Chris felt something stir behind him causing him to shift his gaze away from Spock. He heard a pained moan indicating Nhan was rousing and beginning to wake up. Pike felt her fingers twitching beneath his back and swayed off balance when she tried to shift forward.

"Nhan?" He glanced over his shoulder as far as he could manage only being able to see the side profile of her face. Her hair hung forward blocking most of his view and she let her head slump down with a thud until it rested against her chest.

After a few dazed moments Nhan seemed to register the sound of his voice; she snapped up to his question and began to struggle wildly against the restraints. Pike grunted when the struggles grew more vicious causing the wires to press and cut against his chest painfully. The harder she struggled the more difficult it became to keep them both upright. Nhan was panicking, not that it was a surprise what with waking up in an unfamiliar position; being tied up not knowing who she was with or where she was.

"Nhan it's me." He bit out through gritted teeth, trying to get through to her before she strained on their bindings enough to cut into flesh or worse knock them both over.

This time his voice seemed to finally break through her confusion and she stopped struggling and froze in place. She turned her head and met his gaze just about managing to lean back far enough so they could face one another. Nhan was usually a closed book but Chris could tell easily enough that she was confused and wary; her eyes still looking glazed and groggy from the effects of the nerve pinch.

"Captain?" She asked quizzically restarting her struggles. Chris felt Nhan frustratingly pull at her wrists which wasn't comfortable on his end in the slightest, her hands kept digging into his lower back painfully. She still wasn't quite with it.

"I don't want you to panic but we're in a bit of a situation." He tried to infuse calmness into his words needing her to slow down before she hurt them both. He began to wonder how the hell he was going to explain what was going on, and more pressingly about John.

Nhan frowned deeply and looked completely lost like she was barely following his words. Pike realised she might not even be able to remember what had happened on the planet, with Spock. Eventually she seemed to realise their immediate situation and scowled at the wires binding them. "You don't say." She dead-panned.

Pike allowed a strained smile to pull at his lips; despite the miserable circumstances Nhan was beginning to sound like her old self. Chris glanced over to John and saw that he was still deep in thought, and had his hands pressed tightly to his temples. Nhan followed his gaze and gasped loudly when presumably her memory returned.

"Spock attacked me..." Nhan whispered in disbelief unsure if she should be more angry, hurt or sad.

Pike watched Spock forlornly. "That's not Spock."

Nhan jumped and snapped round to him; her mouth fell open and she blinked rapidly like she was trying to process what she had just heard. Unfortunately her sudden movements jolted the pair of them against one another, and Pike grimaced when the restraining wires tightened and cut into his flesh again. Nhan noticed the movement and reaction and apologised quickly for pulling, and she realised that if either of them moved it affected the other.

Chris waved off her concern and set about filling her in as well as he could manage. He spent the next five minutes explaining everything he knew, not that he knew much. He told her about John, his claims that they were the invaders and the reason why they were tied up and not trusted. Pike observed Nhan's face soften as he explained Spock's predicament and saw his own worry for Spock was mirrored in her face.

They hadn't heard from him since John had appeared and they only had his word that Spock was even okay. Chris was growing more worried the longer John stayed quiet; he was apparently in a deep meditative state but neither of them knew that for sure.

"Christ." Nhan whispered sadly. "Poor Spock."

Pike nodded grimly. "I just hope he's okay in there."

Nhan followed his line of sight to Spock and they both watched the kid like hawks, waiting for any sign of Spock or John rejoining the land of the living. He hadn't stirred once since he'd sat down. Chris should have known; he'd had little else to do after working out the restraints weren't budging so he'd spent the rest of his solitary time watching Spock hoping for any flicker of recognition but finding none. Watching somebody else in Spock's body was more than just a little unnerving.

Knowing that John was still paying them no attention Nhan suggested they try and get free, and work on some sort of escape. Pike didn't have the heart to tell her that he had been doing just that ever since John had walked away without any success, but in fairness it might be easier with someone pulling from the other side.

