that you could tell, but from where, Fai wasn't sure. The two oldest men were in their twenties while the third was quite a few years younger. He appeared to be the quietest, faintly smiling as he stared out the window beside their booth. A tall but thin blonde sat beside the loud one, also smiling, but in a mischievous way rather than in a peaceful manner. Fai really hoped they weren't hooligans from the next town over, again. The last time they came to the café, they almost started a food fight. It had taken hours to clean up the mess.

"Welcome to the Sapphire Café," Fai greeted anyway, passing out the menus. "I'll be your server today! My name is Fai."

Upon noticing him, the man with black hair spoke first, eyes widening in shock. Or was that horror? Either way, it made Fai slightly flinch. "No way…," he awed. "There is a second one."

Next, the boy with brown hair exclaimed, "Wow! It is Fai from this world!"

"I… don't think I'm very hungry anymore." Fai mimicked their gape upon getting a good look at the blonde's face. Dread started to creep over him as he took in a face mirroring him. There were no differences- except for the color of one eye. It was a piercing gold that only served to further frighten him. Half of his magic will be-

Fai gave a nervous laugh. He forced himself to remain where he was instead of flipping out and jumping the poor guy. Was this finally his brother? Or just a copy from another world, who also lost his magic? Yuuko had told him about copies and doubles of people. She said almost everyone had a "twin" in another world. It wasn't often one met their double, even if they did traverse the dimensions. It wasn't entirely impossible either, though. "W-well, this is a surprise. Didn't think I'd come in today and meet my double. What's your name?"

The other cautiously regarded him with his own mask of apprehension. "…Fai."

Now he was struck into silence, any hopes of him being Yuui gone. Today wasn't the day, it seemed. Fai forced the smile back on his face. "Oh. Uh… it is very nice to meet you. Crazy world, isn't it? Take your time ordering. Can I get you something drink?"

As he scribbled down their orders, Fai tried to keep his eyes away from the other Fai- Why does he keep staring at me like that? At least I have the decency to leave him alone. Aloud, he cheerfully replied, "I'll be back soon."

On his way to the kitchen, Fai caught sight of one of the friends he had made during his time on Sapphira. Like all the rest, he hadn't told Ash anything regarding his past in Valeria. He was one of the few that knew he had a brother. The only other thing he knew was that Fai had popped out of nowhere one day, barely able to stutter out the Sapphiran language. It had taken ages for everyone to stop asking questions. "That guy over there- he looks exactly like me."

Ash craned his neck to see. He let out a whistle. "Huh. He does. What about it?"

"Can we switch tables?" Fai pleaded.

"Whoa, what are you so afraid of? It's not like he's your evil twin or anything." Ash suddenly palmed himself. "Sorry, man. The T-word is taboo for you, isn't it? Boss won't let us switch, but I'll pull some strings and get you off shift early. That be good?"

Fai nodded. "Thanks, Ash. You're a lifesaver, man."

"Anytime," he grinned.

((((()))))

The pesky forces of fate Yuuko was obsessed with were at work yet again. Ash had been unsuccessful in trying to get him off work early, which unfortunately meant Fai would be spending most of the afternoon with the motley group, which didn't seem at all eager to get up and leave anytime soon.

Fai stared at the kid- Syaoran, he had heard the two call him. "Um… are you sure want that big of an order?"

Syaoran opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when his coat suddenly rustled. Fai nearly yelped when the white… thing popped its head out. "Syaoran is sharing with Mokona!"

Realization slammed into him. He knew that white blob! "Y-you…!" he sputtered, throwing out an accusing finger. "You're just like the black Mokona with Watanuki and Yuuko!"

Immediately his eyes went wide. Great. Just great, Fai. Tell the whole world you're a freaking world-traveler!

"Watanuki and Yuuko!?" Syaoran gasped. "You know who they are!?"

