Love In Its Essence

by Mendeia

Arc 4 of The Temple Steps Alight series. Over the last two years, SELF has been thriving, and so have the Sentinels and Guides proud to call it their home. But when Doctor Zin implements his ultimate plan, it will take everything the Sentinels and Guides have learned about themselves and more to survive and protect not only their tribe, but the very world.

10. Chapter 10

There's a lengthy flashback in this chapter which I marked but didn't put all in Italics because that would drive all of us nuts.

Thanks for sticking with me so far. I hope as we go you are glad you did. Or you want to strangle me more. One of the two, I guess.

Enjoy!

---

Jim watched the last of his tribe file into the hidden bunker. It had taken every ounce of his force of will and authority and yelling to enforce the decision for most Sentinels to hide rather than fight. He could sympathize. Sentinels protect the tribe. That's what we're for.

In the end, he'd picked a few others – some of the best fighters and keenest shots – to help support the four who would be focused on their spirit animals. Maxim would be leading a small force whose whole purpose was to monitor the position of all the robots and distract any that got too close to the place the main group would be making their stand. Already he had led his team from the building through a sealed underground tunnel to the barn, where they would set up in the cupola on the roof.

Maxim's team knew that the sonic weapon might render them utterly helpless and that it could cost them their lives. That was why they'd agreed to be posted to the secondary location in the barn rather than supporting Jim's spot directly; they weren't afraid to die, but they would not risk compromising the group who had the best chance of bringing the robots down.

Jim had also seen Maxim's eyes flick to Blair and Kaimi, and he guessed that as much as the old soldier didn't want to endanger the mission or Jim, he could even less stand to put the Guides in danger. Jim could completely understand that feeling.

The last set to retreat to the bunker included Angie and Melly, Rafe and Brown, and Doctor Waihee. They would remain just outside the door to come running if needed. Leilani had not been in the original plan, as she was no trained soldier, but that tiny woman had made even Jim step back with the force of her conviction. If her daughter was going to risk her life on the surface, Leilani would be ready to run to them if she or anyone else got hurt. She had entrusted her patients to Eric, Lai, and those Sentinels with at least a modicum of medical training.

Jim was pretty sure Leilani wouldn't have agreed to Kaimi's participation at all except that, first, it wasn't really her decision, and second, she'd been outnumbered. Simon had been trapped in a similar position. Jim hoped he was never on the other end of the convincing, coordinated pleading force that was Sandburg, Kaimi, Jessie, and Daryl; their combined effort was like a hurricane of logic, conviction, and inexorable will. Only Ngama had abstained from staking out an argument, sharing a knowing look with Jim.

If there were any other way, he'd be locking Kaimi in there with them. And Sandburg would be right beside her. I don't care what Sandburg says about Guides protecting Sentinels. We protect them first.

The tribe of Sentinels, upon learning that two of their remaining three Guides would be up in the thick of danger, had very nearly revolted. Even Jim hadn't been able to prevent the surge of protectiveness that he totally shared but was forcing himself to ignore for now. Because any time his thoughts even started to turn in that direction, Blair seemed uncannily aware of it, turning to his Sentinel and levying a fierce glare. Jim couldn't come up with any way to order his Guide to safety without undermining their very real need for his prowess with his spirit animal, not to mention Blair's own courage and dedication. Still, as they began their ascent to their post, he walked a step behind Blair and listened to the rapid heart-beat that mattered more than any other – and vowed he would do anything to protect it.

"Me, too, Jim," Blair said softly.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Know what I'm thinking and feeling even if I'm not saying it and you're not even looking at me?"

Blair shrugged. "I just do. Combination of Ellison predictability and sort of the territory that goes with being a bonded Guide, I guess."

Jim might have wondered that Sandburg wasn't leaping to explain more than that, or at least promise to test it later, but he could almost feel the focused tension radiating from his Guide. Blair's mind was not zipping about between his myriad projects and theories and that encyclopedic knowledge – it was bent on a single moment in time and a single task.

Better get your head in the game too, Ellison.

At the top of the stairs, he pushed open the door to the roof of the new wing of the lodge. Not only was there a tiny emergency hatch that led to a ladder straight down into the bunker, but there was an addition he had requested when he'd been asked about a design for the building. Something he hadn't ever thought he'd need to use, but here they were. Can't account for everything. Giant spider robots were never even on my radar, he thought.

Jim pushed open the door to the hide site. It looked like an air-conditioning unit on the roof, identical to every other like it on every building in the complex, complete with a big fan on one side and vents. But on the inside, it was an open space where every vent was just large enough for a rifle to poke out unencumbered. Also, while it looked like it was built of nothing but flimsy sheet-metal, it was reinforced with the best material the Quest resources could buy, and only somewhat less impervious than the bunker below ground.

"All right, people," he said. "Spread out. You know what to do."