Knowing that at least it was something to keep their minds off the situation they twisted and turned trying to manoeuvre their wrists closer together; wanting to get at each other's bindings. No matter how hard they strained they couldn't get their wrists to move far at all. The ties binding their chests were far too tight and had next to no give; even with their combined strength they couldn't stretch the restraints far enough. After several minutes of doing nothing more than cutting their own flesh they laid back against one another tired and in pain, wincing at how raw their wrists already were and feeling blood drip down their hands.

"I can't move my hands let alone my fingers." The Captain muttered miserably knowing that he sounded defeated but realistically there was little they could do except shred their hands further.

He could barely feel his fingers anymore which was a worrying sign; even if they somehow managed to get their hands together he doubted either of them would be in any position to untie the restraints.

Nhan leaned her head back against his and huffed. "Me neither."

"You're awake."

They both jumped at the unexpected interruption: at Spo- no John's voice. Neither of them had heard John reawaken or get up, and Chris was at a loss as to how he had gotten this close to them without either of them realising. Spock had always been light on his feet but the Captain had to remind himself this wasn't Spock, not really, no this was an alien entity who had stolen Spock's body.

Pike saw that John had his attention firmly on Nhan and it was her he was addressing. His eyes roamed over their bodies and stopped at the wires, squinting and searching for any changes since he had left. He was nothing if not paranoid.

"I am." Nhan replied frostily drawing John's undivided attention back to her.

He crouched down between the pair of them all the while holding Pike's phaser to cover them both. Chris eyed the weapon warily and felt Nhan tense up behind him reacting to the violent threat. John clocked the reaction to the weapon and smiled tightly. "Has your Captain explained the situation to you?"

The Captain heard Nhan's indrawn breath and closed his eyes in resignation; recognising she was about to lose it and do something stupid. Just as Chris feared Nhan began an enraged tirade, practically spitting at John and attacking him mercilessly with words.

"You've attacked us without warning, stolen my friend's body and for what? Because you think we look like invaders, when all we wanted to do was help." She was breathing heavily by the time she had finished ranting, and she held her head up high and made a demand. "I want to speak to Spock."

Chris studied John's face nervously and waited for the other shoe to drop, and for Nhan's ill-thought out words to land completely. He had known she had a temper but he hadn't expected that; from the look on John's face neither had he. John blinked several times and Pike literally watched the gears turning in his head. He watched dumbfounded as a completely alien expression worked its way onto Spock's face; his eyes began to blaze with red hot anger and his breathing shortened whilst his muscles trembled with fury. Unsurprisingly he lost it.

Pike cried out when the phaser crashed into his face leaving a trail of misery in its wake; dismally he tasted blood when his lip split open. He grunted when the momentum had his head crash back into Nhan's, knocking both their brains around harshly and leaving fresh bruises behind. Chris shook away the dizzying effect when he felt something press against the side of his head, something which felt scarily like a phaser.

After a few moments of a bleary world the Captain regained his vision and confirmed the thing pressed tightly against his head was in fact his own phaser, held by Spock who was being controlled by John. He really couldn't have made this up if he had tried.

Realising now was not the time for jokes or introspection Pike looked beyond the weapon and sought John's face; he wanted to backpedal and retreat when he saw the cold fury there but he had nowhere to go. He had never imagined Spock's face was even capable of such hatred, but here was the evidence and it chilled him to the bone.

"You don't give the orders here Commander." John growled; his voice shook with anger and his eyes blazed darkly.

Pike stayed very still and recognised how close everyone was to taking this beyond the point of no return. He willed away the pounding thunder in his head and tried very hard to ignore what was pressed against his head. The one thing he couldn't forget though was that Spock was stuck inside his mind watching all of this, watching his own body do this. What if the worst happened and John used Spock's body to murder? Pike wouldn't wish that on anyone; that level of violence could irrevocably damage his mind and emotions. He could not let that happen to Spock.