Darn it! Fai inwardly berated himself. They're traveling for that crazy woman too! He put up another forced smile. The black-haired man, Kurogane, narrowed his eyes at him and cut his excuses off, demanding, "Spit it out."

Fai snatched up his notepad and quickly turned away. "I-I-I'll be back with your food shortly!" Crap. Yuuko did this to me on purpose. She expects me to go off traveling with then now, doesn't she? "Gah, what did I do to get this kind of torture!?" he fussed to himself.

Apparently he had been louder than he thought, because half of the café, including Fai, Syaoran, Kurogane, and Mokona, turned towards him. His face red, he rushed to the kitchen. "Five burgers, no pickles with extra cheese; a strawberry shake; and a grilled chicken sandwich, no mayo," he practically growled.

The chefs looked between one another and shrugged. Most were used to his eccentricity by now, thankfully. Fai dreaded leaving the sanctuary of the kitchen despite the occasional strange looks he received as he pulled at his hair in exasperation. Why couldn't he just be a full time chef, instead of a server?

Fai was going to have a long talk with his boss later.

((((()))))

Why the heck are they just sitting there? They're just loitering around, now! Fai inwardly panicked, already having asked them plenty of times if they needed refills or something else to eat. It was starting to go from annoying to unnerving, like they knew something he didn't. Fai hated thinking that of other people- especially if they were just curious. It wasn't like he wasn't a little curious too. But Fai could not leave Sapphira. Yuuko told him Yuui would be here, and he refused to leave without finding him first!

He had begun to stall again, taking entirely too long to get another customer's refills. With a sigh, he finally did his job like the dirt-poor waiter he was.

Slightly wincing, Fai had to go them again. "Are you sure you don't need any refills? Any desert?"

Kurogane muttered something under his breath. Syaoran cast him a look before replying, "No thanks."

Fai nodded, turning to run away for another few minutes, but a voice stopped him. Every time the other Fai said something, a jolt ran through him, chilling him to the bone. "Did you know Yuuko was dead?" the other softly asked.

He was silent for a moment as a new kind of pain rammed into his chest. Dead? She couldn't possibly be…. But Mokona- his Mokona- hadn't dropped by in quite some time. If Yuuko was gone, who was to say Mokona wasn't too? "…Yeah. I figured…. I found it odd that Mokona hasn't popped in lately with any of her chocolate fondue."

Their white Mokona jumped up on the empty tray in his hand, almost making him drop it. He quickly steadied it. Mokona frowned, sympathizing with him. "Yuuko always made the best fondue," he fondly remembered. "She used to make it for you?"

They had him trapped now. Sighing, Fai pulled over a chair and laid the tray down. Mokona joined Syaoran on the table, still pouting. Fai nodded, crossing his arms. "Yeah. You can say I've known her a long time." Don't ask me how. Don't ask me how. Don't ask me-

"How?"

For the love of… "…She helped me out of a tight spot once," Fai said. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. A total overstatement, but still…. No one in Sapphira knew about his past and he wasn't about to tell three strangers and Mokona's twin anything. His misery was his alone, and he liked to keep it that way.

Kurogane abruptly stood, a sour expression on his face. For a moment, Fai thought he was about to sock him or something. Instead, he burst, "What do you mean that witch gave you free food?"

Syaoran and the other Fai couldn't help but burst out laughing. Apparently his monstrous roar was supposed to be funny? Who were these weirdoes? Mokona giggled, hopping up on Fai's shoulder. "Kuro-puu thought Yuuko was always unfair."

"Unfair?" he snorted, shaking out the shock from Kurogane's outburst. "She's the most impartial person to walk the earth. Heck if I know why she used to send me chocolate every other day. Why, didn't she ever send you anything?"

Growling, Kurogane sat back down. "Witch only did it for Valentine's day, and expected us to send her back something in return!"

Fai laughed. "After that, she usually starts to send out stuff for free. Didn't you ever repay her?"

Regrettably, they shook their heads. Mokona sighed. "Mokona told them…."