Joel moved to the largest opening, one of the gaps between the fan-blades. He shouldered the grenade launcher that had been entrusted to him. "Daryl, I want you right there," he said, gesturing with an elbow to a spot clear of the recoil but within easy reach. "Keep your eyes open. I know you don't know how to load this thing, so just be ready with the next one when I need it."

Daryl nodded and crouched beside Joel with the box of grenades.

Simon, Race, and Jessie spread out as they checked their own weapons. None of the three was nearly as good as a sniper as Jim, but Jim wouldn't have time to shoot while working with his spirit animal. While Joel's job was to try to blow the legs off those robots and bring some of them to the ground that way, the other three would focus on trying to shoot out the robots' optics. It might slow them down.

Jim wanted so badly to pull Blair to his side, maybe even sit on him to keep him safe. But there were only the four of them and four directions to watch. The last intelligence from IRIS had suggested the crowd of spider robots had broken up to surround them. He could hear them now, shuffling through the forest and closing in on all sides.

Blair moved resolutely to face out in the same direction as Joel and Jim opted to take the side to his left – that way he could dive for him if he saw something inbound. Ngama put himself opposite Jim, so Kaimi finished their formation with her back to Blair. Jim noted that Jessie put herself beside him, and he nodded in approval. Simon went with Kaimi – which matched the only flying spirit animal with the other most experienced sniper – and Race took up a position beside Ngama.

"Let them get within normal sight of the lodge before you hit them with the spirit animals," Jim said. "And even closer before you start firing. We don't want to give away our position until the last possible moment."

"Remember," Kaimi said softly, "you can't just dive through it. You have to exert will when you're inside it first. Enough to fry the machine, but not enough to fry you."

"Daryl," Race got his attention, "you're closest to the emergency hatch. If we give the word, tear it open and start climbing down. Move as fast as you can so we can all pile in after you. The shaft is too narrow for more than one at a time, but it's reinforced, so you'll be safe as soon as you get inside. I'll be last man out."

Jim was going to argue, but a shiver ran through him like an icy wind. He turned and looked outwards, dialing up his vision to pierce through the overcast dimness and the dense trees.

"Incoming," he reported sharply. "Everybody get ready."

The only answer from the others was a grim silence followed by the slide-click of the sniper rifles loading and the low whir of the grenade launcher.

These things are going down. This is my territory. My tribe. And if anybody gets so much as a scratch from these ugly cannonballs on legs, I'll take them apart. And then I'll take Zin apart, too. Bit by bit. That's a promise.

He felt more than heard the jaguar scream. It was answered by a guttural, low bark from Ngama's honey badger, a shrieking cry from Kaimi's albatross, and a near-deafening growl from Blair's wolf.

The first spider-bot poked up out of the trees and Jim threw himself into the battle.

-==OOO==-

Lee Brackett let his gaze roam over the room as he listened to the older Samuels brother drone on; he'd filched a copy of Samuels's report before the man could print it off, so he already knew what would be said. It made for the only safe time for his mind to wander.

I remember O'Rourke told me once after that thing in Morocco, 'There's a reason sharks outlived the dinosaurs – not only did they learn to eat us and scare us out of the water, they never hesitated to eat each other. Even the biggest, meanest, toughest shark in the world knows they're just one wrong turn away from being somebody else's prey.' And he was right. He didn't get killed by the authorities. He was gunned down by his own people. I wonder what he'd make of the sharks I'm swimming with now.

Seated on a chair somewhat up and apart from the rest of the room, was Doctor Zin. His sharp eyes seemed to miss nothing as he looked from one of his people to another. By his side, as always, stood his daughters, utterly implacable. Only months of practice allowed Brackett to tell them apart. Today it was Melana who tipped her head ever so slightly – the posture of a listening Sentinel. They switched on and off between which was stretching her senses and which was remaining present to prevent a zone-out on the other's behalf.

They hide it pretty well, but they're still not as good as Ellison. I warned them not to waste time with anything but getting ahold of Sandburg or Quest or Singh and their training techniques. Now we're stuck with a crowd of Sentinels who can count the spots on a bird's wing at 100 yards but can't keep themselves from drooling while they do it, he thought snidely.

Standing around the room with himself were the Samuels brothers, a few trusted non-Sentinel Zin-affiliated goons, and some of the people acquired along with Wellmen Global. A computer on the side of the room connected the meeting with shadowy players in sensitive positions across a couple of different nations – all individuals Brackett had identified long before signing on with the Zins and had determined were more motivated by cash than loyalty. Dangerous to have as enemies, but possibly buyable as allies if he needed it. Tellingly, the only other Sentinel in the room besides the Zin sisters was Jonny Quest, standing at Melana's side and staring forward blankly.