"Nhan." He called out softly. He tensed slightly when the phaser twitched but John didn't give any further indications to stop speaking so he pressed on. "Spock's in there."

It was all he needed to say; she would get it. They had to keep there cool for his sake more than their own. Their actions didn't just hurt them; it would leave deep scars for Spock that may never heal.

Chris felt the tension in her deflate and she slowly breathed out her anger. "Sorry." Nhan eventually managed, meaning it more for Spock and the Captain's ears than John's.

John studied them both carefully and Pike held his breath waiting for him to fall either way; he wished for all their sakes that John would let Nhan's emotional outburst go. Eventually Chris felt the phaser slowly pull away from his face. After a beat he warily turned his head to face John not quite sure what he would see. Pike watched John's anger burn away and his expression schooled over, in no time he looked a lot more like Spock which was a small blessing. The Captain hated seeing his officer like this; he hated watching his body being manipulated to do things Spock was himself incapable of.

"That's better." John finally muttered sounding almost pleased. Pike noticed the phaser was slowly being lowered down; it wasn't actively pointing at either of them anymore which helped reduce the tension.

They both waited patiently for John to do or say something else but he just sat there watching them, glancing around the room nervously every now and again. Pike eventually realised he needed to step in if they were going to move forward; he didn't fancy being tied up for the rest of the day nor did he fancy being stuck in the planet's radiation too long.

"John." He got the mans attention quickly. "Our ship is going to start wondering where we are soon, you can't keep this secret forever."

John's face turned as white as ash, his shoulders tightened and it looked like he was staring into nothing. The Captain recognised the clear signs of fear? Well that was new, he had only showcased confidence and violent tendencies so far. "What do you suggest I do Captain? I've tried breaking through to your officer but he won't let me in."

Pike had assumed as much. John had been alone silently for some time earlier and from the attitude towards him and Nhan John had clearly not made any progress with his trust issues. Not really knowing what else to suggest Chris tried something knowing in advance the likelihood of it working was pitifully low. "You could trust us."

John's nostrils flared and he pounded his hand against the floor, his anger resurfacing nastily like a viper rearing up. The phaser was brought up aggressively and pointed squarely at Pike's chest. Chris closed his eyes, that had gone worse than not well.

John's limbs trembled and he was soon overcome with emotion. "We trusted them." He yelled out in a shaky voice, his voice breaking as the words trailed off. All of a sudden he lost the strength to be angry and for the first time he looked weary; he slumped over and dropped his head to rest against his chest taking the phaser down with him. "And look where that got us…"

Pike glanced over his shoulder at Nhan with eyes wide, not knowing what the hell had happened and why John had switched from raving lunatic to defeated child. John was jumping between emotions and feelings too quickly, god knew how much strain was being put on Spock's system because of it. How much longer until one of them snapped?

Speaking of Spock, Chris suddenly had a brainwave. Why on earth hadn't he thought of this sooner? "Let me talk to my officer."

John looked up at him and stuttered back like he'd misheard. "Why?"

Pike had his interest, good. "You say you need his memories, let me talk to him and ask him to let you in. You can see all you need too and you wont have any reason not to trust us."

John perked up and seemed to be mulling the suggestion over, the new idea giving him a lease of life and more importantly a potential way forward. Eventually he decided that he was running out of options.

"Alright." He conceded before issuing a completely unnecessary warning; and he brought the phaser up to point at the Captain once again. "But I'll be watching and in control of his body, if I see anything I don't like this is over. Make sure Spock is aware of my conditions."

Just when he thought he was making headway John fell back on threats and violence.

"There's no need for threats." Pike sighed tiredly.

"There's every need." John's hardened resolve was back.

Pike noticed the phaser jab in his direction and understood completely what John was implying. He nodded an agreement. "No tricks, I swear."