He tried to stifle his laugh. Instead, he thought about the massive tip they had better give him. This kind of abuse deserved a nice amount of cash. Switching the subject, Fai looked down at his watch. "Oh, it's about time for me to get off work. Sorry, guys. Are you sure you don't want a…."

The look on Kurogane's face told him they most certainly did not want another order or a refill. Fai quickly stood, gathering up his tray. "Nice meeting you guys," he mumbled, shuffling away.

As usual, he didn't get very far before being interrupted again. However, this time it was none other than his boss. Fai inwardly sighed in relief. Now he could ask about that chef position….

"Why didn't you say something about your brother coming to town?"

His heart literally stopped. Yasha ignored his blind panic as usual. Apparently people had gotten used to that as well. "Anyway," he continued, "I asked Ashura to give him and his friends a room at the apartment complex. They have the empty room beside yours!"

The smile on his face was empty and ready to crack any second. "Really. That's… that's very thoughtful of you, Sir. But-"

Yasha happily cut him off. "Don't worry about work. I'm giving you the next week off so you can spend some time with him. You haven't seen your brother since you were both, what, six?"

"…Five," Fai dazedly replied. A week off. I'll be stuck with them for a week. Those weird three who know Yuuko and the rest, and who apparently think that I have a second head or something the way they stare at me.

He couldn't focus enough to listen to Yasha afterwards, just mumbling and nodding when prompted to do so. Yasha finally allowed him to get moving. Fai muttered another numb thank you and walked outside. Right on cue, a silver thunderbird swerved up to greet him.

Fai suddenly remembered Casey promised to pick him up today. The thought almost made him want to go back inside and spend a few more antagonizing minutes with his- ugh, he couldn't even think the word.

The window rolled down, revealing the peppy, bright face of his neighbor and closest friend. Casey and her brother had been the first Sapphiran Fai had the pleasure of speaking with upon his arrival. She had gotten him a place to stay and introduced him to Yasha, their tenant's brother, coincidentally. Casey beamed with her usual peppiness. "Hello, Fai! Good day at work?"

Ignoring Casey's overly enthusiastic personality for the moment, he quietly got into the car. "Let's just get back to the apartment, alright?"

Casey put the car into drive, frowning over at him. Doing that only served to make her look younger than she was. Casey was easily twenty, but more often than not did she appear to be sixteen or fifteen. "Then it was a bad day at work?"

"…Not really. But starting tomorrow I'll be enduring torture for a week."

"Those new guys moving in? What's so bad about them? You know, it's really funny, but there's this one guy-"

He cut her off. Seeing as "the new guys" had already given an headache, he wasn't eager to let Casey make it worse. "Don't you have to hurry back and do that essay?"

Her bright amber eyes widened. She muttered a curse under her breath that shocked Fai, and slammed on the gas. He finally let out a scream as they swerved through traffic.

((((()))))

Several Hours Earlier

"GET OFF OF ME!"

Kurogane angrily pushed himself out of the dog pile, glaring out at the new world in front of him. It was the middle of a small town called Sapphira- or was that the name of the world? Even with Syaoran constantly giving them reading and writing lessons from what he knew, Kurogane still couldn't tell a letter from a kanji. Syaoran just wasn't cut out to be a teacher.

"What are you doing standing around, Fai? I thought you were already at the Café," a voice sounded behind them.

Kurogane, Syaoran, and Fai turned to face the short brunette that had spoken. She popped her mouth open in an "O" and almost dropped the brown paper bag of groceries in her arms. "Whoa! You're not Fai! Wow, you look just like him! Just… like him…. You're his twin!"

She let out a squeal, this time actually dropping the bag in favor of grabbing Fai's hands. "I can't believe you're finally here! Wait, you are Fai's brother, right?"

Fai gave an apologetic shrug. "I'm afraid I'm not. But it'd be interesting to meet this 'Fai' person. I bet he's incredibly good-looking. Where was this café at, again?"