Because all the Sentinels of Zin's oh-so-precious Mongolian heritage are either too dumb to be of any use or had to be brainwashed so hard they're no better than dogs trained to obey. The look on Quest's face suggests he's as gone as the rest of them. They all react correctly when they're given orders, and they even have the corresponding facial expression. But leave them on their own and they just stare at the wall and wait for orders. Too bad. We'd be in a lot stronger position if we had some willing participants who weren't either blindingly stupid or too blood-thirsty to be of use. But Zin won't let anybody in here without Mongolian heritage. Oh, right. Except for me. And Quest.

But Quest was more like a trophy than an active participant in the plans happening around him, and Brackett knew all too well that any acceptance for himself was only by necessity. He had no illusions that the Zins would kill him the instant it suited their purposes. For the amount of money they were paying in the meantime, it was an acceptable risk to take.

He glanced to Anaya. I wonder if there would be a bonus for telling daddy dearest about his daughter's unique interpretation of his orders regarding Hadji Singh. But then, even if there was a reward, she or her sister would probably kill me before I got out of the building. Too bad. Maybe I'll drop it in a coded mission right before I break ranks and go back to solo enterprise.

It was a delicate game, and a thrilling one. At any moment, the Zins could turn on him. And at any moment, he could take his money and flee, even turning them over to their enemies in the process. But for now, with the narrowest of margins, it was in the interest of both sides to play along pretending that Brackett was as loyal as the Samuels brothers. For the Samuels, their loyalty was partly bought with money and partly through terror. But Brackett wasn't afraid of Doctor Zin. And so the cat-and-mouse game continued.

The older Samuels brother finally finished his report and Zin's eyes fell on Brackett. The ex-operative could feel their message: Not yet, Brackett. You're still mine for now. And I will kill you before that changes.

Brackett straightened his shoulders and raised his head. Not likely, Zin. He began his report. "The robots should be arriving at the SELF compound now. I will be receiving telemetry in a matter of minutes. But I am confident that even Quest's best inventions cannot prevent the compound's defenses from falling. And when they do, we will be prepared to deal with the survivors."

Too bad he wouldn't let me include the sonic weapon that was so effective against the Sentinels at the museum in the plan. But its frequency would have been transmitted on the open comm line and then most of this base would start screaming. I know Zin wants to see and hear the failure of his enemy, but it's stupid to lose the use of a foolproof method just for the sake of ego. Just more proof Zin wants to destroy Quest at any cost, even if it weakens his own strategy. I wonder what exactly Quest did to him anyway?

As he spoke, he kept Jonny Quest in his peripheral vision. He knew that there were many different layers of the reprogramming procedure, from a very mild version that simply enforced a willing loyalty on those Sentinels Zin had purchased openly to a complete rewrite of the brain as had been required for those who had fought tooth and nail against the designs of the Zins. He surmised, obviously, that Quest had been given the most stringent programming possible to ensure his own compliance. And it must have worked, for the boy to be standing there so blankly while the Zins plotted the deaths of his friends and tribe, not to mention Zin's little display with Doctor Quest.

But still, Brackett wondered what was going on behind the empty eyes that appeared to see nothing at all.

-==OOO==-

Jonny sat up, blinking, in the indigo savannah.

"What am I doing here?" he asked aloud. He rubbed his head. "Why can't I remember?"

"I owe you a thousand apologies, my friend. And even so, you may not forgive me."

Jonny turned to see Hadji standing behind him. Sort of.

"Hadji!" Jonny scrambled to his feet. "What's going on? And why are you all…see-through?" His heart jumped into his throat. The last time he had seen his brother this way, Hadji had been dying.

"It is not that which you fear," Hadji shook his head. "Although all is not well by any definition you choose to name."

"Start talking, Hadj." Jonny crossed his arms, partly to give him a way to hold onto himself against a strange coldness growing within.

"It is necessary first that you remember our last conversation with your father."

Jonny frowned. "I can't…remember much of anything. I mean, I know you and I know me and I know this place, and I know dad, but…"

"Yes, I imagine the specifics have been lost to you. But I believe I can fix that, if you trust in me, Sentinel."

"Always," Jonny nodded. "Always, my brother."

The ghostly shape of Hadji moved forward and placed his hands on top of Jonny's head.

There was a flash of warmth.

-==OOO==-

-==OOO==-

-==OOO==-

In the lodge, Doctor Quest had asked to speak to his two sons alone, sending Race on ahead to meet the others outside the offices. He did not answer the curious glances of either Jonny or Hadji, but instead led them to his rooms upstairs and locked the door.

"IRIS, initiate total sonic isolation, please," Benton said.

"Working. Complete. The room is secure."

"What is it, dad?" Jonny frowned at the buzz of the white noise generators and other things embedded in the walls so thickly he could almost feel their vibrations. "What's bad enough you can't risk anybody hearing it?"