John glanced from Nhan to Pike suspiciously and seemed to see what he needed. He knelt down just as he had earlier and pointed the phaser squarely at the Captain's chest. After sighing heavily he closed his eyes and Spock's face tensed for a moment before relaxing.

Chris tried to ignore the deadly weapon and put all of his attention on Spock. He soon saw Spock's face fall flat and adopt a blank expression which was so refreshingly familiar. He had never thought he would say he missed Spock's stoic nature but he had sorely missed it today. A couple of seconds passed and then Spock opened his eyes blinking a few times like he had just awoken from a long slumber. Chris's heart skipped a beat when he looked into Spock's eyes and recognised his friend.

"Spock?" He urged carefully.

Spock's confusion died and was obliterated in that moment, latching onto the familiar voice and using it as a life line to return to normality. His eyes snapped up to meet Pike's and stared intently into his Captain's face. Chris didn't know where to even start, but before he got a chance Spock glanced away guiltily. Pike noticed that Spock had been staring at his face and realised he must have seen the blood, not only that but he had studied the restraints and then finally had glared down at the phaser that was still pointing at Pike.

Chris remembered John's warning that he would remain in control of Spock's body, and that he wouldn't be able to move an inch. Pike didn't want to startle his friend but the last thing he wanted was for Spock to allow self recrimination to take hold. "I don't know how much you know-"

"I remember everything." Spock interrupted quietly still not meeting either of their concerned gazes. "At least everything I did to you."

So much for stopping these self-blaming thoughts before they had taken hold. Worse than that the admission meant that Spock had been forced to watch and experience hurting his crew-mates. Being out of control like that must have pushed Spock to the edge of his sanity. He had to stop this guilt before it consumed Spock completely. "You didn't-"

Spock's eyes darted wildly between the both of them and he interrupted adamantly. "I am sorry for my actions I-"

Now it was Pike's turn to interrupt. "Save it Spock, neither of us blame you for this we know it's not you making these choices."

Spock frowned after being cut off and looked a second away from arguing his point to the death, so Nhan put her 2 cents into the mix. "The Captain's right Spock, this isn't your fault. Hang on in there okay?"

The plea was strong and brooked no room for argument yet Nhan still had a way of getting through to people; she had a way of showing how much she cared just with words. The sudden compassion and concern halted whatever Spock had to say and his mouth snapped shut. The fight drained from his expression and he suddenly looked like he was about to drop, his face was pale as ash and his eyes looked greyer than usual like they had lost their spark. Was that why Spock had dropped the point? Chris wasn't used to Spock giving in after so little fight, it was even more worrying when Spock slowly nodded and somehow fell a shade paler.

Now that Pike was looking closely he noticed Spock's muscles tense every so soften then shake imperceptibly, his jaw would even clench and Chris could hear Spock's breathing hitch every few breaths. Was he fighting for control even now? Aware that they were on the clock Chris got on with the task at hand; he hated that he didn't have the power to take this burden off of Spock's shoulders.

"Spock, the entity inside you, John, he's letting us talk to you but he wont relinquish his hold on your body." Pike indicated the phaser in Spock's hand.

Spock glared at the device readily, it actually could have been defined as a scowl which really threw Chris off. He had seen Spock display more emotions today than he ever thought possible. "He is watching now and has made it clear if he sees anything he doesn't like he'll fire the phaser." Pike concluded grimly not feeling the need to point out the obvious that he would be killed if John carried out his threat, that didn't need saying out loud.

Spock's eyes shot up and there was a strange cold anger in his eyes, chillingly it reminded him of earlier when John was in control and threatening their lives. The unusual emotional outburst vanished in an instant almost like it was never there, and Spock schooled his expression although his voice still sounded strained. "What does he want?"

"His people were attacked, I don't know the details but he thinks it was us. I've tried reasoning with him and promised we're here to help but he refuses to trust us." Spock listened carefully and Pike could see some of this was not news to him. "The only way he'll believe us is if you let him into your mind, and let him see your memories." Pike trailed off hating that he was asking this of Spock.