She pointed to the blue-roofed building down the street from them. Fai brightened to see it looked similar to the café he and Sakura worked at in Outo. He sent Kurogane a sly look, but he wasn't paying enough attention to catch it. Instead, he slightly scowled at the café, with his serious detective face on. "The Sapphire Café is right over there. There's a guy that works there named Fai, and I swear, you look exactly alike." Casey nodded, sure of her observation. "Oh, by the way, I'm Casey Maldeen. I live in the same apartment as Fai- we're practically right next door to each other."

Syaoran turned back to her at the mention of an apartment. "Can someone rent a room for a few days there?"

Casey nodded. "Mm-hmm! Mr. Ashura lets anyone stay- even if they don't have enough money. He's a really nice man."

He thanked her and turned back to his companions, still assessing the strange situation. Looks like they'd be staying in this world for a while. "So, we'll stop by and get us rooms, then we'll check out this guy at the café. Good plan?"

Fai and Kurogane nodded. "Can you lead us the way, Casey?"

((((()))))

PRESENT

"YOU TOLD THEM WHERE I WAS?"

Casey shrank back, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. Fai knew she was completely faking and rolled his bright blue eyes, taking a deep breath. Venting to Casey wasn't the best thing to do in this situation. "I'm sorry. But Casey, I have no idea who they are- and that one man is not my brother! His name is Fai, not Yuui!"

"Like your name?" she asked, thoroughly confused, her charade of being hurt completely gone. Fai resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. Casey could have gotten a successful acting career had she not been stuck in small-town Sapphira. Maybe after Fai and Yuui found each other again, they could take Casey and Shad, her brother, with them to another world. She would be able to fit in almost anywhere. "Isn't that a bit… odd? Ooh! Maybe he's a clone? Or maybe-"

Fai gently pushed her head down to the open textbook in her lap. "Let's finish your essay first, okay? Then you rant later."

Casey absently nodded, immediately switching from "Paranoid" mode, to "Studious" mode. What a strange girl she was sometimes. Fai really wasn't much of a help towards her college work- all he could really do was keep her focused on the task at hand. Besides, for some reason, she always came banging on his door, begging and pleading for some help.

Whether or not that help was strictly homework and not mental help, he wasn't too sure….

They both looked up at the sound of a knock. It had to be them. Fai let out a sigh, convinced he would either die or . "Keep working," he said.

He opened the door to see the smiling, overly-cheerful face of Fai Fluorite. "Hi, neighbor!"

Fai slammed the door in his face, only slightly cringing at his terribly rude behavior. "They've made second contact," he breathed, eyes wide. "The apocalypse has begun."

"Then he IS your clone? Is he made of metal and stuff, too? Like the Terminator?"

So much for getting that essay done…

((((()))))

"See? I told you he's not my double from this world! It must be Fai's double. I certainly wouldn't have slammed the door in my own face," Fai harrumphed with a massive pout that only served to make Kurogane and Syaoran all the more eager to turn back to the TV.

"I definitely would have," Kurogane noted from the couch in Syaoran's room. "I think I'm starting to like this guy. We can leave our Fai here and take him with us. I would be okay with that."

Syaoran sighed. "This guy probably thinks we're stalkers or something. By the way, you didn't do anything… um, eccentric, did you?"

Fai waved the silly notion away. Him? Eccentric? Psh, totally not. "Unless saying 'Hi, neighbor!' was over the top, I don't suppose I did."

"Then it must be the face," Kurogane hummed. He yanked the bag of chips Syaoran had picked up earlier from Mokona's greedy hands. In response, Mokona merely swallowed the entire bag whole. In a far-off world, Watanuki suddenly received an interesting surprise from the Mokona in his shop. "Stupid Meatbun. Anyway, why didn't you listen me and put a bag over your face?"

"But you love seeing my face," Fai teased with a simpering wink. Kurogane suddenly felt sick to his stomach. To avoid any sickness, he quickly redirected his attention to the TV. It was some stupid show about a kid named Sakura going around and catching magic cards. A boring world with even more boring entertainment, he noticed with a sigh. Aloud, he asked, "How long are we staying here again?"