Benton gestured to the couch and Jonny sat, Hadji tight at his side. Benton actually moved to perch on the coffee table before them, almost knee-to-knee with them. When his gaze met the boys', they saw weariness warring with blazing anger in the depths of his heart.

"I never wished to be a Sentinel as badly as I do today," he began. "Because it means the only person I can turn to is you, son, and it's the one thing I just don't want to do."

Jonny could smell a sudden tanginess of salt in the air and spoke before that scent became shed tears from his unconquerable father. "Whatever you need, dad, you know I'll do it."

"I know you will, and that almost makes it worse."

"Please, father," Hadji spoke softly. "Tell us your plan."

Benton pulled himself together with a visible act of will. "It's a fairly simple strategy. We absolutely need to find some way of discovering Zin's plans. We can't afford to let him launch another strike, and I'm not losing anybody else," his eyes flashed with fury. Then he took a deep breath. "Race and Jim and Fritz and I have been over and over every idea. But the reality is that, even when we find Zin, we can't just infiltrate. We have to assume he has Sentinels on his side, plus Brackett. And we all know a cyber-attack won't work."

Jonny and Hadji nodded.

Then Hadji's quick mind caught up. "So, if we cannot send in someone to gather intelligence covertly, we must do it openly. But not just anyone. Someone who would be in a position to actually learn Zin's plans directly, either by Sentinel senses, computer access, or being outright told."

"But there's no way Zin would trust anybody," Jonny frowned. "He'll be looking for exactly that."

"So we must give him something more interesting to think about," Benton let out a heavy breath. "Something he finds so delicious he may be distracted and our agent will penetrate his designs."

"Even were you to go yourself, Doctor Quest," Hadji said, "while you might prove to be the carrot to lead Zin about, there is no possibility you would maintain your liberty to make use of it, nor would he trust any such overture."

Jonny's eyes widened. "Unless Zin felt absolutely sure he could control you, and he can't. But he could control me."

Benton caught the sudden inhale of breath that heralded Hadji's legitimate objections, so he spoke quickly over them. "Zin believes that his brainwashing is absolute and complete. And if it weren't for the power of a Guide, he'd be right. But a bonded Sentinel might be able to resist the influence, or else be lifted from it with the concentrated effort of a skilled Guide."

"You are suggesting that Jonny surrender himself to Zin, allow himself to be brainwashed, and trust in the utterly unproven theory that I will be able to protect him?" Hadji recoiled.

"I don't like it any more than you do," Benton admitted fiercely. "Do you really think I want to send either of you into danger? Into the hands of a man who would be vastly improved if he possessed the scruples of a fecal fungus? But the truth is that Zin wanted us for some reason when he had Kincaid make those demands at the museum. I believe it is this one –he wanted to get his hands on Jonny and brainwash him and force me to watch. What greater triumph could he realize but to turn my own child against me?"

"And he'd be so sure of the programming, he wouldn't even suspect that I was acting," Jonny said. "It could work."

"Or everything could give you away!" Hadji protested. "Can you maintain all your bodily signals in the presence of other Sentinels to keep them from realizing your illusion? Can you shield yourself from the manipulation without alerting anyone through something you do not control such as your heart-rate?"

"I can't," Jonny turned fully to his Guide. "But you could. Through me."

"Jonny's right, Hadji," Benton said. "The powers of your bond are still largely untested and totally limitless. I believe, just as you and the other Guides were able to act while two of you were fully unconscious and drugged and wounded, you would be able to impose your mind in Jonny's, protecting his cover and even helping him control his body."

At that, Hadji paused. He thought for a long moment. "…Perhaps. It would not be the first time I have used my own ability to control my body to aid Jonny in managing his wayward senses."

"Wait, what? What do you mean it wouldn't be the first time? When did you do that?" Jonny cried, totally surprised.

"I have attempted it many times in little ways," Hadji acknowledged a bit sheepishly. "I find it a useful practice while continuing to hone my skills in the astral and explore our connection in greater detail."

"We so need to have a talk, Hadj!" Jonny glared at his brother.

"Anyway," Benton brought them back to the matter at hand. "If I could think of any other way, believe me, I would. We need to get intelligence about what Zin is planning before it happens if we're going to have any chance of stopping him. We just can't spy on him because there's no way to do it he can't detect. So we have to pick a method he has no capacity to imagine. And the bond between you two is so far out of his league it isn't even in the same sport."

"As a pure thought exercise, the idea has merit," Hadji took a deep breath and tried to regain his detached outlook as he considered things carefully. "It would require all three of us to be within Zin's control, of course. Jonny as the lure, you at whom to gloat, and I as the touchstone to reality. Therefore, the next time the opportunity presents itself, we would have to trick Zin into accepting our surrender without suspecting it was our intention all along."