Another crack appeared in Spock's facade and he flinched. "Can I assume he has already been attempting to gain access to my memories?"

Pike nodded grimly.

"Then that would explain the continued mental assaults," he paused and took a moment to gather his thoughts, his forehead creasing to make him look ever so weary, "they are draining."

If Spock described the experience as draining then what he really meant in human terms was that he was barely holding it together; it made it all the more difficult to ask what he had to of Spock. "I'm sorry to put this on you Spock, John says he can only meld with somebody who has telepathic abilities." He sighed heavily as Spock remained still and quiet. "I would do it myself If it were possible.

"Its alright Captain, I know it can only be me." Spock replied softly. "I am going to have to give him access to all of my memories." He glanced at Pike pointedly. "Including everything I know about the Enterprise."

Pike understood the warning and concern, Spock couldn't ensure John would stick to just the most recent events. He was warning his Captain that he could become a potential security risk. The more Chris thought about what he was asking the guiltier he felt; he was asking to open himself up completely and to a stranger no less. John would wade through his precious memories and deepest secrets and Spock was doing this willingly.

Potential security risk aside he was willing to take the chance. The people of this planet had asked for help and they were going to get it, there could be hundreds if not thousands of people who needed them. "Understood Spock. These people need our help, we can't do that until John trusts us."

Spock locked eyes with him for a few seconds and Chris thought he was about to add something further, but then he though better of it and broke eye contact. Instead he spoke out loud so John could hear. "I will give you access to my memories. You will see that we are only here to help."

Pike waited patiently and Spock glanced round the room. Suddenly he tensed up and Chris panicked when he saw Spock's eyes roll backwards then close. His muscles tightened and spasmed just like before then he went still; the phaser lowered to rest against the floor.

John had retaken control.

Pike and Nhan waited patiently not knowing for sure how long the transference would take or if John was deep within Spock's mind again. His breathing was shallow and it honestly looked like he had fallen asleep kneeling; Pike recognised that he was in a deep trance state.

Without warning Spock's eyes flew open wildly and he gasped loudly, Pike almost jumped out of his skin at the abrupt change. Spock's panic increased and all the Captain could do was watch the phaser swing wildly around the room, crossing Pike and Nhan's personal space more than once.

Eventually John's eyes snapped up and he stared at Pike. Chris found the look a little unnerving and frowned when he watched several emotions flash across John's face, it was morphing into something different continuously but the most prominent emotion was horror and shock.

John glanced down at the phaser and suddenly dropped it like it had burned him, flinching away from it in horror. His lips moved but no words came out, he couldn't even meet Pike's eye anymore like he was avoiding looking at either of them all together. John was ashamed.

"John are you alright?" Pike asked genuinely concerned.

John eventually forced his gaze up to meet the Captain's and he swallowed before quietly muttering. "You were telling the truth."

Pike felt relief flood his system, John had clearly been able to witness Spock's memories first hand and had saw the truth for himself. He watched John struggle to comprehend what had happened, he looked so conflicted and was losing the battle against the raging emotions: guilt, suffering, pain, confusion.

"I'm so sorry. I thought..." John began then tailed off. His hand came up to his face and he covered his mouth in shock; his eyes fixated on the Captain's spilt lip.

Chris felt the mood shift. He decided now was the right time to offer an olive branch. "You were scared, and it's alright."

John looked at him incredulously. "Of course it's not alright, I almost killed you and all you wanted to do was help."

Pike just wanted to move on from this and let Spock get his body back, and make sure nobody else was hurt. John clearly needed their help and Chris intended to give it to him. "I'm willing to start fresh if you are. We will do anything we can to help you and your people, you have my word."

It wasn't his way to hold grudges, especially not against people who were fearful for their lives. Everyone made mistakes out of fear.

John choked off a sob and looked like he was halfway between bursting into tears or laughter. "I couldn't have been more wrong about you." He stared at the two of them with something akin to admiration like he was seeing them both for the first time. "You're a good man Captain."