Syaoran turned to Mokona, jumping up and down in a recliner, still cheering about his victory over Kuro-kins. "The other Mokona told me that we've got to get the other Fai to come see Watanuki. It's something about a wish, I think." Mokona hopped up on the armrest. "Want to ask him?"

At their nods, Mokona called up his double in Japan. Watanuki was digging through Yuuko's storage shed of redeemed items, trying to look for something. "Watanuki!" Syaoran called.

He jumped up, sending a shelve of stuff falling down on him. After quite the interesting and embarrassing spectacle, he nervously apologized and fixed his glasses. "S-Syaoran! Guys! How've you been?"

"We've been great!" Fai butted in. "But we're in a funny situation. There's a guy here that looks just like me. I think he might be a double of my brother from this world, but he said he knows you."

Watanuki slowly blinked. Suddenly, realization hit him. "Our Fai is there? Then you all must be in Sapphira." He turned and called for Moro and Maru. "Wait a minute. I need to check something out…."

The girls rushed in with a huge, old book in their hands. Watanuki opened one of the bookmarked pages, leafing through the pages. Finally, he found what he was looking for. "Okay. Our Fai. Yuuko wrote down that he was going to be someone who could possibly take her place granting wishes. Do you think you could bring him down here next time you cross dimensions?"

"Of course!"

Syaoran frowned. "Maybe not. He doesn't seem to like us very much."

Watanuki nodded. "Then bring him over and let me talk to him. He should remember me, since it's only been a few months. Fai came into our world about the same time you guys first popped in."

"Really?" Fai asked. "What did he want?"

He shrugged, scanning the book's content further. In a way, it was almost as if he was avoiding looking to his face. Fai paid this little mind, however. "He said that he had finally woken up and that he came here straight from his world. I forget what it was called, though. Then Yuuko went inside to talk to him about something. Again, I'm not sure what they spoke about. She sent me out to get groceries for a 'reunion' party."

The black Mokona jumped up, making Watanuki's image jump too. "That was the best party ever!"

Pushing Mokona back down, Watanuki said, "And, I know I'm not supposed to tell, but he's really-"

The connection suddenly dropped. "What happened?" Syaoran asked.

Mokona frowned. "The other Mokona told me that we're not allowed to know anything. It was something Yuuko told him. She said that we've got to figure it out on our own."

Kurogane mumbled something along the lines of Stupid old hag and glared at the wall separating their apartment from Fai's. "If that's the case, I don't trust him."

"Didn't you just say you liked him?" Syaoran asked.

"If he's got enough power to make Yuuko consider him as a possible replacement, then think just how easily he could use some of that power against us. What if he's more evil than good? Maybe Fei Wong Reed got to him before Yuuko did, and he's been one of his lackies all along?"

"You're over-speculating things, Kuro-cho," Fai said. "He and Yuuko were obviously good buddies. I don't think he's a bad guy."

Something banged hard against the wall, instantly getting their attention. "STOP SAYING FAI IS A BAD GUY!"

"Casey! Shut up!"

"Not if they're going to keep bad-mouthing you!"

"But they're not-"

Another bang.

"Casey, you're going to put a hole in the wall, and Mr. Ashura's going to make me pay for it. Now keep quiet and finish your essay! Isn't this due tomorrow anyway? AND isn't it worth half of your final semester grade?"

Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai could practically hear her growl at the thought of college in the middle of her rants. "…Fine," Casey grudgingly gave in.

In whisper to Mokona, Fai stated, "She's sort of scary."

Mokona solemnly nodded. "Mokona thinks she's the bad guy. She's angrier than Kurokanahe, and sometimes Mokona isn't sure if he's not secretly evil."Needless to say, it took plenty of effort on Syaoran's part to keep Kurogane from strangling either of them.