"Yeah, I guessed that part," Jonny nodded. "And we'd all be in some pretty deep danger. If not from Zin himself, then from whatever he'd have me doing. And don't forget his Sentinel daughters and their weird thing about acquiring a Guide. Plus whatever trying to protect me would do to you." He looked at his Guide. "I wouldn't be able to anchor you in the Seventh."

Hadji shook his head. "No. But I think, to your great chagrin, I have proved admirable at acting without that safety if necessary."

"There's one more thing," Benton forestalled the recurring argument he could read growing in Jonny's face. When they both looked at him, Benton sighed again. "If we did this, we'd have to go in without anybody else knowing about it."

"Why?" Jonny asked.

"Do you not recall the last time the Council attempted to act without full transparency?" Hadji added.

"This is different," Benton declared. "That was coming between a Sentinel and a Guide. This…this is a family thing."

"The lines between family and tribe are growing ever thinner, Doctor Quest," Hadji pointed out.

"And what about Race and Jessie? They're family!" Jonny defended them.

Benton leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, gazing at his clasped hands.

"You're not wrong, either of you. But…Zin has already taken so much. He and Brackett have killed members of our tribe, our family, without hesitation. He…he took your mother from me, Jonny. He's spent a lifetime trying to kill you both and anyone in his way. This…this is personal. And…"

He looked up, face pale, eyes glittering with too many emotions to name. "I won't, I can't put anyone else at risk. Zin has been my problem from the beginning, and every time someone else gets involved, they get hurt. I…I can't let him take Race or Jessie or any of the tribe. I'd go alone if I thought it would do any good."

"No, dad," Jonny seized his father's forearms in a tight grip. "No way."

"If I thought surrendering to Zin would spare all your lives and prevent whatever he is attempting to accomplish, yes, son. I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Jonny read the conviction in his father's face and understood. He let out a breath and nodded. "Yeah, so would I."

"But we must stop him, not simply sacrifice ourselves to him," Hadji said deliberately. "He might kill you, Doctor Quest, but he would continue his madness and the tribe and the world would still be in danger."

"Yes, precisely," Benton looked at his boys, his noble, courageous men. "If I have to risk everything, I'm not bringing anyone I don't absolutely need into that fate with me."

"Race is going to kill you himself when he finds out," Jonny's face quirked in a slight smile.

"And Jessie will kill us all," Hadji answered. They exchanged a knowing glance alight with the closeness they had carried between them since childhood.

But Benton's will broke in the face of that confident, willing loyalty. What in the world could I have ever done in this life or any other to deserve sons like these? He reached forward and put an arm around each of them, half hauling them off the couch to crush them against him.

"I wouldn't bring you at all if I could help it," he said shakily. "But this is bigger than any of us, bigger than any of our individual lives. I wish it were anyone else I could trust so I could protect you and spare you this, but only a Sentinel who can go through the brainwashing process and emerge unscathed can penetrate Zin's security. Only a Guide can do that."

"You're wrong," Jonny shook his head, wrapping his arms around his father and brother. "There isn't another Guide who can do it. Blair's good, but not that good. And Jim wouldn't be tasty bait for Zin anyway. Neither would Kaimi and Ngama. It has to be Hadji and me."

"And for that, I am so, so sorry, my sons." Benton tipped his head to press against the familiar turban with one cheek and the fine blond hair with the other. "I am asking you to walk into the greatest danger of your lives with only the barest hope that any of us will survive. Now I know how Abraham felt when he had to sacrifice up his only son in the name of his belief. I might very well be putting you both on the altar and slaying you myself in my attempt to serve the world the only way I know how."

"But unlike Isaac," Hadji said softly, "we do not go in ignorance of our purpose or our fate. If we can ensure the safety of our tribe and possibly the world by this desperate act, we would accept it without regret. Indeed, I believe we have been hurtling towards this moment from the beginning. Why else should Jonny be a Sentinel, and I his Guide with an unusual affiliation for this very task? Perhaps this service to the world is precisely where our final destiny lies."

"A final confrontation. A final trick. And maybe we bring Zin down, once and for all," Jonny squeezed his brother a little more tightly.

"We'll try," Benton said, drawing back just far enough to see the faces of his sons. "God forgive me, and I pray you do, too, if we fail. But we have to try."

-==OOO==-

-==OOO==-

-==OOO==-

Jonny swallowed tightly. "Oh god. We…we gave ourselves up to the robots. And Zin was there. And I remember that room and the helmet and…"

"Easy, my friend," Hadji's voice held Jonny up even if his hands were insubstantial. "You must remain calm or this will be much, much harder."

"But…Zin brainwashed me! I mean, I'm here, right? I'm just like Dmitri!"

"No you are not." The words stung like a slap. "I would never allow that, Jonny. Never."

"Then what happened?"