Strangely Pike felt like those words had more meaning than John was letting on. What had Spock shown him? That was a thought for another time though, right now he needed to get John to let them help. Silence fell upon the room as John processed the new events and let everything sink in. After Chris had given him a few minutes to adjust he tried to bring John back into the world.

"John?" He called out softly not wanting to startle the man. John blinked his confusion away and refocussed on the Captain.

Chris smiled warmly. "Any chance of untying us so we can help you?"

It was like John had been jolted by an electric shock. His eyes widened and he looked at the wire like he was surprised it was still there. "Yes, yes of course." He stuttered and began to untie the wires holding them together as gently as he could manage.

When he finished unwinding the coil from around their chests he helped them both to their feet. He walked behind Chris and swiftly unwrapped his wrists and wiped the blood off as he did; he threw the wire away behind him with disgust before repeating the procedure on Nhan.

Pike and Nhan spent a few moments flexing their wrists and legs and cleaning their wrists up, luckily the bleeding had mostly stopped and it didn't take long to regain feeling in them. Chris tried to ignore how raw and red his wrists were, how the wire had cut deeply into his flesh but John saw anyway and looked even more mortified.

"Oh God, what did I do?" He asked completely appalled, holding his hand up to his mouth and backing away.

Pike gently walked forward and placed a comforting hand on John's shoulder not wanting to spook him. "Hey it's okay. It'll heal."

Truthfully his wrists did sting but it was nothing that Boyce wouldn't sort out in a few minutes. If only John's problems would be that quick to sort, but Chris had a feeling they wouldn't be.

John eventually tore his horrified gaze away from their injuries and he strolled over to the phaser picking it up bu the handle; he also grabbed his communicator and held out the pair to Pike looking like he wanted to throw the weapon as far away from him as he could manage. Chris would be lying if he said his heart hadn't skipped a beat when John had made for the phaser, but here he was giving it up and putting his trust in them completely.

John placed the items in the Captain's outstretched hands. "I wont force you to stay, if you want to leave I'll vacate this body and you can go."

Pike turned to Nhan and could she was on the same wavelength as him, they had come here to do a job and they intended to do it. They were here to help people. Chris took the proffered items and replied for all of them. "We're not going anywhere John, I meant what I said."

John then did something unexpected: he spoke to Spock. "With your permission Spock I would like to remain in this body whilst I explain what has happened here, and show you all what is left of our civilisation. Sadly I require a body to communicate as mine was taken from me."

Pike balked at the last line he hadn't really considered that John had once been corporeal. Still his true colours seemed to be shining through now and Pike was glad to see he was sticking to his word and not forcing himself on anyone; he was giving Spock the option to get out of this. Not that Spock would take it, but the option to choose was important all the same. Chris knew then he had made the right decisions to stay and help John, deep down he had good qualities.

John closed his eyes for a few moments seemingly communicating with Spock; his features slackened and his eyes opened slowly. Chris was surprised to see a change in features and noticed that his face had turned blank and stoic. It almost looked like Spock. "Captain, I have agreed to help John and allow him to share my body whilst we help him."

So it was Spock. Pike was immensely glad to hear from Spock personally and know for certain that he was willingly doing this, John was opening up to them completely now.

Pike nodded exuberantly. "That's good news Spock. Thank you."

Spock raised his eyebrow and almost looked happy. "We'll talk later Captain."

Then Spock was gone and Pike saw John reappear noticing the subtle change in expression and tightening of muscles. John was not as practised at shielding his emotions as Spock was. He actually looked strangely alien in Spock's skin like he didn't know how to act in it.

John shook the disorientating effects away and glanced between Pike and Nhan. "I'd like to show you something if that's alright." He pointed out of the hall.

"Lead the way." Pike and Nhan responded.


A/N - That turned out a little longer than expected, chapter 3 will probably a little quicker :)