The image of Hadji faded a bit more, his expression folding into one of sorrow. "It…has taken me more than you might suspect to bring you to this much awareness. For a very short time, you were truly Zin's creature."

Jonny felt something sickening crawl up from his stomach. "What did I do?"

"You? Nothing." But Hadji looked away.

"You can tell me," Jonny offered. Then, more quietly, "You have to tell me, Hadji."

Hadji nodded but he did not look up. "I was able to hide your spirit to keep Zin from gaining command over it. But I was not immediately able to free you from the extensive changes wrought to your consciousness by the combination of drugs and programming. I could have kept your body from waking entirely to give myself more time, but it could have alerted Zin to our plan."

"So what did you do?"

Hadji's voice became thin, alarmingly soft and almost feeble. "As I once transferred a spirit guardian creature from Ngama's mind to myself, I was able to transfer enough of myself to you to fool Zin."

"You…possessed my body?" Jonny gaped.

"In a manner of speaking. The division between us is small to begin with, and just as you can see through my eyes when you stand guard at the Seventh Door, so did I push through to you to maintain the illusion that all had transpired as Zin expected."

Jonny knew that wasn't it. "I can tell that isn't what's bothering you. So what's really wrong?"

"First, I have harmed our father. In Zin's name, I have participated in his torture knowingly and willingly."

"Not willingly," Jonny said vehemently. "You might not have had a choice, but it wasn't willing."

"Semantics," Hadji shook his head. "But more importantly is this."

The savannah began to dissolve.

"I cannot continue it, Jonny. It has taken much of the last of my energy to bring you even to here. I will send you to your body in full and free you from Zin completely, but…"

"But what, Hadji?!" Jonny yelled. He couldn't even see his Guide anymore.

"But I believe I have extended myself beyond the Seventh Door too far as Bai Ming once warned. Wake me if you can when you have the chance, Jonny Quest, because when you leave here and arrive in yourself, I will not follow you. I will not be able to help you as I had promised."

"Where will you be?"

The voice that trickled back was as soft and plaintive and thin as a baby bird's first heartbeat.

"Lost. I have become…lost."

And Jonny found himself staring into the face of Doctor Zin.

-==OOO==-

Blair was beyond exhausted. He stood bracing both hands against the sharp metal slats of the false vent, his knees trembling. But he never looked away from the task before him.

About twenty of the robots littered the ground around the lodge. Of those not wiped out before getting that far, some had arrived on legs made unsteady by the unfriendly perimeter, and two had gone down when Joel was able to blast off a limb entirely. But even immobilized, they could still shoot until one of the Guides fried them. Blair himself had taken out six or seven – he had lost track.

It got easier with each try. The first robot he'd disabled had given him the beginning flash of a migraine, and he remembered too late what Kaimi had said about needing to monitor how much energy he demanded of his spirit animal so that he could fry the machine without frying himself. With desperate practice he'd learned to create something like a low pulse of energy that he could increase until the robot stopped moving, and the slow build-up seemed to spare him a certain amount of headache. But only a little. The snipers had had their work cut out for them, too. Blair didn't have the attention to spare to notice what they were doing, but he saw more than one of his robots bore a shattered 'eye' before he took it out.

Blair didn't need to turn to know that his fellow Sentinels and Guides were not faring much better. He could sense what he didn't look to see – that Jim was holding himself together only by stubborn sheer will, that Ngama was practically dragging his little honey badger around and using its smaller size to conserve energy whenever possible, that Kaimi had stopped swooping and diving and was more falling from one robot to the next. And yet there were still more of them coming.

The only good news so far was that there hadn't been any reappearance of that sonic weapon. But Blair was far too tired to be grateful for that small favor.

Suddenly from the other side, Race swore. Then he shouted, "They're taking aim at the barn! Hey! Maxim! Get your people clear!"

Blair turned so he could peer through a gap to see four of the remaining robots converging on the barn where Maxim's team had been doing a stellar job of keeping many of the robots occupied until the Sentinels and Guides could get to them. Their red eyes glowed ominously as they charged up a blast that, Blair now knew from observation, could level the building if they weren't brought down in time.

No way. No way am I letting any more of my Sentinels get hurt. There is NO WAY!

Blair would never know he was yelling aloud as he locked his gaze on the cupola that held his tribe.

He would never remember flinging a hand towards Jim and either screaming or snarling some sort of wordless command for his Sentinel to anchor him right that instant.

He would never recall the violent passage through the Seventh Door, dragging Jim to the Step behind him with the force of his heartsick need.

In the infinite space outside time and matter and existence, Blair's will manifested with the strength of a hurricane. He didn't care about consequences. He didn't care about balance. He didn't care about wisdom. All he wanted was to tear down the soulless metal monsters that were threatening his people.

Like Zeus the ancient lightning-hurler himself, Blair lashed out with a fury that snapped through the air with an electric blast.

Three spider-bots froze and tipped over as they were overwhelmed by an EMP strong enough to penetrate their shielding from the outside. The fourth stuttered for a moment before it, too, gave way to Blair's righteous power. The entire next wave of robots fell in its wake.

Blair snapped back to himself long enough to realize he was on the ground, Jim holding him tightly, and he felt very cold.

"Guides…protect Sentinels," he managed to smile as he slid into oblivion.

-==OOO==-

Several stories below, Eric and Lai watched a shudder pass through all the Sentinels in the area. They glanced worriedly to the door where Melly and Angie stood, Melly pulled back to Angie's front as they clung to one another with Bandit squeezed in between them. The pair of girls had again focused on listening to the events occurring outside, relating them in the silence where even the non-Sentinels could have heard a pin drop.

"What happened?" Henri demanded.

"It sounds like…Blair's unconscious," Angie reported. "Jim's trying to help. And there's still robots left, but Kaimi says she and Ngama can take them."

"Are the others all right?" Luka wanted to know.

"I hear Maxim giving orders to get back to firing. So I guess so?"

Eric and Lai exchanged glances. They were doing all they could, but they were out of their depths with this. The best help they could provide was to give the Sentinels something they could protect while, of course, watching over the injured still. But both had privately made a promise to actually drill in the use of firearms if they got out of this alive. There was no way they were leaving their Chancery family alone against an army of robot spiders again.

"Hey," Lai nudged Eric in the ribs. "Look at that."

Of the wounded they had been keeping under watch, the most severe case was still Dmitri; he had been sedated when he had loudly refused to retreat to safety and had actually attempted to get out of bed to assist in the defense of the lodge before Leilani had produced the tiniest whiff of chloroform. Dmitri had passed into the bunker strapped to his gurney and insensible.

But now he seemed to be in some sort of distress. He was shaking and sweating when he had been calm only a moment before.

Eric didn't wait to see what happened next – he lifted his head to call out. "Doctor Waihee, you better take a look at this!"

She tore herself from her spot right next to Brian Rafe and the crowd of Sentinels split to let her reach her patient.

"What does it mean?" Lai asked. "Is he running a fever?"

It was Melly who spoke, her young voice rising up over the silence. "No. Something else. Something worse."

-==OOO==-

Jonny didn't panic.

Although, after a moment of genuine shock at the sudden relocation of his awareness, he found that it would have been more accurate to say that he couldn't panic. Though he was awake and looking out of his own face, he felt as if he were dreaming or somehow detached from himself. His body seemed to be on auto-pilot and he didn't know where to find the off-switch.

Not that I want one right now, he thought to himself. As soon as we flip back to 'manual,' something's going to give me away. Probably the fact that I'm outright terrified at the moment.

At least for now he was stationary, apparently standing at attention while Zin waited for a room full of people, some of whom Jonny recognized, to clear of all but a few. He remembered what Dmitri had said when he had been under the influence of the reprogramming, that he had been able to watch himself but not intervene.

Is it possible I'm the same way? No. No it isn't. Hadji would never have left me without the ability to act. He wouldn't.

His heart ached at the memory of his Guide's words – not his last words, no way will I let those be his last words! – and he promised himself that he would find Hadji and bring him back as soon as possible. He would not lose his brother, best friend, and Guide. Never.

Okay. So. I'm here. I have to trust that Hadji would have left me a way back to myself. There's no way he didn't fix it so I can go ahead with the plan and get our intel and then get out of here free of Zin's control. So why don't I have control now?

"Jonny."

Jonny's body looked up, allowing him to shift his focus. Zin was peering at him.

"Yes, master?" said Jonny's mouth – without his input.

"What can you tell us about the defenses ranged around the location in the mountains of Cascade?" Zin asked. "What will my robots find?"

To Jonny's horror, he began nonchalantly rattling off the security specs of the lodge's perimeter, carefully describing the various tricks and traps and some of the more potent firepower. Zin smiled broadly at him as he easily betrayed his father, his own tribe.

Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!

Wait. Did that just work?

I'm not…how is this possible? I just slid right by the BIG GUNS, and I'm not even mentioning the bunker. Both things I'd rather die than let Zin know.

Okay. Clearly I'm not completely under Zin's control. If I were, this would be worse. But Dmitri didn't have any ability to stop himself. So that means whatever Hadji did to me, he left me in control – sorta. I just gotta figure it out.

Hang on. Hadji knew he wouldn't be able to help me. He knew he'd be leaving me to the wolves and I'd be on my own to fool them. So maybe he made it easier for me. Kind of put my body into a trance or something. That way I wouldn't give away the game the minute I came awake here.

"The telemetry is coming in now," said a man Jonny felt he should remember.

"Very good, Brackett."

Of course! I heard his voice at the museum. Okay. So, he's launched an attack at SELF? I hope everybody's ready to defend themselves.

Brackett worked at a computer station for a few moments before a projector lit up with a scene obviously filmed by one of the attacking robots in a vast crowd of them advancing on the outer perimeter – Jonny could see the edge of the familiar metal casing. Over the next few minutes, he watched in awe and wonder as the robots that had given his family fits for years fell again and again.

"I demand an explanation!" Zin raged.

"They look like they're being brought down by an electromagnetic pulse, father," Melana said.

"They're shielded against that," Anaya replied.

"Clearly Doctor Quest has designed a new method of delivering an EMP," Zin growled, curling his hands into fists. "One to which we are vulnerable."

Way to go team! Jonny rejoiced. I don't know what you did, but I have a good feeling it's more of the Sixth and Seventh stuff Zin wouldn't understand even if Jim's jaguar showed up and sat on him.

A set of the robots had crowded around the barn, where Jonny could clearly see there were Sentinels taking shots at them from the cupola, but before the spider-bots could strike, the screen flashed white and the signal went dead.

"Well, that was a catastrophic failure," Brackett commented lightly.

For a moment, Jonny thought for sure Zin was going to order him killed, but he simply waved a hand. "So it seems. Therefore, we must turn to our final plan. If I cannot take Quest's Sentinels for my own army by force, I will take them by guile. Sentinels are, in certain ways, quite foolish, particularly those who have joined with Quest. They will very willingly hand themselves to me if the correct…pressure is applied."

"Master," said the man Samuels Jonny still thought of as 'Sunshine,' "is it truly necessary to acquire all the Sentinels of Cascade? You already command so many."

"You're a fool," Zin glared at him. "Why would I acquire this facility and waste time bringing all my own Sentinels here if not to ensure that I would be able to control the prisoners long enough to bring them all under my power? If I do not take the Quest Sentinels for my own as I did Jonny, there will be a force that could oppose me. With the Sentinels of Cascade as my own, I will have an army that can bring the world to its knees at my whim. What secret would be safe, what facility impenetrable, with so many to obey me?"

Samuels did not back down, though he swallowed thickly. "But there are many more Sentinels in the world, master. We have their files. We could acquire thousands quietly. Why are these so important?"

"Because," Jonny realized he was answering. "The Sentinels of Cascade are superior."

Zin smiled, though Anaya and Melana were clearly frowning at him. "Precisely, my boy. Even my own daughters do not have half the command of their senses that you do. We must acquire them all and then turn that knowledge upon my current, weaker Sentinels. Only then will we pursue the rest of the world's Sentinels. What good would an army of thousands be if Quest's paltry few hundred could disable them all and march on unaffected?"

So that's what it's all about, Jonny's mind raced. He wants to get the tribe all brainwashed so he can train his own little army how to be better Sentinels. And they have files on thousands more? I can't imagine the world surviving an army of Sentinels with good sensory training working for Zin. He could blackmail or topple governments, steal anything he wanted, even send some Sentinels back to where they came from and use them to spy and infiltrate. I can't let him do that. I've got to get out of here with dad and Hadji and warn the others!

"Anaya, Melana, and Brackett. Go to Cascade. Secure the means by which those obstinate Sentinels will bow to me or see their territory ruined. Alert me the moment you have completed your task so I can send my demands. I want those Sentinels on their way to me before another day passes."

"Very well," Anaya nodded.

The meeting started to break up, Jonny's body falling into step behind Zin.

I've got to figure out how to get control back and soon!

"What do you wish of me, master?" Jonny's body asked.

"You will begin to share all the secrets of your knowledge with Samuels," Zin answered. "I want you to ensure that we can train our Sentinels as well as your father's in all things."

"Yes, sir."

Never gonna happen, Zin. There's no way I'm teaching you about dials and the Sixth and Seventh and bonding with Guides and how Sentinels that get tested by their spirit animals acquire better control and broader ranges and…

That's it! The spirit animals!

As if summoned, the fox appeared to Jonny, walking calmly along beside him.

Hadji wouldn't have left me without a way out. But we've been through Sentinel sickness together. He'd remember how foxball kind of initiated a restart of my brain every time my instincts went haywire. I bet all I have to do is ask the fox to jump into me and I'll be back in business!

The fox peered at Jonny with a winking, intelligent eye.

No, not yet. Wait until Anaya and Melana are gone. They're the only ones Zin trusts to monitor my body. I can probably fool Sunshine and Zin at least for a little while, but not the twins. Once they're out of range, though, all bets are off. Then I'll get dad and Hadji and get out of here.

But even as he allowed himself to placidly follow along after Zin, using the fact of his body's auto-pilot to focus his attention on learning the layout and possible weaknesses of the location, he couldn't help a chill that radiated somewhere inside.

I hope it's not too late.